February 20, 2026

BROOKINGS, S.D. - The 2026 Frontier Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship will make its debut Feb. 21–22 at the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on the South Dakota State campus in Brookings, S.D., with individual titles and the first-ever team indoor crown on the line. The inaugural conference meet brings together Frontier programs from across the region in a two-day format, starting Saturday evening at 5 p.m. (Central Time) and Sunday at 11 a.m. (Central Time).

Competition opens Saturday evening with a distance and sprint-heavy session that includes the 5,000 meters, preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash, and a late-night block of sprint and relay races. Sunday's championship slate begins with field event finals before shifting the focus to the track, where finals in the mile, both 60-meter events, 600, 800, 200, 3,000 and the 4 x 400-meter relay will decide the first set of Frontier indoor champions and conference meet records.

Admission is set at $15 for adults and $10 for K–12 students and seniors, with a $25 two-day pass available; Frontier Conference students with ID are admitted free.

Montana Tech headlines several sprint and field events, led by 60-meter conference leader Zach Merrifield (6.82 seconds) and 200-meter leader Matthew Moreni (21.64 seconds), giving the Orediggers a potential early edge in the short sprints. In the jumps, Montana Tech’s Nicolo Lancini enters as the top triple jumper at 15.11 meters (49 feet, 7 inches), with teammate Colby Martinez pacing the long jump at 6.87 meters (22 feet, 6.5 inches). Shot put leader Cade VanVleet (16.91 meters - 55 feet, 5.75 inches) provides another high-scoring opportunity in the ring for Montana Tech, positioning the program as a contender to accumulate points.

Bismarck State (N.D.) and Carroll (Mont.) appear poised to challenge that balance of power on the track. Bismarck State’s Cayden Kraft owns the Frontier’s best time in the 400 meters at 47.72 seconds, putting him at the center of one of the weekend’s key sprint matchups, while Carroll’s Jack Jensen tops the conference in the 800 meters at 1:54.01 and figures prominently in the mid-distance events. In the longer races, Rocky Mountain’s John Spinti (14:24.63 in the 5,000 meters) leads a deep distance group that will open Saturday,

Field events are likely to play an outsized role in determining the team champion, with multiple schools holding top marks in different specialties. Dakota State’s (S.D.) Tysen Grinde leads the high jump at 2.08 meters (6 feet, 9.75 inches), while Carroll pole vaulter Tucker Monaco sits atop the performance list at 4.90 meters (16 feet, .75 inches).

In the throws, Dickinson State standout Dylan Dahlgren enters as the weight throw favorite with a season best of 19.24 meters (63 feet, 1.5 inches), adding another variable to the team race. With Montana Tech, Bismarck State, Dakota State, Montana Western, Rocky Mountain, Dickinson State, Carroll, Valley City State, Bellevue and others all on the start list, the inaugural Frontier Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship is set to establish new benchmarks and crown the league’s first indoor title holders by late Sunday afternoon.

Carroll leads the team standings after the multi-events with 16 points. Dakota State and Dickinson State are tied for second with nine points, followed by Montana Tech fourth with five points.

The Frontier Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships gears are available for purchase through Feb. 24. Check on https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/1nvDnW8pTG.

Individual events scoring are set at 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 with the top eight place finishers, while the relay events will be scored 10-8-6-4-2-1 for top six relays place finishers. The awards presentation will be held at the conclusion of the conference meet Sunday afternoon.

Make sure to go via Frontier Conference's YouTube page to follow the live video action and Dakota Timing for the live results (all links are available on Frontier Conference men's indoor track & field championship page on https://fcsports.org/tournaments/?id=87&path=mitrack.