AMES, Iowa – North Dakota's cross country teams closed the 2026 campaign strong at the NCAA Midwest Regional Friday afternoon.

North Dakota's women finished seventh in the 6k race, the best team result in program history at the regional race. En route to their seventh-place finish, the women scored 213 points behind junior Olivia Correale's 24th place finish. Correale finished the race in 20:02.4, just seven seconds behind her personal 6k best.

For the men, they ran their first 10k of the year and all set personal bests, finishing 13th in the race. That finish is tied for the best by any men's team in UND history, which had previously been set last season by five runners who again competed today. Louis-Lys Fanucchi made program history by setting UND's top 10k time of 29:33.3, which is even faster than the 10k track and field time, and earning a 29th-place finish.

Iowa State's women were crowned the team champions in the 6k while Oklahoma State's men secured the top team spot in the 10k. Both individual winners hail from Oklahoma State, Billah Jepkirui for the women and Brian Musau for the men.

North Dakota's women looked solid at the 2k split, with Shewaye Johnson and Correale holding spots No. 2 and 3. Correale maintained as the Fighting Hawk leader while Naja Weiler took over the second runner for UND. Weiler was as consistent as a runner could be, sitting right at or around 30th place for the entire race, ultimately finishing with a personal best 20:16.5 time, which is 12 seconds faster than her previous best.

Johnson, competing in her final cross country race, would finish shortly behind Weiler with a 20:33.3 time and a 42nd-place finish. Marie-Louise Jorgensen and Frida Giersdorff rounded the scoring, finishing 53rd and 61st, respectively. Jorgensen held a 20:41.0 pace while Giersdorff set a personal best time of 20:44.0.

Leni Hirt finished 87th as the sixth runner. Hirt set a PR of 21:00.6, the second time she's done so in the past two meets. Katherine Rogers was the seventh Hawk to cross, finishing 95th at 21:11.4. For the first time in program history, all seven racers finished in the top 100 of the Midwest Regional.

The men scored 363 team points, the first time in program history the men have broken the 400 plane at the Midwest Regional. Fanucchi came out flying, rounding the first split holding the second-place spot. However, he gradually faded near the halfway point, before rounding a major kick at the 5.11k split and jumping from 57th to 29th and becoming the first Fighting Hawk to break the 30-minute mark in the 10k in cross country.

Ian Busche, Matej Hrebacka and Jonas Weschle were Nos. 2, 3 and 4 for the Fighting Hawks, crossing the line side-by-side to finish 76th, 77th and 79th, respectively. The race signified the final cross country race for Busche and Hrebacka, as well as Aleksa Milanovic, who finished 124th with a 31:15.2 finish.

Weston Forward rounded UND's scoring with a 30:59.4 finish, placing 111th. Ethan Adams capped his sophomore cross country season with a 31:20.4 time to finish 129th.

With cross country having run its course, North Dakota shifts its full attention to the indoor track & field season.

How It Happened 
UND Women's Results (6k)
24. Olivia Correale – 20:02.4
33. Naja Weiler – 20:16.5*
42. Shewaye Johnson – 20:33.3
53. Marie-Louise Jorgensen – 20:41.0
61. Frida Giersdorff – 20:44.0*
(87.) Leni Hirt – 21:00.6*
 (95.) Katherine Rogers – 21:11.4

* - Personal 6k Record

UND Men's Point Scorers (10k)
29. Louis-Lys Fanucchi – 29:33.0*
76. Ian Busche – 30:27.1*
77. Matej Hrebacka – 30:27.4*
79. Jonas Weschle – 30:28.6*
111. Weston Forward – 30:59.4*
(124.) Aleksa Milanovic – 31:15.2*
(129.) Ethan Adams – 31:20.4*

* - Personal 10k Record

Post-Meet Notes

• UND women earned its best finish at the Midwest Regional in program history, placing seventh. Last year's team set the last record when it finished eighth.
• Louis-Lys Fanucchi obliterated UND's 10k record in cross country, finishing in 29:33.0. UND's outdoor 10k record is 29:47.35, set last season by Matej Hrebacka, making Fanucchi the fastest Fighting Hawk to complete a 10k ever.
• UND's men finished 13th with 363, the point total being a program best and its overall placement tying the men's program record.
• All seven women finished in the top 100 among individual competitors for the first time in program history.
• All seven men are returners from last season, and each set a personal 10k best.

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