Thursday, October 18, 2012

XU 37th in poll, awaits Saturday defense of GCAC title








NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana collected three points Wednesday in the NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 poll. It's the second consecutive week and the fourth time in seven polls this season that the Gold Nuggets received points.

The XU women, who did not compete this past week, are 37th in the rankings. Three-time defending national champion Cal State San Marcos is No. 1 for the third consecutive week and the fifth time this season.

The Gold Nuggets will compete Saturday in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships at Clinton, Miss. They'll try to win the team championship for the seventh consecutive year. XU sophomore Zahri Jackson will attempt to repeat as individual champion.
    
The Gold Rush also have GCAC streaks. The XU men have won the last six team titles and produced the past three individual champions. Two of those runners — senior Matt Pieri (2010 champion) and sophomore Kwame Jackson (2011) — will run Saturday. Jackson is an older brother of Zahri Jackson.
    
The 5,000-meter women's race will start at 8 a.m., followed by the 8,000-meter men's race at 8:30. Choctaw Trails Cross Country Course — where Xavier competed October 5 in the Mississippi College/Watson Ford Invitational — is the GCAC Championships site for the second consecutive year and the sixth time in eight seasons. Team champions, plus the top five finishers not on those teams, will qualify for the NAIA National Championships at Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 17.

   
NAIA Women's Cross Country
Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses)

RankTeamPointsLast
1Cal State San Marcos (21)6521
2British Columbia6292
3College of Idaho (2)607tie-3
4Olivet Nazarene594tie-3
5Biola5745
6Carroll (Mont.)5466
7Northwest Christian5177
8Westmont5128
9Cornerstone4769
10Dordt45710
11Oklahoma Baptist44712
12Aquinas41514
13Lewis-Clark State41211
14The Master's40113
15Rocky Mountain36115
16Concordia (Calif.)32316
17St. Francis (Ill.)30520
18Doane282tie-18
19Milligan249tie-18
20Illinois Tech23417
21Eastern Oregon225RV
22Embry-Riddle (Fla.)21222
23Concordia (Neb.)18323
24Huntington (Ind.)18025
25Taylor14424

Others receiving votes: Northwest 132, Indiana Wesleyan 76, Oregon Tech 69, Shawnee State 63, Saint Xavier 52, Baker 33, Spring Arbor 18, Southern Oregon 18, Trinity Christian 10, Texas Wesleyan 10, Lee (Tenn.) 6, Xavier 3.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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