September 22, 2026

HELENA, Mont.  – The Frontier Conference announced their third edition of the 2026 Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Cross Country Runners of the Week following competition from Sept. 18-19.

Recipients from Bellevue (Neb.) and Carroll (Mont.) were listed on this week's cross country weekly award.

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

Steinmetz captured the individual title at the Grand View (Iowa) Viking Invite on Sept. 19 in Des Moines, Iowa.

She completed the 6-kilometer course in 22 minutes, 30.88 seconds, finishing first in a field of 122 runners. Steinmetz dominated the race, crossing the finish line approximately 35 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Steinmetz’s performance was especially impressive given the challenging course conditions, which featured wet grass, mud and standing water following a week of rain in the Des Moines area. Despite those conditions, she broke the previous course record by 17 seconds.

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

Men’s Runner of the Week
Oliver Morris, Carroll (Mont.)
Senior I Kirkland, Wash.

Morris was the top NAIA finisher at the NCAA Division I meet, Montana Invitational, hosted by the University of Montana on Sept. 18.

He completed the 8-kilometer race in 25 minutes, 38.3 seconds, placing 16th overall among 102 runners.

Morris’ performance led Carroll (Mont.) against a field featuring NCAA and NAIA competition.  He was the top Frontier Conference runner.

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

	Women	Men
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.)