By: By Bill Morgal, Sports Information Director
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's cross country team will be seeking its fourth consecutive conference championship on Saturday morning from Lock Haven's West Branch course but will have to fend off four other nationally-ranked opponents and a slew of other talented programs if it is to come away with another title.
Shippensburg is currently ranked No. 9 in Division II and sits atop the Atlantic Region rankings but has a target on its back as several other schools are seeking to supplant the Raiders from their place at the top of the league. Historically strong Edinboro is one place behind Shippensburg in the national rankings at No. 10, while Mansfield is No. 21, Lock Haven is No. 23 and East Stroudsburg is No. 24.
The Raiders return five All-PSAC runners from last season's lineup that posted a 79-point victory over Edinboro. Included in that group is senior
Neely Spence, who is seeking to become the first four-time PSAC Women's Cross Country individual champion in history. However, a host of talented runners will make for an extremely exciting individual championship race, as Spence will be accompanied at the front of the pack by the likes of ESU's Rosie Mascoli, Mansfield's Brenae Edwards, Millersville's Elicia Anderson and Lock Haven's Lindsey Lambert.
A full breakdown of Shippensburg's lineup is listed below.
Edinboro has several competitors at the top of its lineup who have the potential for All-PSAC performances. Kacey Gibson, a transfer from Florida State who earned NCAA All-South Region honors with the Seminoles, has paced the Fighting Scots all season long. Gibson has won two races this season and has a 6K season PR of 23:11.
Senior Danielle Cerroni is a two-time All-PSAC competitor who finished 15th a season ago after placing eighth as a sophomore. Cerroni finished 13th at the 2009 regional meet and 26th last season. She is an experienced competitor who should stabilize the Fighting Scots this weekend.
Joining Cerroni is a group that includes Monica Ciarniello, who placed 21st last season in her debut PSAC meet and has a 6K season PR of 23:23, Brittany Kaltenbaugh, who placed 34th last year but is well ahead of her 2010 pace, and Hannah Kucewicz, who finished 28th a year ago and has also placed among the Top 5 in the 800 meters at the PSAC indoor track championships.
Mansfield, who finished eighth at last year's PSAC meet, has the potential to sneak up on teams this weekend with its talented squad. The Mountaineers have never been ranked higher in a USTFCCCA national poll than they are at the current moment.
MU has many talented runners, but none more so than graduate Brenae Edwards – who is back for one more season after a redshirt cross country campaign in 2010. Edwards is Mansfield's first-ever All-American in track after her success in the 5K and will be seeking to replicate that success this fall on grass. In 2009, Edwards finished sixth at the PSAC and Atlantic Regional meets.
Edwards is fresh off an outstanding time of 21:59 on the 6K course at Penn State last Friday in which she placed 17th overall. Twins Jess and Kristy Scordino are also impressing for the Mountaineers and could make a major impact this weekend. Jess placed 61st at PSU in 23:08 while Kristy was 69th in 23:14. Kristy's season highlight was a 6K time of 22:49 at Paul Short in which she was MU's No. 2 runner. Juniors Becky Kratz (32nd in 2010) and Kait Chegwidden also hope to be scorers this weekend for the Mounties.
Lock Haven finished 10th a season ago but has the makings for a run toward the top this weekend. LHU has two talented runners at the top of its lineup who have paced the team all season long.
Senior Lindsey Lambert is a three-time All-PSAC and All-Atlantic Region who will be among those vying for the individual championship this weekend. Lambert has ninth, 11th and eighth in her career at the PSAC championship meet and is a leader to the Bald Eagle runners. This season, Lambert finished sixth at the Paul Short Invitational Brown race with an impressive time of 21:58 and is coming off an effort at Penn State last weekend in which she placed 42nd in 22:43.
Sophomore Katie Sick will make her PSAC debut this weekend after leading Lock Haven with a 33rd-place finish at the Penn State National Invitational with a time of 22:24. Sick also ran the Brown race at the Paul Short Invite earlier this year and established a solid PR in 22:07. Joining Sick is Rachel Taylor, who finished 67th a year ago and has been the No. 3 runner in several races for the Bald Eagles.
East Stroudsburg has the amazing Rosie Mascoli, a 2010 All-American after her 24th place finish at the national championships one season ago. Mascoli, who has won five consecutive regular season races dating back to last season, is expected to go toe-to-toe with Spence for the individual title. Last season, Mascoli finished 12th at the PSAC meet and fourth at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship meet. On the track, Mascoli was an indoor All-American in the 5K and an outdoor All-American in the 10K.
