Shippensburg University Athletics

Stephanie Yingling ‘98 was an outdoor track All-American under head coach Galen Piper who concluded her prestigious athletic career with three school records for track and field while contributing to four PSAC Championship teams between cross country and track.

Yingling’s leadership abilities enabled the cross country team to move from 12th place in the PSAC during her sophomore year of 1995 to the conference championship in 1996. Individually, she finished second at the PSAC Championships as a junior in 1996 and fifth at the regional meet while Shippensburg took home titles at both events. She finished 77th at the national championships while Shippensburg earned an 11th-place finish.

As a junior track athlete, Yingling won the ECAC indoor title in the 3000-meter run and the PSAC outdoor title in the 10,000-meter run. At the Division II National Championships, Yingling earned All-America honors in two events, taking seventh place in the 10,000-meter run and eighth place in the 5,000-meter run.

Her senior seasons of 1997-98 brought even more accolades. The Lady Raiders continued their dominance in cross country by repeating as the PSAC and NCAA Regional champions. The team finished sixth at the national meet, while Yingling placed fifth at the PSAC Championships, fourth at the regional meet and 39th at the national championships.

Shippensburg won the ECAC indoor track and field championships in 1998, as Yingling helped the Lady Raiders win the DMR while individually winning the mile and placing third in the 3,000-meters. During the outdoor campaign, Yingling won the 10,000-meter run and placed second in the 3,000-meters as Shippensburg won the PSAC Championship by more than 40 points.

As a sophomore, Yingling placed 18th at the PSAC cross country championships and 22nd at the NCAA Division II Regional. In the spring, she was a placewinner at both the ECAC indoor championships and the PSAC outdoor meet. Yingling contributed to the indoor DMR squad that finished second at the ECAC meet and also finished third in the 3,000-meter run. During the season she posted the team’s top times in the 1500, the 3,000 and the 5,000-meters.

At the time of her induction, Yingling held the school record for the indoor 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:16 and held the outdoor record in the same event for 11 years. She also contributed to school records for the indoor and outdoor distance medley relays. Overall, she earned two PSAC and two ECAC individual track and field championships while winning the PSAC and regional titles for cross country in 1996 and 1997.