MEQUON, Wis. – The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) announced its Track & Field Athletes of the Year on Tuesday afternoon. The track & field coaches within the conference voted Ainara Sainz de Rozas as the NACC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

A junior distance runner from Madrid, Spain, Ainara Sainz de Rozas is claiming the honor for the first time.

Sainz de Rozas dominated on the track in 2025. She shattered the program's 10,000-meter record at the UW-La Crosse Phil Esten Challenge, winning the event in 35:19.99. Just six days later, she broke the 5000-meter record at the Drake Relays with a time of 16:41.05, finishing as the top NCAA Division III runner in a field filled with Division I competitors.

The Spaniard claimed the conference title in the 10000-meter run with a winning time of 40:52.72.

She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in both the 5000-meter and 10,000-meter runs. On the national stage, she delivered two of the greatest performances in CUW history. She earned First Team All-America honors in the 10,000-meter with a new school-record time of 34:57.75 to finish eighth. Two days later, she placed fourth in the 5000-meter at 16:32.74, breaking her own record again and climbing the podium for the second time in three days.

Aiden Anderson of St. Norbert was voted as the Men's Indoor and Outdoor Athlete of the Year and Deyanneira Colon Maldonado of Aurora was selected as the Women's Indoor Athlete of the Year.

Sainz de Rozas will run again in the fall with the Concordia Wisconsin women's cross country team.