The men finished third out of five teams in the open division of the prestigious North Carolina Cross Country Championships and regional preview meet hosted by East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. Cleophus Koros (Kapsabet, Kenya/Mt. St. Mary's) again led the way for the Spartans, finishing 11th, fifth among collegiate competitors in the open division, with an 8K time of 25:42.15. Francis Kirong (Nairobi, Kenya/Moi University) was 17th, seventh among college runners, in 26:17.69. Patrick Scott (Jacksonville, Fla./Wolfson) and Duncan Bitok (Kapsabet, Kenya/Fairleigh Dickinson) finished 23rd and 27th overall, respectively. NSU finished behind Liberty and Coastal Carolina, ahead of Spartanburg Methodist and Francis Marion.
The NSU women's team also showed well at the Tribe Open hosted by the College of William & Mary. Team scores were not kept, but Denisha Hudson (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Lakeland) finished fifth overall in 19:16 on the 3.03-mile course. Linah Tallam (Nakuru, Kenya/Central Arizona CC) was 10th in 19:24, and Fabiana Perlingeiro (Praia Do Canto, Brazil/Va. Intermont) was 18th in 19:58.
Both teams are off this weekend in preparation for the 2004 MEAC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 30 in Greensboro, N.C. The NSU men have won the last four conference championships, and the Spartan women were third last year.