Xavier's Jackson siblings get face time in Sports Illustrated

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana cross country standouts Zahri and Kwame Jackson have earned one more honor in what has been a memorable debut season for both. Sports Illustrated selected them for its weekly Faces in the Crowd feature, and the freshman siblings appear in the Nov. 7 issue, which hit newsstands Wednesday.

"That is so cool," Zahri Jackson said Thursday when she learned of the recognition.
"That's pretty awesome," Kwame Jackson said.
"Wow!" Xavier coach Joseph Moses said. "That is a great honor."

The Jacksons, from the Houston suburb of Kingwood, Texas, and graduates of Kingwood Park High School, got SI's attention after both won individual titles in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships on Oct. 22 at Clinton, Miss. They helped Xavier win the women's and men's team championships for the sixth consecutive season.

(Click on photo to enlarge SI article)

"I'm still trying to find out if there's ever been a pair of siblings in college who won cross country individual championships in the same season," said Ed Cassiere, Xavier's sports information director. "I posed that question on the NAIA-SIDA Facebook page. No leads yet, but Mount Vernon Nazarene SID Dave Parsons replied with a great tip. He recommended that I contact Sports Illustrated and nominate them."

Zahri Jackson set XU women's records of 19 minutes, 15.18 seconds for 5,000 meters on Sept. 10 and 16:27.58 for 4,000 meters on Sept. 1. She has the Gold Nuggets' three fastest 5K times. Her 19:20.40 5K was the second fastest in 11 seasons by a female at the GCAC Championships.

Kwame Jackson's 5K of 16:12.13 on Sept. 10 was the fastest by an XU male since Farris Gransberry set the record of 15:46.80 in 2000. He ran 8,000 meters in 28:12.09 to win the GCAC title and defeat teammates and former conference champions Ray Walston and Matt Pieri.

The Jacksons won a combined eight GCAC Runner of the Week awards. Zahri collected five to set an XU season record, tie Ebony Harding's XU career record and match the GCAC women's season record set by Spring Hill's Kate Imwalle in 2009.

"Zahri and Kwame are great kids, great runners and great students," Moses said. "I am blessed to know them and be able to coach them."

Both Xavier squads will compete Nov. 19 in the NAIA National Championships at Vancouver, Wash.


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

South Alabama beats Mississippi Valley State 35-3

Coach Karl Morgan, MVSU

MOBILE, Alabama -- Kendall Houston ran for two scores, J.J. Keels returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and South Alabama's defense held Mississippi Valley State to 166 yards in a 35-3 dismantling of the Delta Devils Thursday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

South Alabama improved to 6-3 with the win before an announced crowd of 13,807 and went to 19-0 all-time at home.

"It means everything," Jaguars linebacker Ken Barefield said of protecting the home winning streak. "We said in the locker room, 'We're going to do it for Mobile.' It rained today, it was cold, but they still came out and supported us. We harp on that at practice: This is our house. We've got to protect it as best as we can."

South Alabama led 21-0 at halftime thanks to a trio of 1-yard touchdown runs from Houston and quarterback C.J. Bennett.

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Alabama A&M sports: Athletics director Betty Austin will retire at the end of the month

Betty Kelly Austin
Director of Athletics, AAMU

Huntsville, Alabama -- Alabama A&M athletics director Betty Austin will retire at the end of the month, The Times has learned. Sources told The Times that Austin has agreed to stay on through Feb. 29 while the school conducts a search for a new athletics director.

Austin, a 1974 A&M graduate, has spent the last six-plus years as athletics director after taking over for the late Jim Martin. Before becoming athletics director, Austin served in a number of capacities, most notably as the volleyball coach, where she led the Bulldogs to unprecedented success, and Senior Woman Administrator.

Austin captured more than 600 wins during her 30-year tenure as volleyball coach. A&M won 17 conference championships, including 11 as a Division II member in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and six as a Division I member in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, during her illustrious career. She was named SWAC Coach of the Year during each of her championship seasons.

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Stillman rebounds with win against Clark Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia -- The Stillman College football team found a way to rebound from two tough losses as the Tigers defeated the Clark Atlanta Panthers, 16-6, Thursday night.

After surrendering six points in the first quarter, Stillman broke into the scoring column as Alejandro Perez-Huerta nailed a 23-yard field goal with 29 seconds left in the first half. In the third quarter, Stillman quarterback Dondre Purnell hit Deandre Holley for an 8-yard scoring play to give the Tigers a 10-6 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Huerta made field goals of 48 and 28 yards to make the final scoring margin 16-6. CAU outgained Stillman 242-240 while maintaining time of possession 31:01 to 28:59.

Purnell finished 14 of 21passing for 168 yards with one touchdown while rushing 15 times for 27 yards. Reese Sturgis caught four passes for 34 yards while Holley rushed for 33 yards on nine carries.

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Morehouse needs playoffs help

Atlanta, Georgia -- Morehouse probably needs to at least make the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title game and perhaps win it to earn an invitation to the Division II playoffs.

Morehouse is No. 8, one spot behind Albany State, in the latest Super Region 2 rankings. The top six teams in the final rankings make the playoffs.

Albany State, which owns a victory against Morehouse, would clinch the East title with a victory against Fort Valley State (2-7, 2-4 SIAC) on Saturday. Morehouse needs a victory at Kentucky State (6-3, 3-3) and an Albany State loss to win the division.

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2011 SIAC Football Championship moves to CAU

Atlanta, Georgia -- The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced that the 2011 SIAC Football Championship has been moved to a new site. The game, originally scheduled to be played at Lakewood Stadium, will now take place at Panther Stadium, located on the campus of Clark Atlanta University.

“Due to protracted renovations at Lakewood Stadium and in light of related health and safety concerns, it is in the best interest of our fans and student-athletes to move the game to the Atlanta University Center,” said SIAC Commissioner Greg Moore. “Despite the change in venue, we fully anticipate an exciting game day environment at our inaugural football championship with vendors, tailgating, bands, and a capacity crowd full of passionate fans supporting our student-athletes.”

Panther Stadium is a 7,000-seat artificial grass stadium located at 735 Beckwith Street, Atlanta, GA 30314.

“In addition, I would like to thank Clark Atlanta University President, Dr. Carlton Brown, and Athletic Director, Dr. Tamica Jones, for allowing their stadium to serve as an alternate site for the game,” Moore stated.

Kickoff for the 2011 SIAC Football Championship remains at 3 p.m. EST. Tickets for the championship game are $20 and can be purchased in advance online at www.thesiactickets.com through Monday, November 7th.

For questions about the SIAC Football Championship, visit www.thesiac.com or contact the SIAC office at 404-221-1041.

Maynor says Rams have caught some breaks

Winston Salem, North Carolina -- Coach Connell Maynor of Winston-Salem State said that a lot has gone right for his Rams this season and that's why they are 9-0 heading into Saturday's game at UNC Pembroke.

"I think the biggest thing is we've been pretty injury free with no serious injuries," Maynor said. "And we are taking care of the football. Our turnover ratio is plus-10, and any time you win the turnover battle, you've got a great, great chance of winning. "We think that if we don't turn the ball over, we can win every football game that we play."

Smith excelling at QB

Quarterback Kameron Smith, 15-2 in two seasons as Winston-Salem State's starter, said he has come a long way from his days at Navy. He transferred to WSSU before the 2010 season because he wanted an opportunity to play quarterback.

"I was on the scout team as a quarterback there, but I wasn't able to show what I could do," said Smith, who ranks sixth in WSSU history with more than 3,300 passing yards.

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