BILLINGS, Mont. – Valley City State sophomore Frida Barrera earned a spot at the NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship with a runner-up finish Friday at the Frontier Conference Championships at Amend Park.

Barrera covered the 6K course in 21:51.0, finishing 12.5 seconds ahead of third-place Maggie Boley of Bellevue. She earned first-team All-Frontier Conference honors and improved on her third-place finish at last year's conference meet, marking her second straight season with all-conference recognition.

"I am very happy with Frida's race today. She was able to maintain a strong pace despite running alone for most of the race. Frida is running great, and I am excited to see her run at Nationals," VCSU coach Greg Keeler said.

Billie Maye Pohlkamp was the second Viking across the line in the women's race, finishing 31st with a personal best of 24:43.9. The VCSU women placed eighth out of 11 teams with 182 points.

Kole Albers led the Viking men with a 17th-place finish, covering the 8K course in 26:12.5. Zach Baumgartner finished 33rd in 27:21.7, and Noah Hamilton-Dixon placed 42nd in 27:36.7, taking nearly 30 seconds off his previous best. The VCSU men finished eighth out of 11 teams with 208 points.

Keeler said Pohlkamp's personal best gives her momentum heading into indoor track and praised Albers for capping his season with a top-20 finish.

"With half of the team matching or exceeding their personal bests, you have to feel good about their performance," Keeler said.

Barrera will race at the NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship on Friday, Nov. 20, at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash. The women's 6K is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT.