Shippensburg University's Steve Spence was named the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year on Thursday afternoon by the league office.
 
Voting for the conference's major awards is conducted by the league's head coaches.
 
It is the first time since 2017 that Spence has been named the PSAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year, and the seventh time overall he has been honored by his peers.
 
Spence directed Shippensburg to the 2023 PSAC Championship and a third-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships – with the Raiders being the only team to represent the league at the 2023 NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country National Championships.  
 
The 2023 conference championship marks the latest noteworthy achievement for the Raiders under the direction of Spence. With the exception of a lone seventh-place finish in 2003, the Raiders have posted a Top 5 finish in 25 of Spence's 26 seasons – including a Top 3 finish in 21 of those 26 seasons (four conference titles, 10 second-place finishes, seven third-place finishes).
 
Shippensburg has also taken home a PSAC trophy from nine of the last 10 conference championship races – blue trophies in 2016, 2017 and this year, and red trophies in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
 
At this year's PSAC Championships, Shippensburg had four of the Top 5 individual finishers and had six All-PSAC performers (five First Team, one Second Team). Among those Raiders is the 2023 PSAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year – sophomore Garrett Quinan – the 2023 PSAC individual champion.
 
At the regional championships, SU had six of its seven competitors earn United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region accolades for the first time since 2016.
 
In addition to Quinan and Spence, Kutztown's Andrew Diehl was named the 2023 PSAC Men's Cross Country Freshman of the Year to round out the league's major award winners.