ST. PAUL, Minn. – The North Dakota cross country teams are headed to the 2026 Summit League Championship hosted by St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., set to take place Saturday morning with the women's 6k set to begin at 11 a.m. CT, followed by the men's 8k race starting at noon.

All seven of the men's teams in the conference and all eight women's programs will compete at the meet. The top seven individual finishers in each race will earn First Team All-Summit League honors, while the next seven finishers will be named to the Second Team.

North Dakota's women are looking to repeat as conference champions after last season's team comfortably claimed the team title by 19 points. For the men, they look to avenge last season's silver medal by returning all seven runners from last season's race in search of their first Summit League title.

Live results for both competitions will be provided by Squirrel Timing. The Summit League Championships will also have a multi-camera stream with commentary provided. The stream can be found on The Summit Leage Network.

FOND MEMORIES, EXCITING FUTURE
UND all-timer Jadyn Keeler became the second Fighting Hawk woman to claim the individual title, joining former teammate Yonca Kutluk in doing so. Keeler ran away with the race, finishing with a Summit League Championship record 19:21.1 pace, finishing nearly 40 seconds ahead of the second-place runner.

Returning Fighting Hawk women include last season's First Team All-Summit League racers Shewaye Johnson and conference Newcomer of the Championship, Marie-Louise Jorgensen. Katherine Rogers earned a Second Team all-conference nod, and Frida Giersdorff finished 16th. In the preseason coaches poll, the women were selected to repeat as champions with five first-place votes.

The UND men are hunting for their first team title after placing second in last season's race. The Fighting Hawks kept the race interesting, falling just eight points shy of South Dakota State to earn the silver medal. This Fighting Hawks team enters St. Paul with a look of revenge, as all five UND scorers from last season returned to the team and will compete on Saturday, as well as the two reserve scorers.

Louis-Lys Fanucchi placed third for the Fighting Hawks while Matej Hrebacka rounded out UND's First Team All-Summit League honorees, placing seventh. Aleksa Milanovic, Ethan Adams and Henrik Lindstrot each earned All-Summit League Second Team nods, finishing within four spots of each other.

IN THE RANKINGS
North Dakota cross country remained ranked in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings for both men and women, which were most recently announced on Oct. 19. The Fighting Hawk women are ranked sixth, which is the top spot in the Summit League, while the UND men clock in at No. 14.

The Fighting Hawk women are ranked No. 42 nationally.

For the first time in their history, the Fighting Hawk women earned some votes in week two of the USTFCCCA National Poll. UND was coming off an impressive performance at the Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 25, when the Fighting Hawks finished fourth in the 6K Gold Race, placing ahead of then-No. 22 Arkansas.

LAST TIME OUT
Despite the chilly weather conditions, North Dakota held tough against a loaded field at the Under Armour Pre National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., with the women finishing 17th and the men placing 31st. The women were in the top half of finishers among 43 competing teams.

For the women, Senior Shewaye Johnson paced the Fighting Hawks with a 43rd-place finish, crossing the line in 20:17.6. For her efforts, she earned Summit League Women's Cross Country Peak Performer of the Week for the first time in her career by outpacing all Summit League participants in the field. Olivia Correale finished behind Johnson, placing 57th with a 20:27.7 finish. Naja Weiler was the third Fighting Hawk to finish in the top 100, finishing 96th at 20:53.1. Marie-Louise Jorgensen (122nd, 21:04.4) and Frida Giersdorff (165th, 21:19.4) rounded the women's scoring.

On the men's side, strong finishes highlighted the day in the 8k. Six of the eight competitors jumped at least 10 places from the 5k split to the finish line, highlighted by Aleksa Milanovic's effort to jump from 279th at the 3k mark, all the way to a 165th place finish. Matej Hrebacka was UND's first finisher, crossing the line in 24:09.2 to finish in 70th place. Louis-Lys Fanucchi followed behind with a 24:18.2 pace to finish 99th. Milanovic was third, followed by Ethan Adams (210th, 24:48.9) and Henrik Lindstrot (219th, 24:51.2) to round out the team scoring.

PRESEASON PREVIEW
The Summit League released its 2026 Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll on Wednesday, Sept. 2, placing North Dakota in the top two positions of each the men's and women's rankings.
 
UND finished atop the standings of the women's preseason poll with 47 total points and five first-place votes. South Dakota State followed in second place with 42 points and two first-place votes as North Dakota State took third with 39 points and the final first-place vote. Rounding out the remaining five spots, in order, were South Dakota, St. Thomas, Oral Roberts, Omaha and Kansas City.
 
The men's preseason poll featured North Dakota in second place with 32 points and two first-place votes. South Dakota State was first in the release with 35 points and five first-place votes as North Dakota State took third with 26 points. Rounding out the final four positions in the poll were Oral Roberts, South Dakota and St. Thomas all tied for fourth with 16 points as Kansas City was seventh with six points.

