The Norfolk State University men’s cross country team won its fifth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title on Saturday at Hagan Stone Park. Spartan men took second through fourth places and got solid efforts from all five men who scored.

The NSU women finished fifth, led by three runners who finished in the top 15.

Sophomore Francis Kirong (Nairobi, Kenya/Moi University) took second for the Spartan men, running 26:35.7 over the five-mile course in his first MEAC Championship race. Senior Patrick Scott (Jacksonville, Fla./Wolfson) took third in 26:52.8, and junior Cleophus Koros (Kapsabet, Kenya/Mt. St. Mary’s) took fourth in 27:04.3 despite suffering an injury to his side midway through the race.

Perhaps just as importantly, Duncan Bitok (Kapsabet, Kenya/Fairleigh Dickinson) took 11th to become the fourth Spartan to earn All-MEAC honors by placing in the top 15. It was his third consecutive All-MEAC honor. Also key was Geoffrey Chelule (Kericho, Kenya/Kabianga), who took 22nd to help the Spartans finish with 42 points and hold off second-place Maryland-Eastern Shore, which had 49.

“The guys ran really well. Cleophus did a great job to finish strong although he caught a stitch in his side,” said NSU men’s cross country coach Kenneth Giles, who has five MEAC titles and one runner-up finish in his six years as coach at NSU. “Our guys knew we couldn’t train as hard as we did last year because we didn’t have the depth to risk injury.”

“We train as hard or harder than anyone else in the MEAC, and it shows on championship day,” said Scott, who earned his second straight All-MEAC honor.

The victory for Giles and his runners is also a milestone in MEAC history. This marks the first time in conference cross country history, for either men or women, that one school has claimed five consecutive MEAC titles. The Delaware State men’s and women’s cross country teams each won four in a row from 1984-87, and the Coppin State women took four straight from 1991-94.

For the Spartan women, senior Linah Tallam (Nakuru, Kenya/Central Arizona CC) took fourth place overall in 19:21.5 on the 3.1-mile course for her second consecutive All-MEAC recognition, and Denisha Hudson (Yorktown Heights, N.Y/Lakeland) finished ninth in to earn her third All-MEAC designation in as many years. Fabiana Perlingeiro (Praia do Canto, Brazil/Va. Intermont) was 14th to also earn All-MEAC.

The NSU men will take part in the NCAA regional meet in Greenville, N.C. on Nov. 13.