NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State men's track and field team makes its 2019 indoor season debut when the Spartans take part in the Virginia Tech Hokie Invitational on Jan. 11-12.

It will be one of five regular-season indoor meets for the Spartans. NSU also competes this month at VMI and Penn State, and has meets in February at Liberty and at the JDL Invitational in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, prior to the MEAC Indoor Championship on Feb. 21-23.

NSU returns 11 athletes, including all four of the team's outdoor regional qualifiers, from last year's team. It will also be one of the younger teams in head coach Kenneth Giles' tenure, with just one senior, sprinter Justin Pinder.

Anchoring the team in the field events are junior high jumpers Jacob Milton and Garth Warner. Milton has won all four MEAC high jump titles (two indoor, two outdoor) in his career to this point. Both he and Warner have qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round each of the last two seasons.

Junior hurdler Jaylen Banks and sophomore sprinter Trequan Barnes lead the team's returners on the track. Banks is also a two-time regional qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles. Barnes also made it to regionals last year, capping a solid freshman season that included an indoor MEAC title in the 400 meters.

Barnes and sophomore Keith Brown should pace the team in the sprints. Brown progressed as a freshman last season, setting a new PR of 10.46 seconds in the 100 meters at the MEAC Outdoor Championships. Pinder will team with Barnes to give the Spartans depth in the 400 meters.

Freshman Kamil Jihad will look to become a MEAC contender in the 800 meters after an All-MEAC cross country performance in the fall. Juniors Festus Bett and Bill Kemboi are the team's top returning distance runners and will be joined by several second-semester reinforcements.

High jumper Kequan Henley, pole vaulter Patrick Booker and thrower Zaire Barnes will also be key cogs for the Spartans in the field events.