One is not a lonely number for XU in the NAIA polls

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana received one point Wednesday — the same number as this past week — in both of the NAIA Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 polls. But that pair of ones is significant.

For the Gold Nuggets, it's the first time since 2002 that they received a vote in consecutive polls, and it's the first time since that same season that they were mentioned in the poll entering the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships. For the XU men, it's the first time they received a vote this late in a season.

Both XU teams will compete Saturday in the GCAC meet at Choctaw Trails Course in Clinton, Miss. — women's race at 8 a.m., men's race at 8:30 — and both the Gold Nuggets and the Gold Rush are trying to win a sixth consecutive team championship. XU junior Matt Pieri is the defending men's individual champion.

NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses) Rank Team Points Last 1 Azusa Pacific (21) 652 1 2 Cal State San Marcos (2) 633 2 3 British Columbia 584 4 4 College of Idaho 576 8 5 Friends 572 6 6 Olivet Nazarene 570 5 7 Northwest Christian 529 3 8 Biola 516 7 9 Concordia (Ore.) 479 9 10 Carroll (Mont.) 459 11 11 Morningside 458 10 12 The Master's 423 12 13 Saint Xavier 371 13 14 Lewis-Clark State 359 15 15 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 355 14 16 Westmont 350 16 17 Taylor 309 17 18 Indiana Wesleyan 261 19 19 (tie) Concordia (Neb.) 260 NR 19 (tie) Southern Oregon 260 18 21 Roberts Wesleyan 246 20 22 Rocky Mountain 208 NR 23 Dordt 194 21 24 Aquinas 172 22 25 Milligan 155 23 Others receiving votes: Viterbo 114, Point Loma Nazarene 107, Shawnee State 80, Cornerstone 56, Eastern Oregon 35; Northwestern (Iowa) 23, SCAD Savannah 22, Judson (Ill.) 21, Spring Arbor 8, Northwest (Wash.) 7, Park 3, Grand View 3, Xavier 1,Southwestern (Kan.) 1, Huntington (Ind.) 1, Trinity Christian 1, Wayland Baptist 1, Cumberlands 1, Vanguard 1. NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses) Rank Team Points Last 1 Oklahoma Christian (22) 622 1 2 Shorter 589 2 3 The Master's 566 5 4 Southern Oregon 554 7 5 Friends 520 9 6 Lewis-Clark State 517 6 7 Shawnee State 491 8 8 Cal State San Marcos 485 4 9 College of Idaho 483 21 10 Wayland Baptist 451 10 11 Concordia (Ore.) 430 3 12 Aquinas 400 12 13 Bryan 387 13 14 Westmont 356 14 15 St. Francis (Ill.) 340 16 16 Concordia (Neb.) 305 15 17 Oklahoma Baptist 294 18 18 Olivet Nazarene 289 11 19 Southwestern (Kan.) 277 17 20 Eastern Oregon 258 19 21 Biola 243 20 22 British Columbia 179 22 23 Siena Heights 136 24 24 Morningside 124 RV 25 SCAD Savannah 111 RV Others receiving votes: Graceland 98, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 96, Vanguard 90, Berea 85, Carroll (Mont.) 48, Cornerstone 27, Azusa Pacific 24, Baker 20, Huntington (Ind.) 19, Rocky Mountain 8, Point Loma Nazarene 4, Cumberlands 3, Xavier 1, Dordt 1, Doane 1, By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Both XU teams receive vote in NAIA national polls

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana received one point Wednesday in each of the NAIA Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 polls.

The Gold Nuggets collected their first national vote since Sept. 18, 2008, and the Gold Rush gained its first vote since the 2010 preseason poll. It's the first time since the '08 preseason polls that both teams received votes the same week.

Both XU teams closed the regular season Saturday by winning team championships at the University of Dallas Invitational in Irving, Texas. The victories gave the Gold Rush a 35-16 record and the Gold Nuggets s 36-14-1 record entering the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships at Clinton, Miss., on Oct. 22.

Xavier is the five-time defending GCAC men's and women's champion, and both teams are aiming for their third berth in four years in the NAIA National Championships. Both GCAC team champions will earn automatic berths in the national meet, and the top five men and women not on the winning teams also will qualify.

LINK TO NAIA COACHES TOP 25 POLLS

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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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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XU's Jacksons still keeping GCAC awards in the family

Zahri Jackson

NEW ORLEANS — The streaks continue for Xavier University of Louisiana's cross country teams and freshman siblings Zahri and Kwame Jackson.

XU has won all the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Runner of the Week awards this season. Zahri Jackson is 3-for-3 as the women's recipient, and brother Kwame earned his second in a row after teammate Matt Pieri won for the opening week.

