November 6, 2026
BILLINGS, Mont. — Dakota State (S.D.) men's cross-country team recorded a fifth-place finish at the 2026 Frontier Conference Championships Friday morning at Amend Park, hosted by Rocky Mountain (Mont.).
The Trojans totaled 165 points in the 11-team championship field, matching their fifth-place finish from last year's conference meet. Dakota State's top five runners combined for a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes, 34 seconds, averaging 27 minutes, 18 seconds over the 8-kilometer course.
Rocky Mountain successfully defended its Frontier Conference championship with 39 points, placing five runners among the top 13 scoring finishers. Bellevue (Neb.) finished runner-up with 65 points, followed by Carroll (Mont.) in third with 81 points and Montana Tech fourth with 98 points.
Dickinson State (N.D.) finished sixth with 176 points, followed by Bismarck State (N.D.) seventh with 183 points, Valley City State (N.D.) eighth with 208 points, Montana Western ninth with 250 points, Providence (Mont.) 10th with 268 points and MSU-Northern 11th with 298 points.
TayShaun Cudmore paced Dakota State with a 22nd-place finish out of 96 runners, clocking a time of 26 minutes, 51.2 seconds.
Joshua Tucker was the second Trojan to cross the finish line, placing 28th with a time of 27:10.9.
Finley McConniel followed in 37th place with a time of 27:28.1.
Tyler Nicke finished immediately behind McConniel in 38th place, recording a time of 27:30.2.
Evan Armstrong rounded out Dakota State's five scoring runners with a 40th-place finish in 27:34.1.
Spencer Olsen placed 43rd with a time of 27:36.9 (personal record), followed by
Brendan Gillaspie in 48th place with a time of 27:49.1.
Lane Henrichs finished 51st in 27:58.6.
Holden Jelen crossed the finish line in 61st place with a time of 28:22.0.
Benjamin Strunk followed in 64th place in 28:43.0, while
Jonah Thiele placed 69th in 29:09.6.
Grayson Madsen finished 76th with a time of 29:33.7, followed by
Reese Henrie in 77th place in 29:34.6.
Baylor Burns placed 82nd in 29:57.1, while
Ben Gerlach finished 88th in 30:44.3.
Dickinson State's Caleb Sarsland captured the individual conference championship with a time of 24:36.7.
The Frontier Conference Cross Country Championships officially marked the end of the 2026 DSU men's cross-country season. It was the final collegiate cross country season for Armstrong, Tucker, Thiele, Madsen,
Hunter Dimick,
Kaiden Akey, Henrichs, Nicke, and Henrie.
Dakota State individual results
