XU Nuggets, Rush sweep UD titles; Zahri Jackson runs first

IRVING, Texas -- Xavier University of Louisiana won the women's and men's team championships of the University of Dallas Invitational cross country meet Saturday, and XU freshman Zahri Jackson was the women's individual champion.

Xavier University of Louisiana's 2011 Women's Cross Country Team
      From left: Anna D'Souza, Hali Yarmuth, Catherine Fakler, Darian Towns, Donye Coleman, Zahri Jackson, Paige Rochelle, Ashley Taylor.
(click photo to enlarge)

The Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush, both five-time defending Gulf Coast Athletic Conference champions, swept the team titles in a regular-season meet for the first time since the 2008 Mobile (Ala.) Rampage.

Jackson ran 6,000 meters in 25 minutes, 10.63 seconds to become the Nuggets' first individual champion since Ebony Harding won the 2009 GCAC title and the second female titlist during Joseph Moses' seven seasons as XU's coach. Jackson, who won't turn 18 until April, recorded her fourth top-10 finish in six collegiate meets and her third top-five.

Xavier University of Louisiana's 2011 Men's Cross Country Team
      From left: Charles Shaw, Jamaal Williams, Ray Walston, Kwame Jackson, Javon Mead, Matt Pieri. Not pictured is Emmanuel Detiege.
(click photo to enlarge)

All seven Gold Nuggets finished in the top 10 -- Hali Yarmush was second in 26:04.34, Anna D'Souza third in 26:31.85 and Catherine Fakler fourth in 26:34.62 -- and Xavier scored 16 points to win the team title by 40 points over runner-up Dallas. UD's Rachel Oleksiak placed fifth to deny the Nuggets a perfect team score.

In the 8,000-meter men's race, Matt Pieri was third in 28:00.55, Kwame Jackson sixth in 29:14.97 and Ray Walston ninth in 29:49.38. The Gold Rush scored 41 points, followed by Arlington Baptist with 54 and Dallas with 65.

Pieri has 12 top-10s and eight top-fives in three seasons at Xavier, and Walston, a senior, has 13 top-10s. Kwame Jackson, a freshman and the brother of Zahri, has four top-10s.

Also in the top 10 for Xavier's women were Ashley Taylor (sixth, 27:22.45), Darian Towns (seventh, 27:33.94) and Donyé Coleman (10th, 28:18.94). Yarmush and Towns recorded their first top-10s as collegians. Fakler, a freshman, has four top-10s and two top-fives. D'Souza and Taylor, both seniors, recorded their first top-10s of the season.

Xavier has won 14 men's and 11 women's team championships during Moses' tenure.

This was the last regular-season meet for both XU teams. Next will be the GCAC Championships at Clinton, Miss., on Oct. 22.

Men    Women

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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