For Immediate Release
Saturday, February 14, 2026
NSIC Media Relations

WEST FARGO, N.D. — Augustana University's Maija Kangas was voted by the league's head coaches as the 2025-26 NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year in women's swimming and diving. She was recognized during the awards presentation at the conclusion of the NSIC Swimming & Diving Championships, which took place over the past four days. 

The NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year Award is presented to a swimming and diving student-athlete who has competed at her institution for four years, demonstrates academic excellence and makes a positive impact on her team and university. The award was initiated in the 2020-21 season to honor a senior who exemplifies the attributes of the model NSIC student-athlete.

A native of Excelsior, Minnesota, Kangas maintains a 4.0 grade-point average while completing her Master of Professional Accountancy after earning undergraduate degrees in accounting and Spanish.

In the pool, Kangas was a key contributor to three NSIC championship teams for Augustana and is a two-time conference champion in the 800-yard freestyle relay (2024, 2025). She is the school record holder in the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.19) and the 800-yard freestyle relay (7:33.29).

At the 2025-26 NSIC Championships, Kangas earned All-NSIC honors in the 800 yard freestyle relay at this year's championship, as the Vikings finished in second place with a time of 7:39.43.

Over her career at the conference championships, Kangas recorded multiple top finishes:

• 2024-25: Champion, 800 freestyle relay; fifth, 400 IM; eighth, 500 freestyle; 10th, 1,000 freestyle; 10th, 1,650 freestyle.

• 2023-24: Third, 500 freestyle (NCAA B cut); seventh, 1,000 freestyle; ninth, 1,650 freestyle; ninth, 400 IM; leadoff for NSIC champion 800 freestyle relay.

• 2022-23: Second, 400 IM (B cut); fourth, 500 freestyle; fifth, 1,000 freestyle; leadoff for school-record 800 freestyle relay (B cut).

Academically, Kangas is a three-time NSIC Elite 18 Award winner (2024, 2025 & 2026), a 2024-25 All-NSIC Academic Team of Excellence selection and a 2023-24 Academic All-NSIC honoree.

Beyond competition, Kangas serves as a team captain and volunteers in various community initiatives.

"Maija defines outstanding in her efforts in the classroom, the pool and the weight room. We are going to miss her leadership in future years," head coach Andrew Makepeace said.

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men's league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women's league), the NSIC has flourished over the past three decades, maturing into a union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 27 team national championships and crowned 122 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA's three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.

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