They came, they saw and they conquered.
The Shippensburg University cross country team traveled to Lock Haven University on Saturday, which served as the site of the 2015 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships and left with hardware for their efforts.
The men’s team claimed the Atlantic Region Championship, while the women’s team was able to finish third.
On the men’s side, all seven of the team’s runners earned All-Region Top-20 finishes and had all five scorers in the top 10.
Sophomore Alex Balla came up clutch with a big Top-5 finish in the 10K, while junior Kieran Sutton finished second overall with an outstanding time of 30:31.
The regional championship is the second in SU’s history and its first since 2009.
Two All-Region performances carried the women’s team to its third place finish, with all five of its runners placing in the Top 32.
Junior Casey Norton finished her phenomenal season as SU’s top performer, finishing fifth overall and claiming her third consecutive All-Region performance at the Regional Championships.
Redshirt-freshman Hannah Fulton was a Top-3 scorer for the first time in her career, notching a time of 22:21, which was a 36 second personal best. Fulton has scored in all five of her races for the Red Raiders this season.
Both teams have qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships for eight consecutive teams under head coach Steve Spence. This will be both teams’ 13thoverall appearance.
The meet will be held in two weeks at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri.
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