CARY, N.C. – The Shippensburg University men's cross country team is seeking a defense of its Atlantic Region Championship this weekend from the WakeMed Soccer Park in North Carolina for the NCAA's annual 10K regional meet. The race is set to start at 10 a.m., with initial forecasts calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50s.

After winning its first PSAC Championship in school history by placing four runners among the top five finishers at Cal U's Roadman Park, Shippensburg enters this weekend's race ranked No. 6 in Division II and first in the Atlantic regional rankings. Lock Haven is right behind the Raiders, ranked No. 9 in Division II and second in the Atlantic regional rankings. Lock Haven is ranked No. 14 in Division II.

Last season, SU won its first Atlantic Region championship in school history by placing all five of its scoring performers among the Top 13 finishers, with each earning all-region certificates. Four of the team's top six runners from last year's championship are back this weekend. In 2008, Shippensburg was the only school to finish with seven runners among the Top 50 places at the regional meet.

The Raider harriers have shined when given the green light in 2010 - a fact most evidenced with the team's impressive performance at the Greater Louisville Classic on October 2. In that race, all seven of Shippensburg's top runners achieved new personal bests for an 8K cross country course and finished fifth overall.

Shippensburg's projected runners are as follows, listed in alphabetical order:

Senior Bryan Beegle is SU's projected No. 1 runner after serving as the team's pacesetter in the three races before the PSAC Championships and finishing in stride with three teammates as a top-five finisher at the conference meet. He thrived at the Greater Louisville Classic, finishing 38th with a time of 24:34. Beegle finished third at last year's regional championships with a 10K PR of 31:26.

Junior Brandon Boyer was SU's No. 6 runner at the conference meet but finished 14th overall, improving 13 places and 49 seconds from the previous year. Like teammate Sean Stetler, Boyer was a placewinner at last year's PSAC outdoor 10K, placing sixth with a PR of 31:34. He has the experience and determination to make a big impact this weekend for the Raider harriers.

Sophomore Matt Gillette is SU's projected No. 2 or No. 3 runner but is one of the integral members of the lead pack that has formed this season for the Raiders. Gillette was the team's No. 2 runner in his other two meets before technically finishing as the No. 3 runner at PSACs. He finished ninth at last year's regional championships with a time of 32:00.

Junior Stephen Schelander is SU's projected No. 2 or No. 3 runner who was credited as the No. 1 runner at the PSAC meet with a time of 26:20. Schelander has also been among the lead pack this season with Gillette, Beegle and Neyhart. He has three Top 10 finishes to his credit this season, and finished eighth at last year's regional meet with a time of 31:57.

Senior Jake Sitler has been the team's No. 6 or No. 7 runner in all four of his meets this season, placing 16th at the PSAC Championships with a time of 26:52. He is an experienced competitor who set an 8K PR of 25:10 at the Greater Louisville Classic this season and last ran at the regional championships in 2008, when he finished 23rd with a PR of 33:21.

Senior Sean Stetler has been the team's No. 5 runner this season but will be running a collegiate 10K race for the first time since winning the PSAC outdoor track title last May with a PR of 30:40. He has competed three times in 8K events this season, setting a new PR of 24:50 at the Greater Louisville Classic and finishing 10th at the PSAC meet with a time of 26:37.

Junior Jeremiah Wilt is SU's projected No. 6 or No. 7 runner and has impressed in his first full season with Shippensburg after two years at Hagerstown Community College. After seventh-place finishes at the season-opening Alumni Meet and at the Division II Challenge from Kutztown, Wilt earned All-PSAC laurels with a 19th-place finish at the conference meet with an 8K time of 26:57.