The Warriors are fully capable of continuing a trend of incremental jumps in places at the PSAC meet after a 12th-place finish in 2009 and a sixth-place finish in 2010. Junior Corinne Fitzgerald placed 20th at last year's conference meet and has finished among the Top 6 in all of her races this season. Sophomore Kim Wernerspach and junior Bridget McCarron were scoring performers last year for ESU and are expected to race this weekend and make a big impact for the Warriors.
Millersville boasts the talents of Elicia Anderson, last year's PSAC runner-up and another returning All-American who placed 14th in the nation last year. Anderson dealt with a foot injury during the early portion of this season until returning in late September. Joining Anderson as likely scorers this weekend will be sophomore Brittney Martin and junior Sarah Mulvey.
A PSAC race is never complete without a mention of Slippery Rock. Despite the losses of Jen Harpp and Crystal Burnick, The Rock boasts the talents of Stephanie Case, Becky Belding and Abby Michaelian.
The women will run before the men, giving them first crack at a course that could feature some mud and slippery ground. The gun is expected to go off at 10:45 a.m. The current 6K course record for Lock Haven's West Branch course is 20:02, set by Georgetown's Treniere Clement in 2003 and Villanova's Francis Koons in 2006.
Shippensburg Lineup:
Senior
Neely Spence is among the favorites for the individual championship after having won three consecutive PSAC and Atlantic Region crowns. Spence is also the reigning Division II national champion and has won eight of last nine races overall. Earlier this year, Spence finished second at the Brooks Paul Short Run with a time of 20:19 that is her fastest 6K cross country effort since her sophomore season. In 2010, Spence recorded a time of 20:52 at the PSAC Championships that was 70 seconds faster than any other competitor in the field.
Junior
Katie Spratford was an All-American last year in her first season with the Raiders, placing 23rd in 21:51. Spratford placed ninth at last year's PSAC championship meet and eighth at the NCAA Atlantic regional meet. This season, Spratford is running better than ever, having established a new collegiate 6K PR with a time of 21:26 at this year's Paul Short Invitational. She is also a school record holder in the 10K and competed at last year's NCAA outdoor championships in the event.
Sophomore
Patty Reis has battled injury all season long but proved she was ready for the postseason last week with a stupendous third-place effort at the Gettysburg Invitational. Making her season debut, Reis ran the 6K in 23:56. Reis, the reigning PSAC Women's Cross Country Rookie of the Year, placed 16th at last year's PSAC meet and followed up that effort with a 17th-place finish at the Atlantic regional championship meet.
Senior
Jamie McCollum made a triumphant return a year ago with an All-PSAC finish in 17th place and an 18th-place finish at the Atlantic Region championship meet. McCollum, who was SU's alternate at the national championships a season ago, has also posted a new 6K collegiate PR this season after an impressive time of 23:06 at the Paul Short Invitational. Her effort is the fastest in the 6K since her freshman season in 2007.
Senior
Sarah Strayer is another four-year veteran of the conference championship race and is another returning All-PSAC and All-Region runner after 14th and 15th-place finishes one year ago. Earlier this year, Strayer was Shippensburg's No. 5 runner at the Paul Short Invitational with a season PR of 23:37. Strayer had finished in 38th place in each of her two previous conference championship meets.
Sophomore
Emma Shank is the first of five SU competitors making their PSAC Championships debut this weekend. Shank made a statement at Paul Short earlier this season when she finished as SU's No. 4 runner with a time of 23:21 that proved to be a 43-second PR for the Hershey High School alum. She has been a scoring performer in each of the last two races for the Raiders and is expected to be among that group this weekend.
Freshman Katy Perry is one of two true freshmen competing this weekend for Shippensburg. Perry made her debut with a 4K time of 15:58 in the Piper Alumni Invitational before racing three 6K races this season. Her season PR is 24:06, set at Lehigh in the Paul Short Invitational where she was SU's No. 7 runner.
Freshman
April Schlusser is the other true freshman in action this weekend for the Raiders. Schlusser returned last week with a collegiate 6K PR of 25:02 at Gettysburg after missing the Paul Short Invitational. Earlier this season, Schlusser completed the 6K course at Kutztown in 25:05.
Junior
Katie Wiechelt impressed at Paul Short as SU's leading runner in the open competition. Wiechelt broke through with a huge collegiate 6K PR of 24:06, an effort that was a 52-second improvement from previous personal best. The former George Mason runner is hoping to make a big impact this weekend for the Raiders.
Redshirt freshman
Heather Weiss is also in her debut season and set her collegiate 6K PR last week at Gettysburg with a time of 25:20. She was SU's No. 6 runner in the 4K Piper Alumni Invitational after posting a time of 16:01. She also ran for Shippensburg at Kutztown's Division II Challenge and posted a 6K time of 25:35.
