November 5, 2025

HELENA, Mont. – The first 2025 fall sports conference championships in the Frontier Conference are set for Friday morning at Amend Park (5101 King Ave. East).  Rocky Mountain (Mont.) is the host for the 2025 Frontier Conference Cross Country Championships.

The women’s 6K race officially gets underway at 11:30 a.m. (Central Time)/10:30 a.m. (Mountain Time) and will continue with the men’s 8-kilometer race at 12:30 p.m. (CT)/11:30 a.m. (MT).

Eleven Frontier Conference members are set to compete in the 2025 Frontier Conference Cross Country Championships on Friday.

The awards ceremony will take place at approximately 1:45 p.m. (CT)/12:45 p.m. (MT), following the conclusion of the men’s race.  The ceremony takes place directly north of the finish line.  Below is the order for awards that will be presented at the Frontier Conference’s awards ceremony:

• Champions of Character recipients
• Academic All-Conference recipients
• All-Conference award winners
• Male and Female Runners-of-the-Year
• Coaches-of-the-Year
• Team Conference Champions

Each of the top 15 women and top fifteen men will receive an All-Conference plaque that will be presented at the awards ceremony. 

The winning team for each gender will be awarded a plaque at the awards ceremony following the conclusion of the meet.  In the case of a tie, there will be a co-champion.

The first-place team champion on the women’s and men’s side will both earn the conference’s automatic bids to the NAIA National Championships in at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 21.

There will be a selection show on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. (CT)/3 p.m. (MT) to determine the at-large bid teams and individual national qualifiers to the NAIA cross country national meets.  You can view the selection show on https://www.naia.org/sports/shows.

Frontier Conference Women’s Cross Country Preview

Montana Tech ended Carroll’s streak of four consecutive conference titles last season at the same course. 

The Frontier Conference has four teams listed in the NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 poll, with the most recent on Oct. 30.  The Orediggers had been ranked inside the Top 25 rankings all this season, holding No. 17 ranking. 

Carroll is ranked No. 20 in the NAIA national poll.  Both Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Dakota State (S.D.) each received votes (RV) to the national poll.

Alyssa Plant was the individual champion last season for Montana Tech, while Kamryn Comba was second in 22 minutes, 56 seconds.

Grace Steinmetz of Bellevue ranks third overall in the NAIA women’s 6K time, clocking a time of 20:40.4 at the Dordt’s (Iowa) Holiday Inn Express Classic.  Also ranked in the NAIA’s Top 100 fastest time are Brooke Beaucaire of Dakota State (S.D.) at No. 91 in 22:35.5 at the same meet at Dordt and Jayden Woodland of Rocky Mountain (Mont.) at No. 94 with a time of 22:37.2 at the Frontier Conference Preview meet.

Montana Tech and Dakota State are seeking for their return trip to NAIA women’s cross country national meet after competing as a team at the national meet.

Frontier Conference Men’s Cross Country Preview

Carroll has won the past four Frontier Conference Men’s Cross-Country, edging Rocky Mountain in a thrilling fashion by one point at Amend Park.

The Battlin’ Bears made a big jump recently in the NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 national poll after their final regular-season meet at the NAIA Great Lakes.  RMC is currently ranked No. 6 after knocking off eight Top 25 programs at the recent meet.

Carroll (Mont.) has also been ranked inside in the NAIA Top 25 national poll throughout the season.  The Fighting Saints are at No. 20 ranking prior to the conference meet this Friday.

Zach Gacnik of CC won the individual title last season at the same cross-country course with a time of 24:54.40.  His teammate Oliver Morris was second in 25:11.70.  Corbyn Svec of Rocky Mountain was third in 25:17.30.

Four Frontier men’s runners are ranked in the NAIA’s Top 100, led by Caleb Sarsland of Dickinson State as the 22^nd fastest time in the NAIA with a time of 24:21.5 in the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic on Oct. 25.

Justin Morgan of Montana Tech recorded the 33^rd fastest NAIA’s 8K time of 24:32.3 at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge on Oct. 25.  A pair of runners from Rocky Mountain also ranked in the top 50, led by Svec with the 38^th fastest time in 24:33.6 and Justin Glass at No. 45 in 24:38.2, where both times were clocked at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge.

Carroll finished 12^th in last year’s NAIA national meet, followed by Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 24^th.  Bellevue (Neb.) is also seeking their return trip to the NAIA national meet.