HELENA -- The Montana Tech men's cross country team enters the 2026 season picked fifth in the Frontier Conference, the league office announced Wednesday with its annual preseason coaches' poll.
The Orediggers collected 68 points in the coaches' ballot, fitting squarely between fourth-place Bellevue's 76 and sixth-chosen Bismarck State's 54 in the counting. Defending Frontier champion Rocky Mountain took the top spot with six first-place votes and 92 points, narrowly edging Carroll, which received 91 points and the other three top votes.
Montana Tech returns the majority of its team from a 2025 campaign that saw the Orediggers finish fourth at the conference meet. Graduate student Justin Morgan, who became the first Montana Tech man to win a Frontier cross country title a season ago, and he departed due to graduation, as did national qualifier and all-conference performer Ben Zerr.
The rest of the squad remains intact, led by the return of senior Derek Schultz, a two-time national qualifier, from injury and the leadership of junior Bryon Fanning. Sophomores Michael Marlow and Layne Niemeyer both logged top-40 finishes at the 2025 conference championship meet.
Montana Tech begins the 2026 season Friday, September 4 at the MSU Bobcat Twilight in Bozeman. The Frontier championships are set for November 6 in Billings, and the NAIA national meet will take place November 20 in Vancouver, Wash.
Visit Montana Tech athletics' home online, GoDiggers.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news and coverage of the Orediggers. Give Montana Tech athletics a like on Facebook, and follow the Orediggers on X and Instagram at @DiggerAthletics.
| 2026 Frontier Conference Men's Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll |
| RANK |
SCHOOL |
POINTS
(FIRST PLACE VOTES) |
| 1 |
 |
92
(6) |
| 2 |
 |
91
(3) |
| 3 |
 |
77 |
| 4 |
 |
76 |
| 5 |
 |
68 |
| 6 |
.png) |
54 |
| 7 |
.png) |
53 |
| 8 |
 |
32 |
| T-9 |
 |
25 |
| T-9 |
 |
25 |
| 11 |
 |
12 |
###
