MEQUON, Wis. - The Concordia University Wisconsin women's track and field team completed a historic 2025 campaign with a second-place finish at the NACC Outdoor Championships and a third-place showing at the NACC Indoor Championships. The Falcons also placed 41st at the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships thanks to the record-breaking, All-American season of junior Ainara Sainz de Rozas from Madrid, Spain, who delivered one of the most dominant individual years in program history.

The indoor season began in January with a record-setting performance at the Ripon Winter Open, where the 4x200-meter relay team of Sabrina Moore, Emma Eilertson, Maya Hielscher, and freshman Jacey Read raced to victory with a new school-best time. Read also placed second in the 60-meter dash at 7.99 seconds, while Eilertson, Olivia Ebel, and Hielscher each contributed strong early-season results. The Falcons continued to shine at the North Central Invite, where Danielle Van Grinsven and Melanie Arvis each claimed individual titles, and Sainz de Rozas and Emma Ahrens finished second and third, respectively, in a fast 3,000-meter run.

Sainz de Rozas emerged as one of the nation's top distance runners during the indoor season. She was named NACC Track Athlete of the Week multiple times and broke the school record in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:55.08 at the NACC Indoor Championships. At that meet, she added silver medals in both the 3000 and 5000, helping lead the Falcons to a third-place team finish with 103.33 points. Jacey Read took bronze in the 60 and 200, Hielscher earned silver in the 60-meter hurdles, and Kate Kotula captured the NACC title in the pole vault with a height of 3.20 meters.

In early March, Sainz de Rozas punched her ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships after running 16:58.81 in the 5000-meter at the Wartburg Final Qualifier, shattering the meet record and securing a top-20 national time. She became the first Falcon to qualify for the indoor championships since 2016 and earned All-American honors with a seventh-place finish in Pittsford, New York, becoming the program's first indoor All-American in the 5000-meter run since Amanda Kuca in 2006.

The outdoor season began in March with a second-place team finish at the Rose-Hulman Early Bird Invite, where Read, Van Grinsven, Arvis, and Hielscher all picked up event wins. The Falcons added strong team efforts throughout April, highlighted by first-place relay finishes at North Central and Beloit, a triple jump victory from Amiyah Jackson, and a sweep of top finishes in the throws and hurdles from a deep and balanced squad. Hielscher continued to lead the way in the field events, winning the javelin on multiple occasions and breaking the school record in the 100-meter hurdles at the NACC Outdoor Championships with a time of 15.05 seconds.

Sainz de Rozas took her performance to another level during the outdoor campaign. She broke the school record in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 35:19.99 at the Phil Esten Challenge, then followed it up one week later with a school-record 16:41.05 in the 5000-meter at the Drake Relays, where she finished as the top NCAA Division III competitor. She was named NACC Track Athlete of the Week multiple times during the outdoor season and entered the NCAA postseason ranked among the top 20 in both events nationally.

At the NACC Outdoor Championships, Concordia secured second place with 150 points. Sainz de Rozas earned gold in the 10,000 and silver in the 5000, while Ahrens and Arvis added valuable depth in both races. Read won NACC Freshman of the Year after taking bronze in the 100 and 200-meter dash and anchoring the title-winning 4x100-meter relay alongside Moore, Ballard, and Hielscher. Arvis and Van Grinsven both medaled in the 800-meter, Hielscher added silver in the 100-meter hurdles and high jump, and Jackson continued her breakout season in the jumps. Kotula and Weitzel combined for double-digit points in the pole vault, and the Falcons closed the meet with a season-best time in the 4x400-meter relay.

Sainz de Rozas capped her unforgettable season at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio, where she became a two-time First Team All-American over the span of three days. On Thursday night, she placed eighth in the 10,000-meter run, running 34:57.75 to break her own school record. Two days later, she returned to the track and finished fourth in the 5000-meter run with a time of 16:32.74, again resetting the program record and placing higher than any CUW distance runner since Kuca's national title in 2006. She became just the second Falcon in program history to earn two All-American honors at the same outdoor championship, and the first to do so in the 5000 and 10,000-meter double.

The Falcons also saw strong performances across the board throughout the season, breaking four school records and scoring over 100 points at both conference championship meets. Sainz de Rozas' three All-American honors, four weekly conference awards, and trio of school records stood as the pinnacle of a campaign defined by consistency, competitiveness, and history-making performances. With Sainz de Rozas returning for her senior season and an elite core of sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers returning alongside her, Concordia Wisconsin is poised to remain a powerhouse in the NACC and a growing force on the national stage in 2026.