August 19, 2025
HELENA, Mont. – Four-time Frontier Conference men’s cross country defending champion Carroll (Mont.) accumulated eight first place votes and 98 points to secure the top spot in poll, the coaches’ preseason poll was announced Tuesday morning by the conference office. The cross-country conference expanded with five new programs, Bellevue (Neb.), Bismarck State (N.D.), Dakota State (S.D.), Dickinson State (N.D.), and Valley City State (N.D.), bringing a total of 11 cross-country teams.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams in the preseason poll. First place is worth 10 points, second place is worth nine (9) points, third place is worth eight points (8) points, and down the list to last place with one point.
The Fighting Saints edged Rocky Mountain (Mont.) by one point (32-33) in a thrilling 2024 Frontier Conference meet, which was held at Amend Park in Billings, Mont. The Battlin’ Bears finished second in the preseason poll after collecting the final three first place votes and 87 points.
Bellevue, who won their first ever men’s cross country conference title in program history in 2024, finished third in the preseason poll with 79 points.
Three teams competed in last year’s NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Championships in Columbia, Mo., led by the Saints who finished 12
th. RMC finished 24
th, while BU placed 32
nd in the team standings.
Montana Tech was fourth with 70 points, followed by Dakota State fifth with 64 points, Bismarck State sixth with 57 points, and Dickinson State seventh with 54 points. Montana Western was eighth (32 points), MSU-Northern ninth (30 points), Valley City State (N.D.) 10
th (20 points), and Providence (Mont.) 11
th (14 points).
The NAIA Cross Country season officially kicks off late next week (Aug. 29).
The Frontier Conference will be holding their virtual media day, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Mountain Time). Stay tuned to the fcsports.com website for the virtual media day schedule with the cross country programs via Frontier Conference’s YouTube live streaming platform.
The men’s cross conference championship meet returns to Amend Park in Billings on Friday, Nov. 7, with the time to be announced later. The team winner will receive the Frontier Conference’s automatic bid for the NAIA National Championships on Friday, Nov. 20 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.
Below is the complete 2025 Frontier Conference Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Preseason Poll:
| 2025 Frontier Conference Men’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Carroll (Mont.) (8) |
98 |
| 2 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (3) |
87 |
| 3 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
79 |
| 4 |
Montana Tech |
70 |
| 5 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
64 |
| 6 |
Bismarck State (N.D.) |
57 |
| 7 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
54 |
| 8 |
Montana Western |
32 |
| 9 |
MSU-Northern |
30 |
| 10 |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
20 |
| 11 |
Providence (Mont.) |
14 |