Final Results

EARLYSVILLE, Va. – Led by a personal-best five-mile time by junior Josef Tessema (Springfield, Va.), the Norfolk State men's cross country team took first place at the Lou Onesty Invitational hosted by the University of Virginia on Friday evening.

Tessema took the individual title with a PR of 25 minutes, 3.25 seconds. Four other Spartans finished in the top 10 to help NSU pace the five-team field which included 22nd-ranked Virginia.

Sophomore Vincent Rono (Bomet, Kenya), the reigning MEAC Athlete of the Week, was the next-highest Spartan finisher. Despite running roughly 50 meters off course at one point, Rono backtracked and took fifth place in 25:24.91. Junior Amos Kipkosgei (Eldoret, Kenya) was right behind, placing sixth in 25:34.65.

Junior Philemon Kimutai (Eldoret, Kenya) placed 10th in 25:57.45. Sophomore Kameron George (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also performed well, running a personal-best time of 26:55.99 to finish 22nd.

“This was a major win for our program,” head coach Kenneth Giles said. “To finish ahead of a nationally-renowned program like U.Va. is a big step for us.”

The Spartans are off next week before returning to action at the William & Mary Inter-Regional Challenge on Sept. 25.