HELENA, Mont.– The Valley City State University Vikings Men's Cross Country team is picked to finish tenth in the Frontier Conference preseason coaches' poll.
The Viking men are returning most of their team while bringing on a strong freshman,
Kole Albers from Center, N.D. Kole had a breakout senior season with two top ten finishes and four top 20 finishes. He set a personal best at the 2024 North Dakota Class State Cross Country Championships. Valley City State returns six harriers from the 2024 campaign including seniors
Mason Brehmer,
Isaac Eichhorst, and
Jaxsyn Olson. Sophomores
Zach Baumgartner and
Tate Minnihan both placed in the top 40 of the NSAA Conference meet in 2024. They are joined by another second year runner,
Gage Gunther.
The Vikings cross country teams will open the season on Friday, September 5
th at the MSU-Moorhead Dragon Twilight meet. The Vikings will compete at four meets this season, culminating with the Frontier Conference Championships November 7
th at Amend Park ion Billings, Montana.
Four-time Frontier Conference men's cross country defending champion Carroll (Mont.) accumulated eight first place votes and 98 points to secure the top spot in poll, the coaches' preseason poll was announced Tuesday morning by the conference office. The cross-country conference expanded with five new programs, Bellevue (Neb.), Bismarck State (N.D.), Dakota State (S.D.), Dickinson State (N.D.), and Valley City State (N.D.), bringing a total of 11 cross-country teams.
The Fighting Saints edged Rocky Mountain (Mont.) by one point (32-33) in a thrilling 2024 Frontier Conference meet,
which was held at Amend Park in Billings, Mont. The Battlin' Bears finished second in the preseason poll after collecting
the final three first place votes and 87 points.
Bellevue, who won their first ever men's cross country conference title in program history in 2024, finished third in the
preseason poll with 79 points.
Three teams competed in last year's NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships in Columbia, Mo., led by the
Saints who finished 12th. RMC finished 24th, while BU placed 32nd in the team standings.
The NAIA Cross Country season officially kicks off late next week (Aug. 29).
The men's cross conference championship meet returns to Amend Park in Billings on Friday, Nov. 7, with the time to be
announced later. The team winner will receive the Frontier Conference's automatic bid for the NAIA National
Championships on Friday, Nov. 20 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.
Below is the complete 2025 Frontier Conference Men's Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll:
| 2025 Frontier Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Carroll (Mont.) (8) |
98 |
| 2 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (3) |
87 |
| 3 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
79 |
| 4 |
Montana Tech |
70 |
| 5 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
64 |
| 6 |
Bismarck State (N.D.) |
57 |
| 7 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
54 |
| 8 |
Montana Western |
32 |
| 9 |
MSU-Northern |
30 |
| 10 |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
20 |
| 11 |
Providence (Mont.) |
14 |
