Shippensburg University’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams start their fall 2024 campaigns highly motivated with the goal of earning a trip to the 2024 NCAA National Championships in Sacramento on Nov. 23.

The men’s team is coming off a successful fall 2023 campaign. The Raiders won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) team championship, booked a trip to the NCAA Championship meet with a third-place finish in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Meet and finished 31st as a team at the NCAA Championship meet.

Despite losing three of their top seven runners from last year’s team, the men are looking to build on last season and further improve. 

“Our returning runners are stronger and faster than last year,” said head coach Steve Spence. After learning that they are a national caliber team and that they can compete at the highest level, they want to prove that once more this year. 

Among the returning runners for the Raiders is defending individual PSAC champion Garrett Quinan. Quinan became one of only three Raiders to win the individual championship in his sophomore year in 2023. For the upcoming season Spence sees him “in a great position to move into the top 40 and earn All-American honors” at the National Championship meet after he finished 66th last season.

Among the other returners are Aiden Gonder, who finished second at the PSAC Championships in 2023, and Ian Sherlock. Both Gonder and Sherlock chose to return for their fifth year. Spence values having them on the team for one more year, as they lead by example. “They are leaders who are focused on success, and they are setting high standards and expectations for all team members,” Spence said.

The goals for the upcoming season are set higher than last year. Where the goal in 2024 was to win the PSAC Championship and to finish in the Top 3 at the regional meet to make it to Nationals, the focus has shifted in 2023. 

According to Spence, this year the goals are to defend the PSAC Championship, but with less points scored than last year, and to be competitive for the win in the regional meet. The team also expects “to qualify for the NCAA Championships and improve on last year's 31st place finish,” Spence said. 

The women’s team is equally motivated to have a successful season. The women plan to build on their fifth-place team finish at the PSAC Championship meet in 2023. Spence said, “We return a core veteran crew that is hungry to see us achieve our potential.”

In 2023, the women’s team was sitting in second place before entering the last kilometer of the PSAC Championship meet, before they finished in fifth place. This interim score gave the team the realization that they were close to competing for the PSAC title. The same goes for the NCAA Atlantic Region meet, where they finished in fifth place and only two spots off a place that would book them a ticket to the NCAA Championships. 

With their returning runners, who feature multiple All-PSAC runners from 2023, being stronger and faster than last year, the women want to “believe in the training plan and trust in the process that will help us achieve our goals,” Spence said. 

This year, the goals for the women are “to be competitive for a PSAC team title, finish Top 3 at the NCAA Regional and earn a trip to Sacramento for the NCAA meet,” according to Spence.

Other teams in the PSAC recognize the potential of the Raiders this season, as they have received three first-place votes in the 2024 PSAC Preseason Coaches´ Poll and were ranked third. The team embraces the underdog mentality that the ranking gave them and is motivated to prove the ranking wrong. 

“We think No. 3 is a good place to start because we can embrace the underdog mentality and it gives us motivation to show that we deserved more respect,” Spence said.

Spence believes his team is ready to achieve its big goals this season. 

“I look forward to seeing our team accomplish some things that they didn't think possible a couple years ago,” he said.

Both the men’s and women’s teams open their season at home on Friday with the Galen Piper Cross Country Challenge. The challenge takes place on the Rec Fields and the first race begins at 8 p.m. The PSAC Championships are scheduled for Oct. 26, and the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships, where the Raiders seek to qualify for the NCAA Championship, are contested on Nov. 9.

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