Shippensburg University sophomore Garrett Quinan has been honored as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Top 10 award recipient for the Fall 2023 season. The award recognizes student-athletes who excel both in their sport and in the classroom, with all nominees having at least a 3.50 GPA and being a starter for their team.
Speaking on receiving the honor, Quinan said, “I’m grateful for this recognition and I owe a lot of my success to the support from my team and coaches throughout the past year and a half here at Ship. Their support has helped me stay focused on the importance of athletics and academics and to strive for more.”
Quinan has excelled in cross country in his two years at Shippensburg, making it onto the All-PSAC First Team in both seasons, along with being named the 2023 PSAC Men’s Cross-Country Athlete of the Year. He won the PSAC Men’s Championship race, only the third Raider to ever do so. Quinan also placed fifth in the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships and second of the Atlantic Region runners in the NCAA National Championships.
On the academic side, Quinan is majoring in mechanical engineering and currently has a 3.676 cumulative GPA through 51 credits. Managing his major with cross-country is a lot, but Quinan has his teammates supporting him.
“Balancing a large course load and intense endurance training is challenging, but there’s a camaraderie in having a group of guys on my team putting in the same hard work with the goal of bettering ourselves,” Quinan said.
Cross-country head coach Steve Spence discussed Quinan’s work ethic in an interview, saying, “Garrett has shown maturity beyond his years and has embraced the lifestyle of a serious student-athlete. As a distance runner, he has no off season and very little down time where he is not engaged in intense physical activity. He competes fall, winter, spring, and trains diligently during the summer to prepare for the competitive seasons.”
Quinan chose to attend Shippensburg for a multitude of reasons, saying “It was close to home, had both track and cross country, and offered engineering. On my visit, the team environment was very friendly and supportive; and from knowing Coach Spence’s reputation before being recruited, I knew he would be a great mentor.”
He also praised Spence as a head coach, saying “Coach Spence is a great mentor and role model, he always has our best interest in mind and inspires us to compete at our fullest.” Quinan also mentioned how the university helps athletes, mentioning how it “does a good job of recognizing athletic achievements and supporting athletes through organizations such as SAAC [Student Athlete Advisory Committee].”
In terms of what is to come the next two seasons for Quinan, he hopes to “stay consistent in my training and studying to compete and perform to the best of my abilities.”
Coach Spence also expects him to improve next season, saying, “he is poised to earn All-American honors by placing in the top 40 at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships where he was 66th in 2023.”
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.