NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana won the men's and women's team titles for the ninth consecutive year, and XU senior Kwame Jackson set a record with his third individual title at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday at City Park.
The Gold Nuggets had six of the eight fastest women and scored 21 points to win their championship by 21. The Gold Rush had a much closer battle with Edward Waters, outscoring the Tigers 36-43 in the closest men's team finish since 2006.
Jackson, however, never was seriously challenged. He ran the 8,000-meter men's course in 29 minutes, 3.16 seconds and won by nearly 42 seconds over the runner-up, sophomore teammate Christopher August.
"Becoming a three-time champion is exciting," Jackson said. "To be able to stay healthy and compete at a high level consistently for four years has been a blessing, and I am very thankful for that."
Jackson repeated as GCAC champion and won for the third time this season and the sixth time in his career.
"I have never been this busy in my life," Jackson said. "I'm enrolled in 18 credit hours, I participate in on-campus research, and I'm applying for graduate school. So I am very pleased with my season and career at Xavier."
August finished in 29:44.63. Xavier's Brent Kitto placed fifth in 30.52.20, and Emmanuel Detiege was ninth in 32:33.99. The top 10 male and female finishers received All-GCAC recognition.
It was the sixth straight year that Xavier produced the GCAC individual men's champion, but the Gold Rush bid for a sixth consecutive 1-2-3 men's individual finish ended when Shane Harlow of Edward Waters placed third.
Edward Waters freshman Joy Miller rallied past XU junior Hannah Finnegan in the final 300 yards to win the women's individual title. Miller ran the 5K in 21:10.78, and Finnegan was second in 21:13.13.
Joining Finnegan on the All-GCAC team were teammates Ashley Flournoy (third place, 21:34.25), Hali Yarmush (fourth 21:44.35), Carlie Calais (fifth, 21:52.26), Briana Simms (seventh, 21:59.46) and Reeka Belton (eighth, 22:07.11). Yarmush was all-conference for the fourth time.
Miller won in the absence of XU senior Catherine Fakler, who was injured and did not compete. Fakler beat Miller by more than a minute in the season opener at City Park and won the 2013 GCAC title by more than 90 seconds.
Xavier's Joseph Moses was voted GCAC Coach of the Year for the ninth consecutive time on the men's side and the sixth straight season and the eighth time in nine years on the women's.
Both XU teams qualified automatically for the NAIA National Championships on Nov. 22 at Lawrence, Kan., and the top five men and women not on the winning teams also qualified. It will be the fifth time in seven years that the Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush qualified for nationals as a team.
Results: Men Women
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Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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