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EDINBORO, Pa. - Shippensburg University cross country's team are seeking a pair of conference titles this weekend as the elite runners of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference converge on Edinboro University for the 2009 PSAC Cross Country Championships. The women's race will begin at 10 a.m. with the men taking the course at 11 a.m.

The only other time the PSAC Championships were held on this particular Edinboro course was when it was covered with snow back in 2002. Saturday's conditions could be ripe for new course records in both the men's and the women's race.

Shippensburg will run 10 competitors in each race, with the top seven finishers displacing and the top five finishers scoring points.

WOMEN'S RACE 10 A.M.

The 30th annual women's race will commence one hour after the start of the men's race. The Lady Raiders are very strong up top but will need contributions from the middle of its pack in order to repeat as conference champions. Shippensburg ranks No. 8 in Division II and atop the Atlantic Region and will need to fend off the advances of Slippery Rock, Edinboro and Kutztown.

Kutztown, ranked No. 16 in Division II, boasts the strongest depth of any team in the field and has a legitimate shot at the title based on its sheer number of athletes that could place among the all-conference performers. Slippery Rock is ranked No. 21 and has fluctuated in the national rankings while Edinboro boasts two elite runners but is redshirting a number of its potential scorers.

Leading the way for the Lady Raiders is sophomore Neely Spence, who has won all of her meets this season, including the Division I-laden Paul Short Invitational and the National Invitational. Spence is the reigning PSAC and Atlantic Region champion as well as the national runner-up and is considered the favorite to win the individual championship.

Junior Mary Dell, herself a reigning All-American, has Top 5 potential and continues to develop as a sensational performer for Shippensburg. Dell ran the 6K in 21:00 at the Paul Short Invitational to finish among the Top 25 and build off her 11th-place finish at last year's conference meet.

Finishing one spot behind Dell last year was fellow junior Abby Huber. Huber was the team's leading finisher at the rain-soaked Gettysburg meet and posted a season-best 6K time of 22:33. She will look to earn all-conference honors for the third consecutive season after a seventh-place finish in 2007.

Sophomore Katie Frey is the fourth returning all-conference athlete from a season and will be looking to ramp up her efforts after an 18th-place finish as a freshman. Frey has posted a season-best 6K time of 22:36 and been consistent with her production this season.

A group of juniors will be crucial to Shippensburg's success this weekend. Junior Lindsey Hollenshead, the reigning PSAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week, led the Lady Raiders at last week's meet in Lancaster and is coming off her best performance of the season.

Fellow juniors Emily Dubs and Chelsea Lacko have also been vying for spots among the Top 7 this season. Dubs thrived at the season-opening Alumni Meet and averaged a time of 23:10 in her first two 6K meets, while Lacko has been the team's No. 5 runner in two 6K events this season.

Junior Steph Sleboda, competing in cross country for the first time collegiately after two years with the lacrosse team, has shown improvement in recent weeks. Sophomore Sarah Strayer, who competed in all of the postseason meets for Shippensburg last year, has been the team's No. 4 runner in two of the team's 6K races.

A quartet of freshmen round out the competition roster. Ashley Fornshell, Alyssa Morgan, Courtney Moyer, and Heidi Shuck will all be ready for competition.

MEN'S RACE 11 A.M.

In the 52nd annual men's race, Shippensburg has more depth than in recent memory, with no less than nine runners competing to be among the conference's elite. The Red Raider runners will be individually racing for a Top 20 finish after three returning SU athletes earned All-PSAC accolades in 2008.

The fight for the title will be intense between three programs ranked among the nation's Top 20. Edinboro, ranked atop the Atlantic Region and at No. 11 in Division II, boasts a youth-laden pack and is fighting injuries to its top two competitors. Shippensburg is ranked at No. 18, while Lock Haven is one spot behind the Red Raiders at No. 19. The Bald Eagles possess three all-region runners who could make a significant impact this weekend.

For the Red Raiders, junior Bryan Beegle has won three of the four races in which he has competed this year and has twice earned PSAC Athlete of the Week Honors. Beegle has battled through injury early this season yet still managed to win the 10K race at Mansfield with a time of 32:04.

Sophomore Stephen Schelander has excelled during his second season with the team and looks to earn all-conference honors after finishing the 2008 season as the PSAC Rookie of the Year. Schelander has posted the top 8K time for the Raiders this season, completing the Paul Short Invitational in 24:51, and has been among the top-five finishers in each of his three other competitions this season.

Junior Sean Stetler completed his fastest 8K just five seconds behind Schelander at the Paul Short Invitational and has continued to improve after his all-conference performance (15th place) at Lock Haven last season. Stetler looks to be among the team's top-five runners this weekend.

Freshman Matt Gillette has been performing admirably during his debut season, consistently finishing among Shippensburg's top six runners for a given meet. Gillette finished fifth at the Gettysburg Invitational and his strongest 8K time came in 25:22 at the Paul Short Invitational.

Sophomore Brandon Boyer matched Gillette's time at the Paul Short Invitational and has the experience of running in the postseason meets last year. Freshman Ed Buck has also run his way into a position to succeed after a stupendous third-place finish at the Gettysburg Invitational in which he completed the treacherous 8K course in 26:32.

Juniors Ethan Rissell), Josh Neyhart and Jake Sitler will also be among the crop of runners vying to place for Shippensburg after showing much improvement over the last three weeks of competition. All three  men ran in the postseason for Shippensburg in 2008, as Neyhart was an all-conference performer while Rissell matched Neyhart's time at regionals.

Senior Dillon Gracey, sophomore Eric Evans, freshman John Reilly and junior Matt Gelety round out the Red Raider roster in competition this weekend.

Full results will be posted onto the Edinboro University tournament page after the meets have concluded. Recaps will be available on Saturday afternoon at Shippensburg University's official athletics Web site, www.shipraiders.com.