The Shippensburg University women's cross country team came through Saturday with a gutsy third-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships, finishing with two All-Region performances on a brisk and cloudy morning at Lock Haven's West Branch 6K Course.
 
In a crowded race where just 25 points separated first place from fifth place in the team standings, and eight different schools comprised the Top 10 individual finishers, SU was able to put all five of its runners in the Top 32 to total 116 points.

"I'm really proud of our women, who stepped up their game from the conference meet," said head coach Steve Spence '85. "Despite adding some teams for the regional meet and having a bigger field, we only scored five points higher." 

 California, fourth place at the conference meet, won the regional title by scoring 105 points. Edinboro was just seven points behind, while SU was only four points behind the Fighting Scots. East Stroudsburg was a mere 10 points behind Shippensburg, while Slippery Rock was only four points behind the Warriors.
 
Saturday's race is a continuation of how close the Atlantic Region has been all autumn long. At the PSAC Championships, nine different schools were represented among the Top 10 individual finishers and just 35 points separated first place from fifth place in the team standings. 
 
Junior Casey Norton continued her role as SU's pacesetter, finishing fifth overall for her third consecutive All-Region performance and her best appearance to date at the Regional Championships. Norton finished 12th as a freshman and 13th as a sophomore. Her stupendous time of 20:50.9 is a 29-second personal best for 6K.
 
The remaining six runners in SU's lineup are all in their first or second year of collegiate running. Leading that group as SU's No. 2 runner was sophomore Caity Reese, who placed 22nd overall in 21:52 for All-Region honors. Reese ran a sensational 55-second personal best for 6K. By comparison, her previous PR of 22:47 was set on another course conducive to quick times – Lehigh's Paul Short Run.
 
Redshirt-freshman Hannah Fulton notched a spot as a Top-3 scorer for the first time in her career. Fulton was SU's No. 3 runner in 22:21 – a 36-second personal best and a 30th-place finish overall.
 
Fulton led an SU contingent that finished consecutively from 30th through 32nd place. Sophomore Bryanna Dissinger maintained her status as a scorer for the Raiders in all five of her races this season – she was the team's No. 4 runner on Saturday in 22:24.0.
 
Sophomore Lizzie Manickas was just four-tenths of a second behind Dissinger; she finished 32nd overall as SU's No. 5 runner, posting a 24-second season best of 22:24.4.
 
Freshman Jackie Kinkead and sophomore Emily Kachik rounded out the Raider contingent, posting times of 22:55 and 23:06 respectively. For Kachik, the time is a 26-second personal best and a 39-second season best.
 
Shippensburg has now qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships in each of the last eight seasons under head coach Steve Spence '85 and will be making its 13th overall appearance.

"I'm really happy that this is our eighth trip in a row to the NCAA meet," Spence said. "We're running well and I think we can run even better at nationals."
 
The NCAA Division II National Championships will be held in two weeks at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo.
 
Shippensburg (3rd, 116 points)
5. Casey Norton 20:50.9
22. Caity Reese 21:52.3
30. Hannah Fulton 22:21.2
31. Bryanna Dissinger 22:24.0
32. Lizzie Manickas 22:24.4
54. Jackie Kinkead 22:55.7
62. Emily Kachik 23:06.9