November 4, 2026

BILLINGS, Mont. – The 2026 Frontier Conference Men's and Women’s Cross Country Championships are set for Friday, Nov. 6, at Amend Park in Billings, Mont. Rocky Mountain (Mont.) will serve as the host for the 11-team championship, with the men's 8-kilometer race scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. (Central Time)/10:30 a.m. (Mountain Time).

The women’s 6K race is set to follow at 12:30 p.m. (Central Time)/11:30 a.m. (Mountain Time).

The awards ceremony will take place following the conclusion of the women’s race.  The ceremony takes place directly north of the finish line.

Awards will be presented at the Frontier Conference’s awards ceremony in each gender:

• Team Champion
• All-Conference (top 15 place finishers in the conference met)
• Runner of the Year
• Coach of the Year
• Champions of Character
• GRIT Award

Men’s Preview

Rocky Mountain enters the championship seeking their second consecutive Frontier Conference title after capturing the 2025 team championship at the same course. Rocky Mountain totaled 38 points last season, ending Carroll's streak of four consecutive conference championships.

In last year’s conference meet, Carroll finished second with 50 points, followed by Bellevue in third with 126 points, Montana Tech fourth with 127 points and Dakota State fifth with 137 points. Bismarck State placed sixth with 140 points.

Rocky Mountain and Carroll both advanced to the 2025 NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships, where the Battlin' Bears finished fourth nationally and the Fighting Saints placed 16th.

Rocky Mountain was selected as the favorite in the 2026 Frontier Conference Men's Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll, receiving six first-place votes and 92 points. Carroll followed closely in second with three first-place votes and 91 points.

Dakota State was picked third with 77 points, followed by Bellevue with 76 points and Montana Tech with 68 points.

The Battlin' Bears have continued to demonstrate their depth throughout the fall season. Rocky Mountain won the Frontier Conference Preview meet Oct. 9 at Amend Park, scoring 43 points to defeat NCAA Division II University of Mary, which finished with 59 points.

Caleb Sarsland of Dickinson Sate highlighted the Frontier Conference as four-time conference men’s Runner-of-the-Week this season.

Women’s Preview

Defending conference champion Carroll (Mont.) enters the meet seeking its sixth Frontier Conference women's cross-country championship in seven years. The Fighting Saints captured the 2025 conference title with 58 points, edging runner-up Montana Tech by seven points.

Rocky Mountain finished third with 109 points, followed by Dakota State (S.D.) fourth with 126 points and Bismarck State (N.D.) fifth with 145 points. Bellevue (Neb.) was sixth with 160 points, followed by Dickinson State (N.D.) seventh with 187 points in last year’s conference meet.

Bellevue's Grace Steinmetz captured the 2025 Frontier Conference individual championship with a 6K time of 21 minutes, 3.6 seconds, earning the conference's Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year honor.  She had received numerous Frontier Conference Women's Cross Country Runner-of-the-Week honors, as well as being named to NAIA Women's Cross Country National Runner-of-the-Week this season.

Carroll and Montana Tech both advanced to the 2025 NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championships. The Fighting Saints finished 20th nationally, while the Orediggers placed 23rd.

The Fighting Saints were picked to repeat as conference champion in the 2026 Frontier Conference Women's Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll, collecting nine first-place votes and 100 points.  Carroll had received votes in the final edition of the 2026 NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 poll.

Montana Tech received the remaining first-place vote and finished second with 91 points. Dakota State was selected third with 74 points, followed by Rocky Mountain fourth with 71 points and Bellevue fifth with 65 points.