August 19, 2025
MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.), who captured the final ever North Star Athletic Association Women's Cross Country conference title last season, earned a first-place vote and tallied 84 points to finish third in the 2025 Frontier Conference coaches' preseason poll. The coaches' preseason poll was announced Tuesday morning, where coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
First place is worth 10 points, second place is worth nine (9) points, third place is worth eight (8) points, and down the list to last place with one (1) point.
The Frontier Conference grew with five new programs, including four former NSAA schools – Bellevue (Neb.), Dakota State, Dickinson State (N.D.), and Valley City State (N.D.) – and Bismarck State (N.D.).
Montana Tech was the preseason coaches' pick to repeat the Frontier Conference title. The Orediggers collected eight first-place votes with 97 points to secure the top spot of the poll. Carroll (Mont.) registered two first-place votes and 89 points to place second.
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) was fourth with 75 points in the poll. Dickinson State edged Bismarck State by one point (54-53) to finish fifth. Montana Western was seventh with 45 points, Valley City State eighth with 43 points, Bellevue ninth with 28 points, MSU-Northern 10
th with 20 points, and 11
th with 17 points.
Three of the top Frontier Conference teams in the preseason poll qualified for the NAIA Women's Cross Country Championship last season in Columbia, Mo.
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.org website for the virtual media day schedule with the cross-country programs via Frontier Conference's YouTube live streaming platform.
Dakota State, under the guidance of head coach
Alex Glover and assisted by
Taylor Hauge, returns eight runners from last year's conference championship team.
Valerija Curikova, 2023 NAIA All-America runner,
Lindsey Roth,
Kierra Miller, and
Brooke Beaucaire were named to All-Conference after the 2024 conference meet in Valley City, N.D. It was the first time in DSU women's cross-country program to have four All-Conference runners in a single meet.
Madelyn Sylva,
Anna Schneider,
Presli White, and
Sheridyn Winter also return to this year's squad.
The Frontier Conference Cross Country Championships will be held at Amend Park in Billings, Mont., hosted by Rocky Mountain, on Friday, Nov. 7. The winner of the conference meet will earn the league's automatic bid to the NAIA Cross Country Championships on Friday, Nov. 21, at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.
Below is the complete 2025 Frontier Conference Women's Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll:
| 2025 Frontier Conference Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Montana Tech (8) |
97 |
| 2 |
Carroll (Mont.) (2) |
89 |
| 3 |
Dakota State (S.D.) (1) |
84 |
| 4 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
75 |
| 5 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
54 |
| 6 |
Bismarck State (N.D.) |
53 |
| 7 |
Montana Western |
45 |
| 8 |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
43 |
| 9 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
28 |
| 10 |
MSU-Northern |
20 |
| 11 |
Providence (Mont.) |
17 |
