LOUISVILLE – Junior Neely Spence won the 2010 Division II Women's Cross Country individual championship on a frigid Saturday afternoon from the snow-packed 6K E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park course in Louisville as the Shippensburg women's cross country team finished fourth overall – the second-best finish by the Lady Raiders in school history.

Spence becomes the first women's cross country champion in school history and earned her second All-American award of her career. Her time of 20:41.2 was 15 seconds faster than Western Washington's Sarah Porter.

“It's definitely something special – all firsts are special,” Spence said after the race. “I was excited about that, but I'm even more excited at how well our team did. To come away with a trophy for the first time since I've been here, it's something that's completely unbelievable.”

Shippensburg entered the meet ranked No. 3 in Division II and finished fourth with a team total of 114 points – 50 points ahead of fifth-place Chico State. The Lady Raiders were just 16 points short of third place and 19 points shy of second place.

Spence made her move with about 2K remaining in the race, breaking away from the lead of the pack that she shared with Porter.

“We had talked about not throwing out the race in the first mile,” Spence said. “The big thing was to get through the first mile and be as comfortable as possible. I sort of made my move around 4K, which is where I fell apart last year, so that was a bit of [redemption] for me. I was very pleased with how it went and I was able to pull away. Over the final 800 [meters], I saw my dad, and he said, 'Enjoy this moment.' That was just really awesome.”

“For Neely; this is just fantastic and redeeming,” said SU head coach and proud father Steve Spence. “Cross country is probably the most coveted individual title and most difficult to get…in cross country there's only one champion, and she did it.”

Sophomore Katie Spratford, who did not run last season because of an injury, exceeded all expectations in her debut season with Shippensburg to achieve All-American status as SU's No. 2 runner. Her 23rd place finish came in 21:51.7.

“Last year Katie had to take the entire year off – to see her come on race after race after race and to keep improving – I knew that she was going to do very well here,” Steve Spence said. “I was hoping for a Top 40 finish but I did not expect 23rd [place].”

Graduate Mary Dell capped off a historic career at Shippensburg with her third consecutive All-American award, finishing 25th in 21:55.3. The high school sprinter turned mid-distance extraordinaire concluded her collegiate running resume with her second-best finish at the national meet.

“We are so happy that Mary came back this year – she has been one of the keys to our success,” Steve Spence said. “Not only by scoring points, but [the fact that] she's our team leader – she is a fantastic athlete and person and we are very pleased with [her result].”

Saturday's race marks the first time in school history that three runners for Shippensburg earned All-America plaudits. The only other time that SU achieved multiple All-Americans was in 2008 with Spence (2nd) and Dell (33rd).

Senior Abby Huber came very close to earning All-America honors, finishing just outside the cutoff in 21:55.3. Huber was SU's No. 4 runner and completed her stellar cross country career with her best finish at a national meet. She was 57th as a sophomore in 2008.

Fellow senior Emily Dubs, competing in her second national meet, finished 56th for a solid finish as the team's No. 5 runner. Dubs was the No. 5 runner at last year's national meet for Shippensburg, but finished that race in 140th place. She developed into a truly outstanding distance runner at Shippensburg and will now shift her focus to the track along with the rest of her teammates.

Freshman Patty Reis, making her national debut, finished an impressive 62nd overall with a time of 22:49.3. Reis was the fourth fastest freshman in Saturday's field and has shined in her first season of cross country at any level.

Junior Sarah Strayer rounded out the SU field with a time of 23:03.8. Strayer's time allowed all seven members of the Shippensburg contingent to finish among the Top 75.

“This year, we definitely did something special,” Neely Spence said. “It was so exciting to come here, put it all together, get that trophy, and we're excited to take that home.”

“We've never had this many All-Americans in one year, and the girls just did fantastic,” Steve Spence said. “They were not going to let the elements get in the way of anything they were trying to accomplish.”

Notes: In 1998, Coach Spence's debut season at the helm of the program, SU placed third with Emily Budnyk finishing 13th and earning All-American status…Shippensburg posted sixth-place team finishes in 1997 and 2008…Spence finished 2nd in 2008 and finished 43rd in 2009…Dell finished 33rd in 2008 and 21st in 2009…Coach Spence on the counsel he provided to Neely during the race: “I told her that anytime after two miles, it was up to her to judge how she was feeling, and how she felt the competition was feeling by monitoring what they were doing, and she was free to make her move any time at that point.”

Also of Note: Saturday's race was a banner day for PSAC competitors…in addition to SU's three All-Americans, Millersville's Elycia Anderson finished 14th, Slippery Rock's Jen Harpp was 15th and East Stroudsburg's Rose Mascoli was 24th, giving the PSAC six All-Americans… Kutztown's Cristina Reimer was just two spots short of All-American status…Kutztown finished 13th overall.

Shippensburg (114 points)

1. Neely Spence (20:41.2)
23. Katie Spratford (21:51.7)
25. Mary Dell (21:55.3)
44. Abby Huber (22:29.8)
56. Emily Dubs (22:40.4)
62. Patty Reis (22:49.3)
74. Sarah Strayer (23:03.8)