CoSIDA Release

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Junior Neely Spence was selected to the 2010-11 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Track & Field/Cross Country First Team for the College Division of District 2, which encompasses all Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior colleges in the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

By virtue of her selection to the First Team, Spence will now advance to the national Academic All-America ballot. Spence, Shippensburg's 2010-11 Women's Student-Athlete of the Year, was named last season as a CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-American. She has already received PSAC Fall and Winter Top 10 awards during the 2010-11 academic year.

As an outdoor track & field competitor, Spence won her third consecutive 5K national championship last weekend from California State University Stanislaus with a time of 16:17.30.

Spence, the 2011 USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year, is just the fourth female athlete in school history to be a three-time outdoor All-American in the same event, joining Emily Budnyk (10K), Kathy Stec (3K) and Tunisia Lacy (triple jump). Stec, Lacy and Spence are the only five-time All-Americans in the same event combining indoor and outdoor competition.

In April, Spence broke the all-time Division II record in the 5K at the prestigious Mt. Sac Relays with a time of 15:33.83. She also improved her own conference record in the 3K at the Penn Relays with a victorious time of 9:10.82.

During the indoor track season, Spence was the anchor leg on the distance medley squad that won a national championship. Shippensburg has now had an All-American DMR squad four years in a row – three of those with Spence – winning two national championships.

Individually, Spence earned All-America honors with a second place in the 5K. Her postseason awards included being named the 2011 USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and the 2011 PSAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.

At the indoor conference championships, Spence won individual titles in the mile and the 3K while aiding the DMR squad to a team crown. She has won all 10 races in her career at the PSAC indoor championships.

During the regular season, Spence temporarily posted a world season-best 5K time of 16:01 in February at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational that was six seconds faster than the NCAA Division I automatic qualifying standard.

Her success resulted in a selection to the Bowerman award watch list in February. Spence's only loss of the indoor season was her second-place finish in the 5K at the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships.

Through three years of indoor and outdoor track & field competition, Spence has won 17 PSAC championships in 19 total races.

In February, Spence was named the 2010 Division II Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Spence, the 2010 USTFCCCA Division II Cross Country Female Athlete of the Year, became the first women's cross country national champion in school history and earned the second All-American award of her career with a time of 20:41.2 at the 2010 Division II National Championships.

Spence, the three-time defending PSAC and Atlantic Region champion, finished the 2010 season undefeated in six races. Spence finished 70 seconds ahead of the field at the PSAC Championships and 51 seconds ahead of the field at the Atlantic Region Championships.

For her career, Spence has been selected as a PSAC Athlete of the Year in all eight of her collegiate seasons to date (cross country [3], indoor track [3], outdoor track [2]). The conference has yet to issue its 2011 awards for outdoor track & field.

SU had a total of four athletes receive academic all-district accolades for track & field/cross country: Spence, Erica Hess (women's first team), Bryan Beegle (men's first team) and Stephen Schelander (men's second team).

2010-11 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District Award Winners

Football
Riley Bowen (Second Team; LB)

Women's Soccer
Alison Dowdrick (Second Team)

Women's At-Large
Amy Fisher (First Team; swimming)
Kristen Brooks (First Team; field hockey)

Men's Track & Field/Cross Country
Bryan Beegle (First Team)
Stephen Schelander (Second Team)

Women's Track & Field/Cross Country
Neely Spence (First Team)
Erica Hess (First Team)