Lock Haven, Pa. – For the second straight year, the Shippensburg women’s cross country team has been unanimously chosen to win the PSAC, garnering all 16 first place votes, while the Red Raider men’s squad has also been picked to win the PSAC, ending a two-year run of Edinboro being picked first in the PSAC preseason men’s cross country poll.
The Red Raider men’s team received 10 of 15 first place votes to come in first, only narrowly edging out second place Lock Haven. The defending PSAC champion Bald Eagles received three first place votes. Edinboro, the men’s favorite in both of the two previous men’s cross country preseason polls, which began in the 2008, came in third and got the two remaining first place votes. The Fighting Scots finished second at last year’s PSAC meet and were the top PSAC finisher at the NCAA meet in 12th. East Stroudsburg and Slippery Rock rounded out of the top five.
The Lady Raiders, the two-time defending PSAC champions, are the unanimous favorite to make it three straight this year, easily outdistancing second place Slippery Rock, which finished in third place at last year’s PSAC meet. Kutztown came in third after making a late-season run last year by finishing second at the NCAA regional meet and being the top PSAC finisher at the NCAA meet in 14th place, which all came after a fifth place showing at the PSAC meet. Lock Haven and Millersville rounded out the top five.
Shippensburg’s men return six of seven runners that started on its NCAA Atlantic Regional championship team. The Red Raiders also finished 13th at the NCAA meet. Senior Bryan Beegle leads the way after a third place finish at the NCAA regional meet and he also finished 73rd at the NCAA meet. Junior Stephen Schelander also returns after an eighth place finish at NCAA regionals and a 17th place finish at PSAC’s last year. Sophomore Matt Gillette, who was Shippensburg’s top finisher in ninth place at the PSAC meet, also returns after seeing lots of action last year as a freshman. Other key runners also returning for the Red Raiders include senior Ethan Rissell (6th at NCAA regionals, 19th at PSAC meet), senior Sean Stetler (16th at NCAA regionals, 18th at PSAC meet) and senior Josh Neyhart (26th at NCAA regionals, 20th at PSAC meet), making for a loaded and experienced squad that should also contend once again for an NCAA regional title and berth into the NCAA national meet.
Shippensburg’s women are coming off their second straight PSAC and NCAA regional titles and behind junior Neely Spence and senior Mary Dell, two of the top distance runners in the PSAC, will be chasing their third straight titles at both meets this year. The Lady Raiders also return all seven runners that started on its NCAA regional championship team last year. Spence, who is also the two time defending individual PSAC and NCAA regional champion and has been the PSAC Athlete of the Year the last two years as well, will lead the way while Dell, last year’s PSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, returns for her senior season of cross country after exhausting her eligibility on the track last year. Dell was also Shippensburg’s top finisher at last year’s NCAA meet, coming in 21st and finished third at the PSAC meet. Also returning are seniors Abigail Huber (17th at PSAC meet, 24th at NCAA regionals), Lindsey Hollenshead and Emily Dubs, and juniors Kathleen Frey (18th at PSAC meet, 25th at NCAA regionals) and Sarah Strayer, all of whom have run on a PSAC or NCAA regional championship team in the last two years.
Listed below are the preseason PSAC men’s and women’s cross country coaches polls. First place votes are in parenthesis.
Men
1. Shippensburg (10)
2. Lock Haven (3)
3. Edinboro (2)
4. East Stroudsburg
5. Slippery Rock
6. IUP
T7. Bloomsburg
T7. Millersville
9. California
10. Kutztown
11. Mansfield
12. West Chester
13. Mercyhurst
14. Gannon
15. Cheyney
Women
1. Shippensburg (16)
2. Slippery Rock
3. Kutztown
4. Lock Haven
5. Millersville
6. Bloomsburg
7. Edinboro
8. Mansfield
T9. Clarion
T9 . IUP
11. California
12. East Stroudsburg
13. West Chester
14. Mercyhurst
15. Gannon
16. Cheyney