LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — Senior Neely Spence became the first athlete in the history of the PSAC to become a four-time PSAC Athlete of the Year award winner in any sport as Shippensburg University swept the PSAC women's cross country awards for the second consecutive year.

In addition to Spence's historic achievement, head coach Steve Spence earned his fourth consecutive PSAC Women's Coach of the Year award and April Schlusser was named the PSAC Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year.

Spence, the 2011 USTFCCCA Division II Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year for the second straight season, continues her streak of being named the PSAC Athlete of the Year in all 10 of her collegiate seasons to date (cross country [4], indoor track [3], outdoor track [3]).

In 2011, Spence won five of her six races to cap off her career with victories in 22 of her 27 career races. She won her second consecutive NCAA Division II national championship and concluded her collegiate cross country career as a two-time Division II national champion, three-time Division II All-American, four-time NCAA Atlantic Region champion and a four-time PSAC champion.

Her only loss of 2011 came at the Brooks Paul Short Run in which she finished second to Villanova senior Bogdana Mimic, a three-time Division I All-American from Serbia who went on to finish sixth at this year's Division I championships with a time of 19:45.7.

Head coach Steve Spence once again guided the Raider cross country squad to success in 2011, as Shippensburg won its fourth consecutive PSAC and Atlantic Regional title. SU won the conference meet by 43 points over Edinboro and the regional meet by 58 points over Lock Haven. SU finished ninth at nationals with two All-Americans, Spence (1st) and junior Katie Spratford (9th).

Schlusser is the fourth SU athlete in the last five years to be named the PSAC Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year, joining Patty Reis (2010), Neely Spence (2008) and Abby Huber (2007). She was the fastest freshman in the field at the PSAC meet (25th) and the second-fastest freshman at the regional meet (19th) – earning All-Region honors for the latter achievement. Schlusser was SU's No. 5 runner at the national championships.