NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State men's cross country team will vie for its second straight MEAC championship and its ninth in the last 10 years this Saturday in Princess Anne, Md. The championship 8,000-meter (five-mile) race begins at 10:30 a.m. on the campus of Maryland-Eastern Shore.

The Spartans have won every MEAC men's cross country title this decade except in 2007, when they finished second. Included in that span was a conference-record seven straight from 2000-06.

NSU has four of the six fastest times and six of the top 13 among MEAC runners this season. Leading the way is sophomore University of Wyoming transfer Philemon Kimutai (Eldoret, Kenya). He has run the fastest 8K time this season, 24:46, at the Great American Cross Country Festival earlier this month. He won that race and also won the Colonial Inter-Regional Challenge at William & Mary in September.

New York Tech transfer Amos Kipkosgei (Eldoret, Kenya) ranks third in the MEAC with his time of 25:11, also run at the Great American XC Festival. Junior Josef Tessema (Springfield, Va.) is fifth in the conference with his top time of 25:24 and freshman Vincent Rono (Bomet, Kenya) is sixth at 25:40.

Freshman Kameron George (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and senior Jonathan Soimo (Kapsabet, Kenya) also rank in the MEAC top 13, and Nos. 11 and 13, respectively. Soimo will be aiming to earn his fourth All-MEAC honor in as many years.