Zahri Jackson placed fifth out of 41 runners Friday in the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational at Lafayette, La. Her time of 20 minutes, 4.6 seconds for 5,000 meters is the seventh fastest in school history. Kwame was third out of 40 men, and his four-mile time of 21:46.1 is XU's second fastest ever.

Kwame Jackson

The Jacksons are from Kingwood, Texas, and graduates of Kingwood Park High School. Each has three top-10 finishes in the first three meets of the season.

Zahri Jackson is the first XU female runner to win three consecutive GCAC awards.

Both XU teams will compete Saturday morning in the LSU Invitational at Highland Road Park in Baton Rouge, La. The women's 6K will start at 8:05, followed by the men's 8K at 9:15.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT:XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

XU Jacksons, Fakler have times of their lives at Loyola meet

Catherine Fakler

METAIRIE, La. — Zahri Jackson was in record form again. Catherine Fakler and Kwame Jackson weren't far behind.

All three Xavier University of Louisiana freshmen produced memorable performances Saturday in the Four Points by Sheraton Loyola Wolfpack Invitational at Lafreniere Park.

Zahri Jackson broke her second XU women's record in as many meets. She ran 5,000 meters in 19 minutes, 15.18 seconds to break the previous mark by nearly 11 seconds. She placed third out of 71 runners and was the first collegiate finisher.

Fakler was fifth overall and third among collegians in a career-best 19:48.50. Her time is the fifth fastest in XU history. Like her teammate, Fakler recorded her second top-10 finish in as many meets.

Ebony Harding set the previous XU mark of 19:26 in 2009 as a senior. Before Saturday, Harding was the only XU female to run a 5K in less than 20 minutes, and Harding recorded the eight fastest times.

Kwame, left, and Zahri Jackson

Kwame Jackson, Zahri's older brother, also recorded his second top-10 in as many meets. He produced a personal best in the men's race. running the 5K in 16:12.13 to finish fourth out of 56 and No. 2 among collegians. His 5K is the fastest by an XU male since Farris Gransberry set the record of 15:46.80 in 2000.

Both Xavier teams produced upper-division finishes for the second straight meet. The Gold Nuggets scored 63 points to finish second out of eight college teams, and the Gold Rush scored 64 points to place third out of seven.

Xavier's good times were not limited to the Jacksons and Fakler. Sophomore Donyé Coleman ran her fastest collegiate 5K and placed 18th in 20:45.78. Anna D'Souza was 21st in 21:00.99, her fastest since the 2008 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference meet her freshman year. In the men's race Ray Walston was seventh with a career-best 16:27.76, about 45 seconds faster than his time in this race a year ago.

City rival Loyola won both team titles. Former Canadian collegiate runner Sarah Skotty (17:35.17) was the fastest female finisher for the second straight year, and former LSU runner Patrick Gavin led the men in 14:56.39. Mississippi College's Tino Gonzales was the fastest male collegian and third overall in 16:09.02.

The next meet for both XU teams will be the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational at Lafayette, La., on Friday evening.

Results:  Men    Women

Xavier Women's Cross Country Best 5,000-Meter times
No. Time Name Class Location Date

1. 19:15.18 Zahri Jackson Freshman Loyola Wolfpack Invitational, Metairie, La. Sept. 10, 2011

2. 19:26 Ebony Harding Senior Gulf Coast Stampede, Pensacola, Fla. Oct. 3, 2009

3. 19:41.33 Ebony Harding Senior Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships, Clinton, Miss. Nov. 7, 2009

4. 19:47.14 Ebony Harding Senior Southern Miss Invitational, Hattiesburg, Miss. Sept. 4, 2009

5. 19:48.50 Catherine Fakler Freshman Loyola Wolfpack Invitational, Metairie, La. Sept. 10, 2011

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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Four XU runners in top 10 at Mississippi College Opener

 Matt Pieri 

CLINTON, Miss. -- Xavier University of Louisiana got top-10 finishes from Matt Pieri and Kwame Jackson in the men's race and Zahri Jackson and Catherine Fakler in the women's race Thursday at the Mississippi College Opener cross country meet.

Zahri Jackson and Fakler, in their collegiate debut, became the first XU females to run 4,000 meters in less than 17 minutes.

Yazmin Ramirez set the previous 4K mark of 17 minutes in 2010.

Xavier edged Loyola by two points for third place out of 11 men's teams.
The Jacksons are freshman siblings.

Pieri, in his 12th top-10 finish for the Gold Rush, ran 5,000 meters in a career-best 16:55.71 to place eighth. Kwame Jackson was ninth in 16:56.61.

Grambling's Darwin Price won the men's race in 15:48.61, but West Florida had the next four finishers and won the team title with 21 points, 72 fewer than runner-up Mississippi College. Xavier scored 114 points and finished ahead of four teams from the NCAA Division I Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Results:  Men    Women  

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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