SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's cross country team is seeking its fourth consecutive NCAA Atlantic Regional championship on Saturday morning from Cooper's Lake Campground outside of Slippery Rock while senior Neely Spence is vying for her fourth straight individual championship against a field chock-full of talented runners.

Shippensburg is currently ranked No. 9 in Division II and sits atop the Atlantic Region rankings but has No. 10 Edinboro right behind and Lock Haven boasting the No. 22 ranking in Division II. Mansfield and East Stroudsburg have fallen out of the national rankings but remain strong and will compete for one of the Top 3 spots along with Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock.

The Raiders had three All-PSAC runners and three others finish in the Top 25 at the PSAC Championship meet in which SU edged Edinboro by 43 points. Lock Haven was 11 points behind the Fighting Scots, while Bloomsburg surprised with a fourth-place finish just eight points behind the Bald Eagles.

Spence and junior Katie Spratford took the Top 2 places at the conference meet while Mansfield graduate runner Brenae Edwards earned third place. All three runners posted 6K times under 21 minutes.

Bloomsburg's Victoria Davis added to her impressive running resume with a fourth-place finish while ESU All-American Rosie Mascoli took fifth. The top duos of Lock Haven (Lindsey Lambert and Katie Sick) and Edinboro (Monica Ciarniello and Kacey Gibson) are also expected to vie for Top 5 spots along with ESU's Corinne Fitzgerald, West Chester's Kristina Koutsouros and Slippery Rock's Stephanie Case. Millersville All-American Elicia Anderson is also among those in the field.

Schools from the PSAC, WVIAC and CIAA are all in competition this weekend. Seton Hill won the WVIAC championship by three points over Wheeling Jesuit, while Alderson-Broaddus's Ashley Teets (22:36) was the individual champion. The CIAA ran a 5K for its conference championship meet, with Winston-Salem State edging Virginia State by two points and WSSU's Brittney Killebrew (19:11) winning the individual title.

Shippensburg Lineup:

Senior Neely Spence is among the favorites for the individual championship after having won the Atlantic Regional title in each of the past three years. The reigning Division II national champion is fresh off a 5K race on the track at the Pan Am Games amidst the heat and altitude of Mexico and will be shifting gears back to the cool climate of Pennsylvania. Spence won the PSAC championship meet two weeks ago by 25 seconds with a time of 20:16.

Junior Katie Spratford is equally important to the Shippensburg cause and is running at an unprecedented level. At the PSAC Championship meet, Spratford maintained her All-America pace with a second-place finish in 20:41 that was an outstanding new 6K PR by 43 seconds. By comparison, Spratford finished 23rd at last year's Division II national championships with a time of 21:51.

Sophomore Patty Reis, who has raced just twice this season after dealing with injuries throughout the first six weeks, in in top form entering the weekend. Reis, the reigning PSAC Rookie of the Year, achieved her second consecutive All-PSAC performance with a 16th-place finish at the conference meet – her exact same place from a year ago. Her time of 22:02 was a new PR of 47 seconds.

Senior Jamie McCollum blitzed her career and season PR at the PSAC meet with a 24th-place finish in 22:18 – a new PR by 48 seconds – and finished a 6K cross country race under 23 minutes for the first time in her career. She has set a new 6K PR in each of last two races and is running at the fastest pace of her collegiate career.

Senior Sarah Strayer was one place short of another All-PSAC finish two weeks ago but still established a new 6K PR by 36 seconds with a time of 22:12. That time was her fastest since her freshman season.

Sophomore Emma Shank finished 36th at the PSAC meet with a 63-second PR and made a statement at the Paul Short Invitational earlier this season when she finished as SU's No. 4 runner.

Freshman April Schlusser delivered a breakthrough performance at the PSAC meet with a 25th-place effort in 22:20. Schlusser was the fastest freshman in the field after destroying her previous 6K PR by 2 minutes and 42 seconds.

Junior Katie Wiechelt is the alternate and will be ready if called upon after impressive performances in recent weeks. Wiechelt broke through with a PR at Lehigh before erasing 78 seconds from her 6K collegiate PR with a time of 22:48 at the PSAC meet. On Sunday, Wiechelt won the LHU River Run for her first career individual championship.