PSAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year Nick Hilton of Lock Haven (left) and PSAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year Neely Spence of Shippensburg (right).
Lock Haven, Pa. - Nick Hilton of Lock Haven and Neely Spence of Shippensburg have been named the PSAC Cross Country Men’s and Women’s Athletes of the Year, respectively, in a vote by the league’s head coaches following the conclusion of the 2009 cross country season. Both athletes won the individual titles at the PSAC Cross Country Championships and also performed well at the NCAA regional and national meets last month.
IUP freshman Hillary Mugun has been named the PSAC Men’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year while California freshman Erin Kling is this year’s Women’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year. Mungun ran to an All-American finish at the NCAA national championship meet while Kling was California’s top finisher at the NCAA Atlantic Regional meet. Shippensburg’s Steve Spence has been voted both the Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year, becoming the first cross country coach since Edinboro’s Doug Watts in 1999 to be honored as both the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year in the same season.
Hilton helped Lock Haven claim its fifth PSAC team championship in the last seven years by winning the individual title at this year’s PSAC championships held at Edinboro on the last day of October. He just beat out teammate Brandon Pomerantz for the individual title by eight seconds. He became the first individual titlist at the conference meet from Lock Haven since Ryan Blood in 2006, which was also the last time the Bald Eagles won the team title. Hilton also finished second at the NCAA Atlantic Regional meet, helping lead the Bald Eagles to a third place team finish at the meet, and was also the top PSAC finisher at the NCAA national meet, coming in at 25th place.
Spence, the daughter of Shippensburg coach and men’s and women’s Coach of the Year Steve Spence, is the Women’s Athlete of the Year for the second straight year after she claimed both the Athlete and Freshman of the Year honors last year. For the second straight season, Spence won both the PSAC and Atlantic Region individual titles before wrapping up the year wit ha 43rd place finish at the NCAA national meet. She helped lead the Lady Raiders to only their fourth overall PSAC team title in school history and their second straight. Her first place finish also helped the Lady Raiders win the team title at the Atlantic Regional for the second straight year and Ship finished in 15th place at the NCAA national meet. Spence is the second straight woman to claim the PSAC cross country Women’s Athlete of the Year in back-to-back seasons after Edinboro’s Rachael Lanzel was the Athlete of the Year in both 2006 and 2007. No woman has even claimed the award in three straight seasons, which Spence, only a sophomore, will have the opportunity to do next season.
Mugun capped an outstanding freshman season by finishing in 33rd place at the NCAA national meet. He was the fourth-highest finisher among freshmen at the meet and was the second-best finisher from the PSAC, following only Hilton. He helped lead the Crimson Hawks to a sixth place finish at the NCAA regional meet while finishing in fourth place overall. That came on the heels of a third place individual finish at the PSAC championships, in which he also led IUP to a sixth place finish.
Kling was the top freshman finisher at the PSAC championships and also California’s top finisher at the event, placing 13th. She was also the top freshman finisher at the NCAA regional meet, placing 17th. She helped lead the Vulcans to a 13th place finish at both meets.
In addition to becoming the first coach in 10 years to be named both the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year in the same season, Spence is the PSAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year for the second straight year after guiding the Lady Raiders to their second straight PSAC cross country title as well as their second straight NCAA regional title. The PSAC championship was the fourth in program history. At the national meet, Shippensburg finished 15th, qualifying for the meet for the second straight season as well after finishing sixth last year. On the men’s side, he also guided the Red Raiders to the regional championship as four runners finished in the top 10 at that meet. That came on the heels of a third place finish at the PSAC championships. Ship also finished 13th at the NCAA national championships. This is also marks the second time in his career that Spence has been honored as the PSAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year.
PSAC Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Nick Hilton, Lock Haven
PSAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Neely Spence, Shippensburg
PSAC Men’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year
Hillary Mugun, IUP
PSAC Women’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year
Erin Kling, California
PSAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
Steve Spence, Shippensburg
PSAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
Steve Spence, Shippensburg