TURLOCK, Cal. – The Shippensburg University women's outdoor track and field program, under the guidance of head coach Dave Osanitsch '96, will send five athletes to the 2011 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships to be held Thursday, May 26 through Saturday, May 28 from Al Brenda Track at Warrior Stadium on the campus of California State University Stanislaus.

It is the fourth straight year that the Raider program has sent at least eight overall competitors to the Division II National Championships. Shippensburg has sent 37 athletes to the national meet over the last four years.

Shippensburg is currently ranked No. 14 in Division II per the USTFCCCA – an improvement of one spot from last week. SU won its second consecutive PSAC outdoor championship and PSAC “Triple Crown” award last weekend after a successful three-day effort at Slippery Rock. This week's rankings were calculated based on the NCAA proof of performance list – next week's rankings will utilize the final NCAA accepted entry list announced Tuesday afternoon.

Shippensburg's NCAA Competitors:

Senior Erica Hess qualified as the No. 15 seed in the 400-meter dash after posting a time of 55.21 seconds in the preliminary qualifying heat of the 2011 PSAC Championships last week at Slippery Rock University. It is the fourth consecutive year that Hess has qualified to compete in the 400 meters at the Division II outdoor national meet – she will be seeking her first individual All-American certificate.

Hess, a two-time All-American in the 4x400-meter relay, is a 3-time PSAC outdoor champion in the 400 meters and holds SU's school record with a time of 54.70 seconds that was achieved at last year's Division II National Championships from Johnson C. Smith University.

Senior Jamie McCollum qualified as the No. 9 seed in the 800-meter run after posting a time of 2:11.37 in the 7th annual Paul Kaiser Classic held in April at Shippensburg University. McCollum will be competing at outdoor nationals for the first time in her career – she was an indoor All-American as a freshman in 2008 with the DMR squad.

Before this season, McCollum had never individually placed in the 800 meters at the PSAC championships. As a senior, McCollum was an indoor runner-up (2:14.24) and placed fourth (2:15.36) in the rain at last week's outdoor conference championships.

Junior Amanda Raudabaugh qualified as the No. 2 seed in the 800-meter run after posting a time of 2:08.71 in the 7th annual Paul Kaiser Classic held in April at Shippensburg University. Raudabaugh is one of three returning All-Americans competing at nationals – she set the school record of 2:07.62 at last year's Division II National Championships with a fifth-place finish from Johnson C. Smith University.

Earlier this year, Raudabaugh won a national championship running with the indoor distance medley relay squad. During her sophomore season, Raudabaugh qualified to compete at indoor nationals in the 800 meters. She is a two-time PSAC champion in the indoor 800 meters and a two-time PSAC runner-up in the outdoor 800 meters.

Junior Neely Spence qualified as the No. 1 seed in the 5K after breaking the all-time Division II record last month with a time of 15:33.83 at the prestigious Mt. Sac Relays. Spence is the two-time defending champion in the 5K – she posted a time of 16:35.36 two years ago in San Angelo and a time of 16:14.23 last year at Johnson C. Smith.

In three years of indoor and outdoor competition, Spence has won 17 PSAC championships out of her 19 races. She has only lost the 5K a handful of times during her collegiate career: including Mt. Sac, the 2011 indoor nationals to No. 2 seed Monica Kinney (Grand Valley State) and last outdoor season at the Penn Relays. She will be seeking a three-peat while fending off some of the best runners that Division II has to offer.

Sophomore Katie Spratford qualified as the No. 16 seed in the 5K and the No. 12 seed in the 10K. Her season PR in the 5K of 16:47.82 was achieved at the Bison Outdoor Classic while her season PR in the 10K was a school-record 35:19.64 that was achieved at the Penn Relays. Spratford will be making her Division II national championships debut in track and field – she ran on SU's cross country squad that placed fourth in December at the 2010 national meet.

At last week's conference championships, Spratford placed third in the 3K and fourth in the 5K. She placed seventh in the 3K and the 5K during the indoor season.

Shippensburg's Tentative Competition Schedule

Thursday, May 26

400 Meters [Prelims]
9:10 PM EST (6:10 PM Pacific)
Erica Hess 

10,000 Meters [Finals]
11:40 PM EST (8:40 PM Pacific)
Katie Spratford

Friday, May 27

800 Meters [Prelims]
9:30 PM EST (6:30 PM Pacific)
Amanda Raudabaugh
Jamie McCollum

Saturday, May 28

400 Meters [Finals]
9:45 PM EST (6:45 PM Pacific)
Erica Hess   

800 Meters [Finals]
10:25 PM EST (7:25 PM Pacific)
Amanda Raudabaugh
Jamie McCollum

5,000 Meters [Finals]
11:35 PM EST (8:35 PM Pacific)
Neely Spence
Katie Spratford