Shippensburg University cross country coach Steve Spence was recognized as the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, Wednesday afternoon.
Coach Spence led the men’s cross country team to its second Atlantic Region Championship during his tenure last Saturday. This is also Spence’s second time winning the award with the first coming in 2009 and both coming after his squad clinched the regional title.
Shippensburg’s cross country team will also be traveling to Joplin, Missouri on Nov. 21 to compete in the NCAA Division II National Championships. This is the third straight year that the men’s team has qualified and the fifth time in the last six years that Spence has served as head coach. The tournament will be held at Missouri Southern State University.
Shippensburg narrowly beat Lock Haven University by six points to secure a position in the National Championships, with all seven SU runners scoring personal bests for 10 kilometers.
Four of SU’s runners placed in the Top 10, with Shippensburg’s top runner, junior Kieran Sutton, finishing just four seconds behind the top finisher in the race.
Sutton finished the 10 kilometer race on Saturday, 92 seconds faster than he did during his freshman year.
Spence’s team will be riding four first place finishes into the National Championships, where they will be competing against schools from around the nation.
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