BILLINGS, Mont. – The Bismarck State College men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up their inaugural Frontier Conference season on a high note Friday at the Frontier Conference Championships, hosted by Rocky Mountain College at Amend Park in Billings. In the 11-team conference, the women's squad placed fifth overall, while the men's team finished sixth, marking a milestone finish for both programs in their first full year of NAIA competition.
Stafford Paces Women to Top-Five Finish
Junior Ava Stafford delivered another standout performance, racing to a fourth-place individual finish in 22 minutes, 34 seconds to lead the Mystic women to a top-five team result.
Freshman Brynn Crane followed in 27th (23:42), while her sister Macy Crane crossed in 33rd (24:04). Junior Paysha Rex placed 35th (24:22), and freshman Rita Wise Spirit rounded out the scoring in 54th (27:57), giving the Mystics a total of 145 points and a team average of 24:32.
Carroll (Mont.) won the women's team title with 58 points, edging Montana Tech (65) and Rocky Mountain (109). Bellevue's Grace Steinmetz claimed the individual championship in 21:03.
| 1 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
58 |
23:12.20 |
9,10,11,12,16,18,19 |
| 2 |
Montana Tech |
65 |
23:10.60 |
5,6,14,17,23,28,36 |
| 3 |
Rocky Mountain |
109 |
23:38.70 |
8,15,26,29,31 |
| 4 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
126 |
23:55.90 |
7,21,27,34,37,38,42 |
| 5 |
Bismarck State |
145 |
24:32.30 |
4,25,30,32,54,59 |
| 6 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
160 |
24:42.70 |
1,22,43,44,50,53,57 |
| 7 |
Dickinson State |
187 |
25:56.10 |
20,24,35,48,60 |
| 8 |
Providence (Mont.) |
196 |
26:35.90 |
2,33,41,55,65,66,67 |
| 9 |
Valley City State |
208 |
27:04.50 |
3,39,47,56,63,64 |
| 10 |
Montana Western |
234 |
28:17.20 |
13,40,58,61,62 |
| 11 |
MSU-Northern |
243 |
26:51.40 |
45,46,49,51,52 |
Ensign Twins Lead Men's Pack to Sixth
On the men's side, the Mystics continued their steady progression, finishing sixth out of 11 teams with 140 points, just three points shy of fifth-place Dakota State. Freshman twins Jakson and Connor Ensign once again set the pace, placing 10th (25:36) and 11th (25:39) respectively—both earning top-15 honors in their Frontier Championship debut.
Junior Brody Ferderer clocked 26:49 for 28th place, followed by freshman Xavier Bell in 44th (27:44) and sophomore Djiby Diallo in 47th (27:58) to complete the scoring five. Sophomore Michael Pfliger (28:04) and freshman Gustav Hillmer (28:06) added strong depth for BSC's most balanced team race of the year.
Rocky Mountain captured the men's team title with 38 points, while Carroll (Mont.) finished second with 50. Montana Tech's Justin Morgan won the individual title in 24:47.
| 1 |
Rocky Mountain |
38 |
25:20.30 |
2,4,7,12,13,16,27 |
| 2 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
50 |
25:35.00 |
5,6,8,14,17,22,23 |
| 3 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
126 |
26:39.40 |
18,21,25,30,32,42,52 |
| 4 |
Montana Tech |
127 |
26:32.60 |
1,9,34,37,46,48,54 |
| 5 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
137 |
26:44.40 |
19,20,24,36,38,39,41 |
| 6 |
Bismarck State |
140 |
26:45.60 |
10,11,28,44,47,49,50 |
| 7 |
Dickinson State |
196 |
27:45.30 |
3,33,43,58,59,64,68 |
| 8 |
MSU-Northern |
247 |
29:28.00 |
26,35,56,60,70 |
| 9 |
Valley City State |
254 |
28:24.20 |
40,45,51,55,63,69 |
| 10 |
Providence (Mont.) |
254 |
32:39.50 |
15,29,67,71,72,73 |
| 11 |
Montana Western |
264 |
28:51.90 |
31,53,57,61,62,65,66 |
A Season of Firsts
The 2025 campaign marked the first for Bismarck State as a member of the NAIA and the Frontier Conference, with both teams consistently improving their times and pack strength throughout the fall. With their top-15 finishes on Friday, Ava Stafford, Jakson Ensign and Connor Ensign each received Frontier Conference All-Conference honors, the first Mystics to do so.
The next first for the Mystics will have to wait as runners hope to secure at-large bids to the NAIA National Championships in at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 21. There will be a selection show on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 4 p.m. to determine the at-large bid teams and individual national qualifiers to the NAIA cross country national meets. You can view the selection show on https://www.naia.org/sports/shows.
Make sure to check back here after the announcement, and follow us on social media to find out which Mystics earned their chance to run in Florida at nationals.
Be sure to visit BSCMystics.com and download the MysticNation app to continue to stay up to date with everything going on in Mystic Athletics.
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