The Shippensburg University men's cross country team delivered a Top 5 team performance on Saturday at the 2022 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships, completing the longest race of the season in fifth place at Mansfield University's Lamb's Creek course.
 
SU navigated 10K and produced a score of 134 points, just 30 points shy of a Top 3 finish that would have resulted in automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships. Charleston, of the Mountain East Conference (MEC), posted an impressive regional title win of 33 points by virtue of its runners finishing 2-3-5-9-14, while Edinboro, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champion, was close behind with a terrific team score of 47 points by virtue of its runners finishing 4-8-10-12-13.
 
Those teams will be joined in Seattle by Concord, who was led by regional champion Isaac Prather (29:25). The Mountain Lions had four runners in the Top 18, but its No. 5 runner finished 59th – which left the door open for both fourth-place Davis & Elkins (128 points) and the fifth-place Raiders.
 
Saturday's performance is Shippensburg's best finish at the regional championships in four years. SU finished second in the team standings in 2018. Likewise, Saturday is also the first time since 2018 that the Raiders have had four runners earn United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Atlantic Region classifications.
 
Hayden Hunt, freshman Garrett Quinan, Joey Cintavey and junior Aiden Gonder achieved those All-Region classifications by finishing consecutively in 22nd through 25th place.
 
The pack all delivered times within a two-second span – Hunt crossed the finish line in 30:23.2, Quinan in 30:24, Cintavey in 30:24.5 and Gonder in 30:25. It is the second consecutive All-Region award for Hunt, who finished 10th in last year's regional championship race.
 
Seniors Nathan Harding and Drew Dailey also finished consecutively. Harding rounded out the Raider scoring contingent with a 46th-place time of 30:51.4, while Dailey was 47th in 30:56.6. Freshman Ryan Wolfe completed the Raider performance list with a 57th-place time of 31:29.
 
Shippensburg (5th, 134 points)
22. Hayden Hunt 30:23.20
23. Garrett Quinan 30:24.00
24. Joey Cintavey 30:24.50
25. Aiden Gonder 30:25.00
46. Nathan Harding 30:51.40
47. Drew Dailey 30:56.60
57. Ryan Wolfe 31:29.00