November 6, 2026
BILLINGS, Mont. — Dakota State's (S.D.)
Valerija Curikova earned All-Conference honors with a fourth-place individual finish as the Trojan women's cross-country team placed sixth at the 2026 Frontier Conference Championships Friday morning at Amend Park, hosted by Rocky Mountain (Mont.).
Dakota State collected 140 points in the 11-team championship field, just two points behind fifth-place Montana Tech (138). The Trojans' five scoring runners combined for a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 45 seconds, averaging 25 minutes, 21 seconds over the 6-kilometer course.
Carroll (Mont.) successfully defended its Frontier Conference championship, capturing the team title with 39 points after placing five runners among the top 11. Bellevue (Neb.) finished runner-up with 109 points, followed by Dickinson State (N.D.) and Montana Western, which tied with 129 points. Dickinson State claimed third place on the tiebreaker, while Montana Western finished fourth.
Montana Tech placed fifth with 138 points, followed by Dakota State sixth with 140 points. Bismarck State (N.D.) finished seventh with 156 points, Valley City State (N.D.) eighth with 182 points, MSU-Northern ninth with 203 points, Rocky Mountain 10th with 229 points and Providence (Mont.) 11th with 283 points.
Curikova led Dakota State with a fourth-place finish among 83 finishers, completing the 6K race in 22 minutes, 19.4 seconds. She averaged 6 minutes, .1 seconds per mile. Her top-five performance secured a spot on the Frontier Conference All-Conference team, awarded to the top 15 individual finishers.
She also earned the Frontier's final individual national qualifier bid to the NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championships in two weeks at Fort Vancouver Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash. Curikova earned her third overall All-Conference in cross country at Dakota State.
Kierra Miller was the second Trojan to cross the finish line, placing 22nd overall with a time of 24:08.3.
Anna Schneider followed with a 27th-place finish, recording a time of 24:25.4.
Talya Vincent placed 40th overall with a time of 25:28.5.
Erin Harms rounded out Dakota State's five scoring runners, finishing 78th with a time of 30:24.1.
Bellevue's Grace Steinmetz captured the individual Frontier Conference championship with a winning time of 21:12.6, claiming the individual title for the second straight year in the league. Valley City State's Frida Barrera finished runner-up in 21:51.0, while Bellevue's Maggie Boley placed third in 22:03.5.
It was the final collegiate cross country season for DSU's Miller and Schneider.
Dakota State individual results
