PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Spartan men's 4x400 meter relay team placed third in the college division at the 2008 Penn Relays on Saturday evening.

The team of Tyrell Moon (Philadelphia, Pa.), Troy Wilkerson (Norfolk, Va.), Randy Lee (Washington, D.C.) and Raymond Brown (Richmond, Va.) won its section of the preliminaries in a season-best time of 3:10.01, just one one-hundredth of a second off qualifying for the NCAA East Regional next month. In the finals, the same quartet ran a time of 3:11.76, placing third behind winner South Carolina and Maryland, which edged NSU at the finish line.

The Spartans' top two long jumpers also performed well Saturday. Sophomore Marlon Woods (Norfolk, Va.) came in fifth in the Championship of America section of the high jump (6-9 ¾). Junior Raphael Hall (Chesapeake, Va.), competing in the college division section, also placed fifth (6-8 ¼).

The NSU men will now focus their sights on capturing their third consecutive MEAC Outdoor Track and Field championship. The championship meet runs this Thursday through Saturday at Morgan State University. The Spartans, who have also won the last three MEAC indoor titles, are aiming for their sixth consecutive conference track title in a row.