SMYRNA, Del. – Norfolk State sophomore Candice Higgins earned her first career All-MEAC cross country honor Saturday morning at the MEAC Cross Country Championship, leading the Spartan women to a fifth-place finish at the Delaware State Outreach and Research Center.

Higgins placed sixth overall on the 5,000-meter course with a season-best time of 18 minutes, 38.79 seconds, which was over a minute faster than her previous season best. NSU finished with 115 total points.

The rest of top-five runners for Norfolk State were freshmen. Caroline Semoei was 18th in a time of 19:35.66, while Linei Woodsonran a personal-best time of 19:49.54 to finish in 22nd.  Nelly Jerop crossed the line in a career-best time of 20:23.64, followed by Ashah Koech with a time of 20:47.92 to finish in 38th place.

The fifth-place finish for Norfolk State at the MEAC Championship was its best since the 2013 season, when the team finished fourth.

Florida A&M won the team race with 53 points. Maryland Eastern Shore finished second with 60 points, while Hampton came in third with 93 points. Bethune-Cookman was 10 points better than the Spartans in fourth, with 105.

Judith Kibii of Florida A&M was the women’s overall winner with a time of 18:02.6.

Originally published at nsuspartans.com