SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The No. 9 Shippensburg University women's cross country team won its fourth consecutive NCAA Atlantic Regional championship on Saturday morning from Cooper's Lake Campground with a 58-point victory over No. 22 Lock Haven while senior Neely Spence won her fourth straight individual regional title by setting a new course record in 20:43.

Shippensburg will head to the NCAA national championship meet for the fourth consecutive season after having six of its seven runners achieve All-Atlantic Region honors. The 2011 season marks the first in which the Top 25 finishers achieve all-region accolades after the Division II coaches voted last offseason to expand the honorees from the previous Top 15 finishers.

Spence erased 16 seconds from the course record originally established in the 2008 NCAA National Championship race where she finished second as a freshman behind Seattle Pacific star Jessica Pixler. She has now recorded margins of victory at the Atlantic Regional Championship meet of 58, 26, 54 and 53 seconds.

Junior Katie Spratford once again finished second behind Spence and was 14 seconds ahead of the next closest competitor, Mansfield's Brenae Edwards. It is Spratford's second consecutive all-region honor and her best performance to date at the Atlantic Region championships, an improvement of 50 seconds from her eighth-place finish a year ago.

Senior Sarah Strayer stepped up with another great performance, running a 13th-place time of 23:01. Strayer finished one second ahead of the top runner from No. 10 Edinboro. She matched her place from a year ago in which she also achieved all-region honors.

Sophomore Patty Reis was just two places and four seconds behind Strayer with a 15th-place time of 23:05. It is also her first career all-region certification after a 17th-place finish one year ago.

Freshman April Schlusser has impressed meet after meet and did so once again Saturday with a 19th-place finish in 23:17. She was the fastest freshman from the PSAC in the field and the second-fastest freshman overall.

Sophomore Emma Shank persevered and fought hard for a 23rd-place finish in 23:24 while senior Jamie McCollum rounded out the SU contingent with a time of 24:02 that was good enough for 43rd place.

The 2011 NCAA Division II National Championships will be held November 19 and is hosted by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference from Spokane, Wash.

Shippensburg (1st, 50 points)
1. Neely Spence (20:43)
2. Katie Spratford (21:36)
13. Sarah Strayer (23:01)
15. Patty Reis (23:05)
19. April Schlusser (23:17)
23. Emma Shank (23:24)
43. Jamie McCollum (24:02)