XU's Jacksons add to their collection of GCAC weekly awards

Xavier University's Kwame and Zahri Jackson
GCAC cross country individual champions in 2011

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Zahri and Kwame Jackson, both individual champions Saturday at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, are the GCAC Runners of the Week for Oct. 17-23.

The Jacksons are freshmen siblings from Kingwood, Texas, a suburb of Houston, and graduates of Kingwood Park High School.

Zahri Jackson extended her XU women's record with her fifth GCAC weekly award of the season, tied Ebony Harding's XU career record and matched the GCAC women's season record set by Spring Hill's Kate Imwalle in 2009. Kwame Jackson won the men's award for the third time.

Zahri Jackson ran 5,000 meters in 19 minutes, 20.40 seconds to score her second consecutive individual victory and defeat defending champion Monicah Jepkemboi of SUNO by 11 seconds. The winning time is the second fastest by a female at the GCAC Championships in the past 11 seasons.

Less than an hour later, Kwame Jackson ran 8,000 meters in 28:12.09 for his first collegiate victory. He defeated teammates and former GCAC champions Ray Walston (2009) and Matt Pieri (2010).

Both the Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush won their sixth consecutive GCAC team championships. Both squads earned automatic bids to the NAIA National Championships on Nov. 19 at Vancouver, Wash.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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Broussard, Johnson, Williams join Hamilton's XU staff

Coach Christabell Hamilton

NEW ORLEANS — Head coach Christabell Hamilton has completed her first-year women's volleyball staff at Xavier University of Louisiana with the addition of Darrilyn Broussard as assistant coach, Brittney Johnson as graduate assistant coach and Lashira Williams as volunteer assistant coach.

The Gold Nuggets will begin their season at 7 p.m. Friday at Belhaven, then play their first home match at 7 p.m. Monday against Mobile at The Barn.

This will be Broussard's second stint on the volleyball staff. She was Greg Castillo's assistant on the first two XU teams in 2003 and 2004. Broussard will retain her duties as women's associate head basketball coach, and the 2011-12 season will be her 11th on Bo Browder's staff. The Nuggets are 260-76 during Broussard's basketball coaching tenure, winning a combined 10 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and qualifying for nine NAIA National Championships.

Darrilyn Broussard

Brittney Johnson

Lashira Williams

Johnson recorded 326 kills, 1,932 assists, 501 digs and 166 blocks the past four seasons as a setter and right-side hitter at LSU and helped the Tigers reach the NCAA Tournament every year. As a senior she led the SEC in assists per set, earned All-South Region honorable mention from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, was first-team All-Louisiana, second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District and COBRA Magazine's Setter of the Year. She won the Jesse Owens Athletic Award, presented to the LSU student-athlete with the highest grade-point average, two consecutive years. She was LSU's nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year in 2010-11.

Johnson is a native of Baton Rouge, La., and was a volleyball and basketball standout at University High School.

Williams had 695 kills, 651 digs and 101 aces the past four seasons while playing outside hitter and middle blocker at Virginia Union University in Richmond. She was VUU Female Athlete of the Year in 2010-11 and had a 3.7 grade-point average in college.

Williams is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a graduate of Glenville High School. She coached the 16s volleyball team in 2010 at U-TURN Sports Performance Academy in Richmond.

Johnson and Williams are first-year students in Xavier's College of Pharmacy. Both received bachelor's degrees in the spring — Johnson in accounting and Williams in biology.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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Xavier Gold Rush to conduct tryouts Friday at The Barn

Head coach Dannton Jackson will
conduct  tryouts for the Xavier men's
 basketball team Friday at the Barn

New Orleans - Xavier University of Louisiana will conduct men's basketball tryouts for the 2011-12 season this Friday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at The Barn.

Participants must be full-time Xavier students and enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours for the fall 2011 semester.

Contact assistant coach Alfred Williams at (504) 520-6778 or awilli39@xula.edu for more information.

Xavier was 27-6 in 2010-11, ranked 17th in the final NAIA Division I poll and qualified for the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship for the fifth time in seven seasons.





By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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Two 27-game winners put XU in elite groups in 2010-11

NEW ORLEANS — What does Xavier University of Louisiana have in common with Connecticut, Duke, North Carolina and Notre Dame?

All five colleges had men's and women's basketball teams that won at least 27 games during the 2010-11 season.

The list isn't much bigger than that. Xavier was one of three NAIA Division I members to reach a pair of 27s — Azusa Pacific and Texas Wesleyan were the others — and NAIA Division II's Davenport and Indiana Wesleyan also achieved it. No schools in NCAA Division II or III had a pair of 27-game winners.




U.S. four-year colleges with 27-game winners in men's and women's basketball during 2010-11.

So that brings the total to nine out of more than 1,200 four-year U.S. colleges which sponsor men's and women's teams.

"That's an amazing list," said Dennis Cousin, Xavier's athletics director. "It's not a long list, and that's why it's great to see Xavier on there. I know our coaches and athletes worked very hard this season. Any positive recognition is good for them and for Xavier."

Although Xavier's basketball teams have combined for nearly 50 20-win seasons, this was the first time that both reached 25 victories in the same season. It's the seventh time in Louisiana history that a college had a pair of 25-game winners and the fourth time for a pair of 27s.

Among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Xavier is the first with a pair of 25-game winners since Norfolk State in 1994-95. Norfolk State is the only other HBCU with a pair of 27-game winners, accomplishing that in 1993-94.

U.S. four-year colleges with 27-game winners in men's and women's basketball during 2010-11 College Affiliation Women's W-L Men's W-L Azusa Pacific NAIA I 33-5 29-6 Connecticut NCAA I 36-2 32-9 Davenport NAIA II 29-6 37-1 Duke NCAA I 32-4 32-5 Indiana Wesleyan NAIA II 28-8 29-6 North Carolina NCAA I 29-8 28-9 Notre Dame NCAA I 27-7 31-8 Texas Wesleyan NAIA I 30-4 28-6 Xavier NAIA I 27-7 27-6

Louisiana four-year colleges with 25-game winners in men's and women's basketball during same season College Season Women's W-L Men's W-L Xavier 2010-11 27-7 27-6 LSU 2005-06 31-4 27-9 LSU 1999-2000 25-7 28-6 New Orleans 1986-87 25-7 26-4 LSU 1985-86 27-6 26-12 Louisiana Tech 1984-85 29-4 29-3 Louisiana Tech 1983-84 30-3 26-7

Four-year HBCUs with 25-game winners in men's and women's basketball during same season College Season Women's W-L Men's W-L Xavier 2010-11 27-7 27-6 Norfolk State 1994-95 25-5 27-6 Norfolk State 1993-94 27-4 27-6

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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