CARY, N.C. – Led by personal-best performances from its top three finishers, the Norfolk State men's cross country team turned in a first-place effort for the third consecutive meet Saturday at the Great American Cross Country Festival.

The Spartans, ranked eighth in the USTFCCA Southeast Region poll this week, easily won the HBCU Challenge section of the competition for the second year in a row. The Spartans tallied 24 points, well ahead of second-place Winston-Salem State's 81.

Junior Josef Tessema (Springfield, Va.) took his third consecutive meet victory, finishing the 8K course in a personal-best time of 24 minutes, 47.8 seconds. Sophomore Vincent Rono (Bomet, Kenya) was second overall and also ran a PR, finishing in 24:59.5. Junior Amos Kipkosgei (Eldoret, Kenya) capped the Spartans' 1-2-3 finish with a PR of 25:06.1.

Junior Philemon Kimutai (Eldoret, Kenya) took eighth place in a time of 26:16.4. Sophomore Kameron George (Brooklyn, N.Y.) rounded out the Spartans' top five in a personal-best time of 26:38, good for 10th place overall.

The Spartans are off next weekend. Their next meet is on Oct. 16 at the Tribe Open hosted by William & Mary.

Top 5 Men's Teams
1. Norfolk State 24
2. Winston-Salem St. 81
3. Hampton  103
4. University of D.C. 120
5. Bowie State  150