NEW ORLEANS - Shippensburg University head men's cross country coach Steve Spence, in his 12th season at the helm of the Red Raider program, was honored on Thursday by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) as the Atlantic Region Cross Country Coach of the Year.

Last Saturday, Spence's Red Raiders scored a sensational 39 points to win their first NCAA Atlantic Region Championship in program history. At the PSAC Championships the week before, Shippensburg was the only school to have six all-conference runners and nine runners among the Top 30.

Spence has once again masterfully guided the program on the strength of his excellent foundation for running and the seemingly limitless depth that his team boasts. Last Saturday's historic regional championship marks the first time in program history that the entire scoring field for Shippensburg finished the day with all-region certificates, as the team's Top 5 runners were among the first 13 finishers in the race.

The Red Raider program began the year outside of the national rankings and slowly progressed onto the charts and moved higher as the season continued, especially following strong performances at the Brooks Paul Short Run and the weather-adjusted National Invitational held at Lock Haven. Currently, the Red Raiders are ranked No. 10 in Division II.

Just yesterday, Spence was honored for the second consecutive year as the Atlantic Region Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year after guiding the women's program to back-to-back regional championships. Thursday's award marks his first regional recognition as a men's cross country coach. Spence was named the PSAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2001.

Spence's Red Raiders will run at the Division II National Championships on November 21 from the campus of Southern Indiana University. The men's meet is set to start at 1 p.m.