GREENSBORO, N.C. - Norfolk State sophomore Jonathan Soimo (Kapsabet, Kenya) won the 3,000-meter steeplechase, fellow sophomore Brett Dodd (San Antonio, Texas) tied for first in the pole vault and the 1,600-meter relay team also took first place on Saturday afternoon at the Murray Neely Invitational hosted by North Carolina A&T.

In his first meet running the steeplechase this season, Soimo ran a time of 9:49.31, nearly 14 seconds better than runner-up Jesse McEntire of UNC Pembroke. Dodd, meanwhile, cleared 12 feet, 11 ½ inches to tie Scott Decker of Lynchburg College for first place in the pole vault on a rain-soaked track.

The 4x400 team of Tyrell Moon (Philadelphia, Pa.), Randy Lee (Washington, D.C.), Carlton Phipps (Lynchburg, Va.) and Gary Sumpter (Dover, Del.) brought home the Spartans' other first-place finish Saturday. They edged North Carolina Central by nearly three and a half seconds.

NSU athletes also earned second-place finishes on Saturday: Marlon Powells (Hyattsville, Md.) in the shot put, Marlon Woods (Norfolk, Va.) in the long jump, Meredith Whitties (Petersburg, Va.) in the javelin and Keenan Harris (Norfolk, Va.) in the 800 meters. Powells threw a season-best 50-10 ¼ ion the shot put and also placed fourth in the discus.

The Spartans return to action this Saturday at the University of North Carolina.