BLACKSBURG, Va. - Keith Nkrumah ran a personal-best time in winning the 60-meter hurdles and Josef Tessema was also victorious in the 1,000 meters to lead the Spartan men's track team over the weekend at the Hokie Invitational hosted by Virginia Tech.

Nkrumah clocked a time of 7.84 seconds in the finals to take the win in his first competition of the indoor season on Friday. Tessema, running the 1,000 for the first time this season, posted a time of 2:27.56 to win the gold on Saturday.

While those were the only wins of the weekend for NSU, several Spartans turned in standout performances. James Taylor ran the team's fastest 200-meter time this season, clocking a 21.62 to finish fifth on Saturday. Taylor also finished second in the 60 meters, running a time of 6.78 seconds in Friday's final. Fellow sprinter Sean Holston, running his first indoor 400 for NSU this season, placed third overall and was the top collegiate finisher with a time of 47.66 seconds.

In other distance races, Tessema also competed in the mile run on Friday, running a season-best time of 4:15.79 to finish in eighth place. Damtew Adnew also posted a season-best time, placing sixth in the 5,000 meters in 15:29.01.

Taylor, Holston, Nkrumah and Kenneth Smith capped the meet on the track by running a season-best time of 3:13.29 for a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay. That time is more than three seconds faster than the MEAC's leading 4x400 time heading into the weekend.

In field events, John James cleared 6 feet, 8.25 inches to tie for fifth place in the high jump, and Theo Duncan recorded a mark of 49-9 to claim seventh place in the shot put.

On the women's side, Shanneka Claiborne and Champagne Bell continued their strong indoor track and field seasons over the weekend at the Virginia Tech as both notched a top-five finish.

Claiborne continued her stellar sprinting in the 60 meters, taking second in 7.46 seconds. Also in the 60 meters, freshman Torie Cunningham ran a season-best time of 7.63 seconds in the preliminary heats and finished eighth in a time of 7.67 in the finals.

Bell finished third in the long jump with a top mark of 18 feet, 9 inches. She also ran a personal-best time 24.93 seconds in the 200 meters, placing sixth.

In other field events, Katie Wright took seventh place in the pole vault with a season-best height of 10-6. Freshman Tiara Davis also performed well, clearing 10-0 for a ninth-place finish.

Claiborne, Bell, Rayiana Johnson and Ashley Sessoms capped the weekend for the Spartan women by running a time of 3:55.58 to finish 10th in the 4x400 meter relay. That time is roughly four and a half seconds faster than NSU's previous best time this season.

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