October 6, 2026

HELENA, Mont. — The Frontier Conference announced its fifth edition of 2026 Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Cross Country Runners of the Week, with Bellevue (Neb.)’s Grace Steinmetz earning the women’s honor and Valley City State (N.D.)’s Kole Albers receiving the men’s award.

Women’s Runner of the Week
Grace Steinmetz, Bellevue (Neb.)
Sophomore I Council Bluffs, Iowa

Bellevue’s Steinmetz captured the individual title at the Briar Cliff (Iowa) Invitational on Oct. 3 in South Sioux City, Neb.

Steinmetz completed the 6-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 50.5 seconds, finishing first among 85 runners. She crossed the finish line 66 seconds ahead of the runner-up to earn her second individual victory of the season.

Her winning time was the sixth-fastest 6K performance of her career on a course judged to be slightly long. The field included competitors from NCAA Division I Creighton (Neb.) and South Dakota State, along with several NAIA programs.

This is Steinmetz’s sixth career Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Player of the Week honor.

Men’s Runner of the Week
Kole Albers, Valley City State (N.D.)
Sophomore I Center, N.D.

Albers turned in a top 15 performance at the Jamestown (N.D.) Jimmie Invite on Oct. 2 for Valley City State.

Albers placed 14th overall among 65 runners, completing the 8-kilometer race in 26 minutes, 46 seconds on the challenging Parkhurst course.

The performance marked a personal best for Albers on the course and continued his strong season with another improved performance.

This is Albers’ first career Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Player of the Week honor.
 

	Women	Men
No. 5 - Oct. 6	Grace Steinmetz - Bellevue (Neb.)	Kole Albers - Valley CIty State (N.D.)
No. 4 - Sept. 29	Frida Barrera - Valley City State (N.D.)	Caleb Tomac - Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
No. 3 - Sept. 22	Grace Steinmetz - Bellevue (Neb.)	Oliver Morris - Carroll (Mont.)
No. 2 - Sept. 15	Kierra Miller - Dakota State (S.D.)	Caleb Sarsland - Dickinson State (N.D.)
No. 1 - Sept. 8	Grace Steinmetz - Bellevue (Neb.)	Caleb Sarsland - Dickinson State (N.D.)