NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – It was a case of déjà vu for senior Josef Tessema on Sunday at the CNU Holiday Open.

For the second straight year, Tessema broke the school record in the 3,000 meters on CNU's Freeman Center track. A year to the day after running a time of 8:27.76, Tessema took first place Sunday in the event with a clocking of 8:26.95.

Tessema highlighted a strong performance from NSU's distance runners in the 3,000 meters. First-year sophomore Nathnael Meseret set a PR in his first indoor meet as a Spartan, placing second behind Tessema in 8:29.29. Senior Philemon Kimutai was close behind in 8:30.86.

In other races, Kameron George was second in the mile, running a time of 4:24.89. In his return from an ankle injury prior to outdoor season, junior James Taylor had the second-fastest time in the 60 meters, at 6.79 seconds. He elected not to run in the finals, having also competed earlier in the 600 meters, where he was eighth (1:24.63).

The Spartans are off for the remainder of the semester and the holiday break before returning to action at UMES' Coach O Invitational on Jan. 7.