Complete Results
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — Shippensburg University women’s cross country sophomore
Neely Spence won a hastily constructed 6K race against prestigious Division I competition on Friday afternoon from Lock Haven University’s West Branch Course following the morning cancellation of the National Invitational that was to be hosted by Penn State University.
Spence finished with a time of 20:21 and earned a victory by a mere second over the top runner from West Virginia University, senior Keri Bland. The Mountaineer cross country program entered the week ranked No. 3 in Division I and ran all of their top runners on Friday. Bland finished 14th last season at the Division I National Championships.
Spence took the lead at the 4K mark of the race and had to fight off the advances of several runners for the individual championship. Last year as a freshman, Spence finished sixth overall with a time of 20:36 at the University Park course.
A number of prestigious Division I programs made the trip north despite the cancelation of competition in University Park. Among the schools running the women’s race included Penn State, Boston College, Providence, Cornell and Rider along with PSAC brethren Slippery Rock, IUP and East Stroudsburg.