SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's cross country team is seeking its ninth consecutive NCAA Championships appearance in 2016. For this season's video preview, shipraiders.com interviewed coach Steve Spence and senior Casey Norton.

Click the PLAY button in the picture above to watch this season's video preview.
 
Notes:

Shippensburg, which received 15 of 18 first-place votes in the PSAC preseason coaches' poll, has won seven PSAC championships in its history but has not finished atop the awards podium since 2012. SU has finished third at the conference championships in each the last three seasons.
 
Last season, Edinboro finished 21st, SU 22nd and California 25th at the 2015 NCAA Division II Championships.
 
Shippensburg returns its entire lineup from last year's NCAA Championships race and 12 athletes overall – including the team's heart and soul: senior Casey Norton. Last year, Norton finished fifth at the Atlantic Region Championships and was a Top 70 finisher nationally.
 
Juniors Bryanna Dissinger, Caity Reese and Lizzie Manickas are all experienced runners who are looking to enhance their finishes this season.
 
Sophomore Hannah Fulton stepped up as SU's No. 5 runner in the NCAA Championships last year as a redshirt-rookie, while sophomore Jackie Kinkead was the No. 6 and had a solid outdoor track campaign. Junior Emily Kachik ran at the NCAA Championships last year and is another in a deep group of SU women that will look to be among the team's scoring runners this season.
 
Shippensburg begins its season under the lights Friday, September 2 for the Seventh Annual Galen E. Piper Alumni Open/Cross Country Challenge.