MSU-N harrier competes at NAIA national meet

The 2024 NAIA cross country season came to an end with the national championships last Friday in Columbia, Missouri.

And that race included one runner from Montana State University-Northern.

MSU-N freshman James Stensland-Plymale earned an at-large bid to the NAIA men's national championship and raced in the 8,000 meters. Stensland-Plymale finished 232nd out of 326 runners who crossed the finish line. His official time was 26:08.9 and his pace was 3:11.9. He finished ahead of three runners from the Frontier Conference, two from Carroll College and just edging out Derek Schultz of Montana Tech by one-tenth of a second.

It was a strong showing for Stensland-Plymale, who came to Northern from Absorkee, Montana where he was a standout runner in both cross country and track and field.

His running at the NAIA national championships completed an outspending fall season for the Northern men's and women's cross country teams, of head coach Deb Callahan.