TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Norfolk State men made a strong showing on Saturday at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational at Indiana State University, placing eighth out of 20 teams in its final tuneup for the MEAC Cross Country Championships.

Three Spartans completed the 8,000 meter race in under 26 minutes and placed among the top 25 runners. Freshman Evans Cheruiyot led the way by finishing 12th individually, posting a time of 25 minutes, 19.6 seconds. Sophomore Meshack Kipchirchir (14th) and sophomore Lelei Too (25th) also finished in the top 25. Kipchirchir clocked a time of 25:25.5, and Too finished in 25:39.5. Those were the second-best times of the season for all three Spartans.

Senior Anteneh Girma was NSU's next-highest finisher. He placed 58th in a season-best 26:10.1. Senior Festus Bett rounded out the top five in 27:40.8, good for 112th place. 

Also over the weekend, NSU sent three men's runners to the East Carolina Pirate Invitational. Sophomore Kamil Jihad paced the group with a time of 27:01, good for 83rd place. Freshman Je'Shawn Walker posted a time of 27:42.37, and classmate Zaid Abdul-Kaudeyr crossed the line in 31:17.29.

NSU will aim for its second MEAC title in three years next Saturday, when the 2019 conference championship is contested in Smyrna, Del.