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SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Shippensburg University senior Neely Spence has been selected to represent the United States this October at the XVI Pan American Games from Guadelajara, Mexico. Spence is one of two runners from the United States who will compete in the 5,000 meters.

Spence established her 5K PR of 15:27 in June at the 2011 USA Track & Field Championships with a seventh-place finish. She was the only current collegiate runner among the 15 in competition at this year's 5K event.

“It is an honor to have another opportunity to represent my country,” Spence said. “I am also very fortunate to have the cross country schedule arranged in such a way that I can pull this off logistically.”

The scheduling is indeed fortunate for Spence. This year's 5K event at the Pan Am Games is scheduled for October 27 – which lies during the week of competition between the PSAC Cross Country Championships and the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships.

“We are very proud of Neely,” said 1992 U.S. Olympian Steve Spence, her father and head coach. “There is no higher honor in the sport of track and field than to represent your country in international competition.  She has been fortunate enough to have this opportunity twice as a collegian with her first being the World Junior (19 and under) Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan.”

Joining Spence at the Pan-Am Games will be former UC-Davis standout Kim Conley, who finished 10th in the 5K at the USATF meet. Conley is also working as an assistant coach at her alma mater.

The 5K will be held at approximately 6:30 p.m. on the east coast. Locally, the event is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., and Guadelajara is situated in the Central time zone.

The Pan American Games is expected to be the largest multi-sport event of the year, with approximately 6,000 athletes from 42 nations expected to participate in 36 sports.