Anchorage’s Santiago Prosser is headed back to the national championships.

The Northern Arizona senior sped to a 12th-place finish at the Mountain Region Cross Country Championships, conquering the snowy 10-kilometer course in 29 minutes, 37 seconds. And while the Lumberjacks initially placed third, an at-large bid guaranteed a return trip to the big dance.

Prosser averaged a blistering 4:46 per mile for 6.2 miles, biding his time in the chase pack after the lead pack broke away in the early stages.

The senior was the third Lumberjack across the line, joining his compatriots in going 11-12-13 behind teammate David Mullarkey’s fifth-place finish.

Texas Tech’s Solomon Kipchoge won the race in 28:55, while BYU captured the team title by scoring 52 points.

New Mexico (61) finished runner-up to snag the final auto-qualifying spot, while Northern Arizona (71) finished third out of 17 teams.

The former Dimond High standout has proven a perennial performer at the Division I level, especially in the post-season.

Prosser’s 12th-place finish was a career-best and garnered all-region honors for the third-straight season. He previously placed 15th last fall and 17th in 2022.

After a rocky start to the season, the senior found his footing at Wisconsin Pre-Nationals where he placed 25th in a deep field featuring Olympic finalist and defending national champion, Graham Blanks of Harvard.

Prosser later placed fifth at the Big Sky Conference Championships, helping the Lumberjacks capture their fourth-straight conference title.

Prosser — a two-time All-American — is gearing up for his third-consecutive trip to the national championships. Based on their performances throughout the season, the Lumberjacks earned one of the 13 at-large berths.

Last fall, Prosser placed 21st at nationals, helping the Lumberjacks finish runner-up behind Oklahoma State — the eighth consecutive year the men finished in the top-2 at the national meet.

In 2022, Prosser placed 19th and lifted NAU to their third-consecutive national title and sixth in program history (2016-2018, 2020-2023).

The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held in Madison, Wis. on Nov. 23.

Kodiak’s Trevor Dunbar, an assistant coach for Virginia, will also be in attendance. The Hoos saw the men’s and women’s teams earn automatic bids to the championships after dominating the Southeast Region Championships by placing first and second, respectively.

Girdwood’s Ava Earl and Anchorage’s Elizabeth Page — two former South High standouts — garnered all-region honors at their regional meets.

Earl, a senior at Northwestern, placed eighth at the Midwest Region Championships, covering the 6-kilometer course in 20:03 — a brisk 5:22 pace per mile.

Earl’s place matched her performance from 2023, adding her third-consecutive all-region accolade as she placed 25th in 2022.

The senior has continued to elevate at the Division I level, winning her first collegiate cross country meet earlier this season and clocking a personal best of 19:42 at the Big Ten Championships. Earl is among an elite trio of runners with Alaska connections who have dipped under the 20-minute barrier: Allie Ostrander, Earl and UAF’s Rosie Fordham.

However, Earl and the Wildcats came up just shy of qualifying for the national championships, finishing third, while the top two teams earned automatic bids. Earl’s valiant effort put her in the mix, but alas only the top four runners who were not part of an auto-qualifying team could qualify as individuals, while two runners were awarded at-large berths. Earl unfortunately was the first one out.

Earl placed 64th at nationals in 2023 and 195th in 2022.

Anchorage’s Elizabeth Page made her debut at the Division III Metro Region Championships.

The Swarthmore freshman had a stellar showing, placing 11th after covering the 6-kilometer course in 22:37 to earn her first all-region honor.

Like Earl, Page came agonizingly close to qualifying for the national championships. The debutant finished just two places shy of snagging an individual qualifier and five points outside of an automatic team qualifier, as Swarthmore placed runner-up to Rowan University.

Other Alaskans at regionals:

• Anchorage’s Tristian Merchant (Liberty) and Eagle River’s Breanna Day (Murray State) competed at the Southeast Region Championships. Merchant placed 35th (31:00; 10K) in his regional debut, while Day finished 194th (24:14; 6K).
• Homer’s Seamus McDonough placed 36th at the Division III East Region Championships. The Bowdoin sophomore covered the 8-kilometer course in 25:58.
• Eagle River’s Claire Nelson placed 92nd (21:57) at the Mountain Region Championships, finishing as Nevada’s second runner.
• Eagle River’s Emily Moore (Puget Sound) and Juneau’s Anna Iverson (Pacific Lutheran) competed at the Division III West Region Championships. Moore placed 60th (23:07) in her region debut accompanied by a personal best, while Iverson finished 80th (23:35).
• Anchorage’s Kelsey Johannes finished 73rd at the Division III North Region Championships. The St. Scholastica junior covered the 6-kilometer course in 24:04.
• North Pole’s Lia Castillo (UAB), Madeline Castillo (North Florida) and Homer’s Eryn Field (Jacksonville) competed at the South Region Championships. Lia led the charge, finishing 154th (22:56), while Madeline placed 176th (23:19) in her debut and Field finished 213th (24:59) with a personal best.