4 GCAC champions sweep league's weekly awards

NEW ORLEANS — Four individual-championship winners from Xavier University of Louisiana — Shane Buchanan, Edward Angel, Maliya Vaughan and Calah Williams — are Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week recipients in track and field for April 15-21.
     
The GCAC announced the honors Tuesday. Buchanan (men's track) won for the third time this season and career; Angel (men's field) did it for the second time this season and fifth time in his career; Vaughan (women's track) won for the first time this season and third time in her career; and Williams (women's field) was honored for the third time in 2019 and fourth time overall.
     
Buchanan, a freshman from Kingston, Jamaica, and a graduate of Kingston College, produced five first-place finishes — two more than the Gold Rush had a year ago — in about 21 hours at the GCAC Championships. Buchanan was named Most Valuable Men's Track Performer as of result of the victories (1,500-meter run, 5,000, 10,000, 3,000 steeplechase, 3,200 relay) and the meet-high 42 1/2 points he scored.
     
Angel, a sophomore from Fulshear, Texas, and a graduate of Seven Lakes High School, became the Gold Rush's first conference champion in the high jump since 2004. His best jump was 6 feet, 4 3/4 inches.
     
Vaughan, a senior from Sacramento, Calif., and a graduate of West Campus High School, was named Most Valuable Women's Track Performer after scoring 35 1/2 points at the GCAC meet — first place in the 1,500, 3,000 steeplechase and 3,200 relay, second in the 10,000 and fourth in the 5,000. It was the second straight year that Vaughan was the Gold Nuggets' high point producer at the conference meet.
     
Williams, a sophomore from Baton Rouge, La., and a graduate of Woodlawn High School, repeated as GCAC discus champion and broke her school record with a distance of 37.12 meters/121 feet, 9 inches.
     
XULA scored a GCAC women's meet-record 268 points to win its third consecutive team championship. The men scored 198 points, the most ever by a GCAC runner-up.
     
Both XULA teams will compete Saturday in the Southern Miss Open at Hattiesburg, Miss. The meet will start at 11:30 a.m. It will be the sixth meet of the season for the Nuggets and Rush.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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