Results

TULSA, Okla. – The North Dakota State women's cross country team missed capturing a conference title at the Summit League Championships by the slimmest of margins on Saturday morning, coming one point shy of an upset victory.
 
South Dakota State won the women's team championship with 55 points, while the Bison came in second with 56. South Dakota was third with 67 points, and St. Thomas took fourth with 96.
 
The Bison were picked second in the Summit League preseason poll and nearly unseated the defending champion Jackrabbits.
 
Senior Kelby Anderson was the individual runner-up, leading NDSU with a time of 21:11.6 for the 6k course at Holland Hall. Her time ranks 15th on the NDSU all-time list, joining seven previous Anderson performances in the school's top 15.
 
NDSU put four finishers in the top 15 on Saturday and all five scorers in the top 20. Sophomore Kaleesa Houston finished seventh in 21:52.7, freshman Grace Link took 12th in 22:13.4, and senior Jen Dufner was 15th in 22:19.3. Erin Valgardson completed the team scoring for the Bison in 20th place, running 22:37.4.
 
Houston and Valgardson recorded the second-fastest 6k times of their careers.
 
Anderson and Houston earned first-team All-Summit League honors by finishing among the top seven, and Link was named second-team All-Summit League.
 
This is the second time in four years that the NDSU women came one point short of a conference cross country title, finishing second by a single point in 2018 and 2021, and winning the team title in 2019.
 
The Bison will race next at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Iowa City, Iowa, on Nov. 12.