Price, Wilson lead XULA runners at McNeese meet

Results:  Men    Women

LAKE CHARLES, La. — Senior Taylor Price and freshman Ahmad Wilson were Xavier University of Louisiana's first finishers Saturday in the Lake Charles Toyota Cowboy Stampede cross country meet at Enos Derbonne Sports Complex.
     
Price, leading the Gold Nuggets for the third time in as many meets this season, ran 5,000 meters in 20 minutes, 59.4 seconds to finish 53rd out of 100 women. Wilson, leading the Gold Rush for the first time in his XULA career, ran four miles in 25:26.5 to place 88th out of 104 men.
     
\Also finishing for the XULA women were Maliya Vaughan (87th place, 25:02.8), Alexis Williams (90th, 25:56.1), Darryan Horton (91st, 25:58.2) and Hajjia Mohammed (98th, 27:34.3). Horton, a freshman, made her collegiate debut.
     
The other finishers for the XULA men were Ghassan Alansi (91st, 26:11.2), Adrian Thornton (93rd, 27:36.7) and Devin Macklin-Jackson (94th, 27:48.5). It was the first collegiate race for Thornton, a freshman.
     
In women's team scoring, the Gold Nuggets collected 359 points to finish 13th out of 14 schools. A longtime NAIA member, XULA finished ahead of NCAA Division I Alcorn State. XULA did not qualify for men's team scoring.
     
Individual champions were Arina Kleshchukova (17:34.6) of New Orleans in the women's race and Daniel Saina (19:51.7) of McNeese, the host school, in the men's. Houston won both team titles, outscoring its city rival, Rice, 44-55 in the women's division and McNeese 46-50 in the men's.
     
Next competition for XULA will be the Watson Ford Invitational Oct. 12 at Choctaw Trails Course in Clinton, Miss. The women's 6,000-meter race will start at 8:30 a.m., followed by the men's 8,000-meter race at 9:15 a.m.

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