AMES, Iowa – The North Dakota cross country teams will work for an NCAA Championship berth in Ames, Iowa, Saturday morning at the NCAA Midwest Regional, starting with the women's 6k at 11 a.m., followed by the men's 10k at 10 a.m.

The Fighting Hawk women are coming off a strong showing at the Summit League Championships, which saw the women defend last year's team title with Shewaye Johnson earning the league's individual title and championship MVP, while the men repeated as silver medalists with a 45-point showing.

Live results of the meet will be provided by PT Timing.

Student-athletes finishing in the top 25 of their respective region at the meet will receive USTFCCCA All-Region status.

NCAA Qualification
At the NCAA Midwest Regional, 39 teams will compete for a chance to send its runners to the 2026 NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 21, in Terre Haute, Indiana. Friday's meet is one of nine regionals taking place across the country, with the top two teams from each region qualifying for the national championship meet. Teams can also qualify as one of 13 at-large squads chosen by the NCAA Division I Cross Country Selection Committee based on performances at regionals.

Individual runners can qualify for the NCAA Championships separately from their teams. The first four runners to cross the finish line that do not belong to automatic qualifying teams or at-large teams punch their tickets to the national championship, as long as they finish in the top 25 of their regions. Two runners are also picked as at-large runners during the NCAA Cross Country Selection Show on Saturday.

Live streams of Selection Saturday will be available at 4 p.m. CT on NCAA.com, with a link to the show on the front page of the NCAA site.

2025 NCAA Midwest Regional – UND's Top 6k Returners
27. Shewaye Johnson – 21:07.8
79. Marie-Louise Jorgensen – 22:05.1
100. Frida Giersdorff – 22:24.8
146. Katherine Rogers – 22:57.7

2025 NCAA Midwest Regional – UND's Top 10k Returners (Competing on Friday)
41. Matej Hrebacka – 31: 46.9
62. Louis-Lys Fanucchi – 32:23.5
89. Ian Busche – 32:47.6
95. Ethan Adams – 33:37.8
145. Aleksa Milanovic – 33:58.2

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

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
North Dakota's women's cross country team successfully defended its Summit League title in St. Paul, Minn., dominating the field with 22 points to finish 38 points ahead of second-place South Dakota. Meanwhile, the Fighting Hawk men captured silver with a program-best 45 points, finishing just nine points behind South Dakota State. All 10 of UND's scoring athletes earned All-Summit League honors.

Shewaye Johnson led the women's charge, claiming the individual championship with a time of 20:30.0 after pacing the field for nearly the entire 6k race. She was joined by four other First Team All-Summit selections, as Naja Weiler (third, 20:37.8), Olivia Correale (fifth, 20:47.5), Frida Giersdorff (sixth, 20:52.4) and Marie-Louise Jorgensen (seventh, 20:55.9) helped secure the team title. Freshman Leni Hirt added a 13th-place finish in a personal-best 21:18.0 to earn Second Team All-Summit honors and the Newcomer of the Championship award, marking the second consecutive season a Fighting Hawk has received the distinction.
On the men's side, Louis-Lys Fanucchi paced UND with a third-place finish in 24:02.7, earning his second career bronze medal at the conference championship. Matej Hrebacka followed in fifth at 24:15.2, securing his third career All-Summit League honor. Aleksa Milanovic (11th, 24:15.2), Ian Busche (12th, 24:46.0) and Jonas Weschle (14th, 24:46.8) rounded out the scoring five, with Busche and Weschle earning their first career All-Summit League selections.

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 Sept. 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, while Marie-Louise Jorgensen and Shewaye Johnson were recognized for the women. All four delivered impressive seasons, joined by breakout performer Olivia Correale.

Johnson continued to build on an impressive debut season in 2025, when she finished fourth at the Summit League Championships and 27th at the NCAA Midwest Regional. She recorded a season-best 6K of 20:11.9 at the Gans Creek Classic before placing 43rd at the Under Armour Pre National Invitational. She capped her campaign by capturing the individual Summit League championship in 20:30.0, becoming the third Fighting Hawk woman to win the conference title.

Jorgensen followed up her First Team All-Summit freshman campaign with another strong season, recording a personal-best 6K of 20:25.1 at Gans Creek before finishing seventh at the conference championships in 20:55.9. Correale emerged as one of UND's biggest breakout performers, setting a personal-best 6K of 19:55.3 at Gans Creek and placing 15th to lead the Fighting Hawks to a fourth-place team finish. She went on to finish fifth at the conference championships in 20:47.5.

Freshman Leni Hirt also made an immediate impact, finishing 13th at the conference championships in 21:18.0 to earn Summit League Newcomer of the Championship recognition. Frida Giersdorff and Naja Weiler also earned First Team All-Summit League honors, with Weiler placing third at the conference meet.

Fanucchi and Hrebacka once again paced the men's lineup with standout regular seasons. Fanucchi reset his personal-best 8K at Gans Creek with a time of 23:26.4 before finishing third at the Summit League Championships in 24:02.7 for his second consecutive First Team All-Summit selection. Hrebacka also established a new 8K personal best at Gans Creek, clocking 23:42.1, before improving upon his seventh-place conference finish from 2025 by taking fifth in 24:15.2. He earned First Team All-Summit honors for the third time in his career.

Team Rankings at the Midwest Regional
Top Five Team Finishes at Midwest Regional (Women)
1. Eighth, 289 points (2025)
2. 13th, 365 points (2023)
3. 19th, 570 points (2019)
3. 21st, 576 points (2024)
4. 22nd, 576 points (2012)
4. 23rd, 666 points (2022)

Top Five Team Finishes at Midwest Regional (Men)
1. 13th, 415 points (2025)
2. 15th, 408 points (2023)
3. 19th, 539 points (2015)
4. 21st, 570 points (2022)
5. 24th, 603 points (2013)
5. 24th, 631 points (2012)

Summit League Accolades
Summit League Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year
- Tom Scott

Summit League Championships
- Shewaye Johnson (Championship MVP)
- Leni Hirt (Newcomer of the Championship)

First Team All-Summit League
- Shewaye Johnson
- Naja Weiler
- Olivia Correale
- Frida Giersdorff
- Marie-Louise Jorgensen
- Louis-Lys Fanucchi
- Matej Hrebacka

Second Team All-Summit League
- Leni Hirt
- Aleksa Milanovic
- Ian Busche
- Jonas Weschle