Lock Haven, Pa. - Chris Clark of California (Pa.) and Neely Spence of Shippensburg have been named the PSAC Men’s and Women’s Athletes of the Year, respectively, following a vote of the league’s head coaches. Both runners won the individual titles at the PSAC Cross Country Championships last month and both runners also placed in the top five at the NCAA Championships last month as well.
Spence, a freshman, was also named the PSAC Freshman of the Year on the women’s side while fellow Red Raider Stephen Schelander was named the PSAC Freshman of the Year on the men’s side. Lock Haven head coach Aaron Russell was named the PSAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year while Shippensburg’s Steve Spence made a clean sweep for both Shippensburg and the Spence family on the women’s side as he was honored as the PSAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year.
Clark, a senior out of Hadley, Pa. for the Vulcans, was one of four runners to break the course record at Lock Haven as last month’s PSAC Championships as he claimed the individual title in the 8K race in 23:56, shattering the old course mark by over 40 seconds, helping Cal to an eighth place finish at the championships. He then followed that up with another individual title at the NCAA East Regional meet, finishing the 8K course at Slippery Rock in 31:00, 23 seconds ahead of Edinboro’s Ben Hahn, who had finished 14 seconds behind him at the PSAC meet. That time broke the course record, which was then later broken at the national meet. Clark then wrapped up his career by placing fourth at the NCAA meet while running as an individual, finishing the same course in 31:12 to gain All-American honors. He was also named the Atlantic Region Men’s Athlete of the Year.
Spence, the daughter of Shippensburg coach and women’s Coach of the Year Steve Spence, also claimed both the PSAC and Atlantic Region individual titles this year before wrapping up her freshman campaign with an impressive second place finish at NCAA Championships. She helped lead the Red Raiders to only their third PSAC team title in school history and the first since 1997 as she won the individual title by finishing the race in 20:59, 17 seconds ahead of Slippery Rock’s Jennifer Harpp, to lead the Raiders to a narrow three-point victory in the team standings. At the Atlantic Region championships, Spence broke the course record by 26 seconds, finishing the course at Slippery Rock in 21:09, which was also broken later at the NCAA meet, but which helped lead the Red Raiders to a first place finish at the regional championship. Spence then helped Shippensburg to a sixth place finish at the NCAA championships, held on the same course, by placing second individually in 21:27. She was also honored at the Atlantic Region Women’s Athlete of the Year.
Schelander, like Spence a native of Shippensburg, helped the Red Raider men’s team to a fourth place finish at the PSAC Championships by finishing 28th individually in 26:00. He was the top freshman finisher on the men’s side and the only freshman to finish in the top 30 at the men’s championship. He was also a part of the Shippensburg contingent that finished fourth at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship, as he placed 37th in that meet in Slippery Rock in 33:51 as the Red Raiders just narrowly missed out on qualifying for the NCAA national meet.
Russell is the PSAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year for the fifth time in the last six years, as he was also the men’s coach of the year from 2003-06. He led his men’s team to a strong finish. After finishing in third place at the PSAC Championships on their home course, which included two individuals in the top 10 and three in the top 15, the Bald Eagles then won the team title at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship, placing three runners in the top 10 and all five of their scorers in the top 15 to soundly defeat the PSAC’s two top teams from the PSAC meet, Edinboro and Slippery Rock. It marked the fourth regional title in the last six years for Lock Haven, which also won the region in 2003, 2004 and 2006. The Bald Eagles then finished in a tie for 19th place at NCAA Championships. Russell was also recently named the Atlantic Region Men’s Coach of the Year.
Spence is awarded his first PSAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year honor after leading the Shippensburg women to their finest season in 11 years. The Red Raiders’ PSAC Championship gave them three overall, which are now the third-most of any PSAC school since 1980. The Raiders’ NCAA regional championship was also their first since the same year of their last PSAC championship, 1997. The sixth place finish at the NCAA meet was also the second-best finish in program history. Spence was also honored as the Atlantic Region Women’s Coach of the Year.
PSAC Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Chris Clark, California (Pa.)
PSAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Neely Spence, Shippensburg
PSAC Men’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year
Stephen Schelander, Shippensburg
PSAC Women’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year
Neely Spence, Shippensburg
PSAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
Aaron Russell, Lock Haven
PSAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
Steve Spence, Shippensburg