SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Senior Neely Spence edged former teammate Mary Dell at the finish line of Saturday's second annual Galen Piper Alumni/Open Cross Country Challenge to win the individual title and help the Shippensburg University women's cross country team to a victory with 36 points.

Shippensburg edged out Dickinson for the women's team victory by just nine points, as the Devils placed six runners among the Top 15 finishers. Dell, Emily Dubs, Steph Sleboda, Jenna Gormley and Amanda Dubs paced the alumni to a third-place finish.

Junior Katie Spratford picked up where she left off last season with a solid 4K time of 14:41 en route to third place. Senior Sarah Strayer placed eighth in 15:30 while the defending champion, senior Jamie McCollum, was one second behind in ninth place.

Freshman Katy Perry impressed in her debut meet with the Raiders, finishing 16th in 15:58 as SU's No. 5 runner.

Redshirt freshman Heather Weiss, sophomore Emma Shank and junior Katie Wiechelt finished one second behind each other in 16:01, 16:02 and 16:03 respectively. Shank and Wiechelt each set new 4K PRs.

Another worthy note is the performance of sophomore Laura Antinucci, who improved her 4K PR by more than two minutes with a 28th-place time of 16:17. She finishes last year's Alumni Open in 18:18.

Shippensburg returns to action in two weeks at the Division II Challenge hosted by Kutztown.

Shippensburg (1st, 36 points)
1. Neely Spence (14:24)
3. Katie Spratford (14:41)
8. Sarah Strayer (15:30)
9. Jamie McCollum (15:31)
16. Katy Perry (15:58)

17. Heather Weiss (16:01)
18. Emma Shank (16:02) [new PR by 0:11]
21. Katie Wiechelt (16:03) [new PR by 0:35]
24. Ashley Fornshell (16:06)
28. Laura Antinucci (16:17) [new PR by 2:01]
36. Allison Constant (16:33)
41. Alicia O'Donel (16:41)
43. April Schlusser (16:46)
51. Mackenzie Riford (17:08)
52. Allie Flott (17:10) [new PR by 1:32]