HAWKS TO WATCH
In the September 2 preseason conference release, North Dakota had four cross country runners honored as Preseason Athletes to Watch. Louis-Lys Fanucchi and Matej Hrebacka earned the distinction for the men as Marie-Louise Jorgensen and Shewaye Johnson were recognized for the women.

During the regular season, the North Dakota women have blossomed into a highly talented unit, led by Jorgensen and Johnson, but also backed up by the breakout star in Olivia Correale. The trio then added Naja Weiler to serve as a capable fourth scorer, each finishing in the top 40 at Gans Creek. Frida Giersdorff and Katherine Rogers have both been solid anchors for the women as well.

Correale finished to lead the women to a fourth-place team finish at the Gans Creek Classic.

The freshman season for Jorgensen saw her earn two total new personal bests in the 5k and 6k races before she secured a strong fifth-place showing at the conference meet after crossing the finish line in 20:45.4. Her finish gave her First Team All-Summit and Newcomer of the Championship honors before she took 79th at the regional in 22:05.1.
 
Johnson's debut season at North Dakota last year saw a highlight performance at the conference championships when she finished fourth overall in a time of 20:25.5, earning First Team All-Summit distinction. She went on to be the second-highest UND finisher at the Midwest Regional after taking 27th in 21:07.8. She's the reigning women's Summit League Peak Performer of the Week after finishing 43rd overall at the highly touted Under Armour Pre National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 16.

Fanucchi tallied three new personal bests during the 2025 cross country season in the 6k, 8k and 10k races. He also made waves during the conference championship meet as he finished third alongside a time of 23:58.8 for First Team All-Summit honors before taking 62nd at the NCAA Midwest Regional in 32:23.5, both marking new PRs. He has since reset his personal 8k best at the Gans Creek Classic, finishing 23:26.4.
 
Hrebacka placed seventh at the Summit League Cross Country Championships last season in 24:01.2 to claim First Team All-Summit honors after clocking two new personal bests in the 6k and 8k during regular season competition. He then went on to lead UND in the NCAA Midwest Regional as he claimed 41st place in 31:46.9. He's broken the 25-minute mark already this season.

FIGHTING HAWKS IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOP 10
North Dakota boasts four of the top 10 fastest times in the women's 6k this season, as well as two in the top five of the men's 8k.

1. Olivia Correale – 19:55.3
3. Shewaye Johnson – 20:11.9
6. Marie-Louise Jorgensen – 20:25.1
7. Naja Weiler – 20:28.0

2. Louis-Lys Fanucchi – 23:26.4
5. Matej Hrebacka – 23:42.1

UND Team Finishes at Summit League Championships:
2025: M-2nd, W-1st
2024: M-4th, W-5th
2023: M-3rd, W-4th
2022: M-4th, W-3rd
2021: M-5th, W-5th
2020-21: M-3rd, W-2nd
2019: M-4th , W-4th
2018: M-6th, W-4th

All-Summit League Performances in History:
2025: M – Louis-Lys Fanucchi (3rd), Matej Hrebacka (7th), Aleksa Milanovic (10th), Ethan Adams (12th), Henrik Lindstrot (14th) / W – Jadyn Keeler (1st), Shewaye Johnson (4th), Marie-Louise Jorgensen (5th), Katherine Rogers (9th)
2024: M – Matej Hrebacka (8th) / W – Eliana Malnourie (2nd), Naja Weiler (4th)
2023: M - Luke Labatte (2nd), Justin Jelaca (9th), Jamie Burns (11th) /  W - Yonca Kutluk (1st), Jadyn Keeler (12th)
2022: M - Luke Labatte (3rd) / W - Jadyn Keeler (7th), McKenzie Burian (12th)
2021: M - Luke Labatte (17th) / W - Ellyssa Peterson (10th), McKenzie Burian (14th)
2020: M - Patrick Kipkemboi (1st), Luke Labatte (10th), Nick Oak (13th) / W - Ellyssa Peterson (5th), Erica Eades (6th), McKenzie Burian (9th), Conny Wohlfahrt (11th), Mikayla Weiss (13th)
2019: M - Luke Labatte (14th) / W - Madison Overby (6th), Hannah Oscarson (7th), Erica Eades (14th)
2018: M - Connor Danielson (12th) / W - Lydia Kantonen (11th), Madison Overby (13th)

Men's Top Finishes in Summit League History:
1. Patrick Kipkemboi (1st - 2020-21)
2. Luke Labatte (2nd - 2023)
3. Louis-Lys Fanucchi (3rd – 2025)
3. Luke Labatte (3rd - 2022)
5. Matej Hrebacka (7th – 2025)
 
Women's Top Finishes in Summit League History:
1. Jadyn Keeler (1st – 2025)
1. Yonca Kutluk (1st - 2023)
3. Eliana Malnourie (2nd – 2024)
4. Naja Weiler (4th – 2024)
4. Shewaye Johnson (4th – 2025)

For more information on North Dakota track and field/cross country, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @undtrackfieldxc.