The Shippensburg University women's cross country team delivered a seventh-place finish on Saturday at the 2022 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships hosted by Mansfield University.
 
Shippensburg navigated the 6K course on a sunny but frigid and windy day and emerged as the No. 6 team from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), with all league teams finishing behind regional champion Charleston from the Mountain East Conference (MEC).
 
Freshman Livi Rieck and graduate Kyra Gerber earned United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Atlantic Region honors by virtue of Top 25 finishes.
 
Rieck led the Raiders with a 20th-place time of 22:51.7. It was not only her first time serving as the team's No. 1 runner, but the performance stands as a new collegiate PR by eight seconds. It is just the second time in six collegiate 6K races that Rieck broke the 23-minute mark, with the only other occasion being her previous PR of 22:59 at the Paul Short Run. Rieck was the third-fastest freshmen in the regional field behind Lock Haven's Krista Jones (9th) and Charleston's Julie LaFare (18th).
 
Gerber earned All-Atlantic Region honors for the second straight season, finishing 24th on Saturday with a solid time of 23:05.4. Last season, Gerber finished 16th at the regional championships. It concludes a spectacular cross country career for Gerber, who in addition to being a two-time All-Region runner, has the honor of being a four-time All-PSAC runner.
 
Junior Isabelle Gulgert served as the team's No. 3 runner in Saturday's race, missing out on her third All-Region classification by just six spots. Gulgert, still returning to full health after being sidelined at the conference championships due to illness, delivered a solid time of 23:19 for an important place finish that was critical to the Raiders finishing seventh overall among teams.
 
Sophomore Belle Weikert and redshirt-freshman Kelsey Hull rounded out the Raider scorers with solid 6K runs. Weikert crossed the finish line in 65th place with a time of 24:16.70, while Hull debuted at regionals with a 69th-place time of 24:22.30.
 
Completing the Raider field was Amanda LaVana and freshman Emilea Alleman, both of whom were competing at regionals for the first time.
 
Saturday's performance is Shippensburg's best finish at the regional championships in four years. SU finished third in the team standings in 2018.
 
The three teams to earn automatic qualification to the NCAA National Championships were the aforementioned Golden Eagles (52 points), Edinboro (84 points) and Lock Haven (136 points). Slippery Rock (147 points) and Seton Hill (150 points) came close to the Bald Eagles and rounded out the Top 5.
 
Shippensburg (7th, 198 points)
20. Livi Rieck 22:51.70
24. Kyra Gerber 23:05.40
31. Isabelle Gulgert 23:19.80
65. Belle Weikert 24:16.70
69. Kelsey Hull 24:22.30
99. Amanda LaVana 25:04.90
106. Emilea Alleman 25:12.40