Career best for Keith on first day of national meet

GULF SHORES, Alabama — Xavier University of Louisiana sophomore Ireyon Keithproduced a career best in the long jump Thursday on the opening day of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.
     
Keith's mark was 5.58 meters (18 feet, 3 3/4 inches), the best by a Gold Nugget in two years. She placed 16th out of 46 jumpers.
     
XULA's other long jumper was freshman Ry-Anne Riley, who placed 22nd with 5.44 meters (17-10 1/4). Sophomore Abby Stricker of Columbia (Mo.) won with 5.91 meters (18-4 3/4).
     
The Gold Nuggets did not advance in the preliminaries of the 400 relay. Martina Wright, Alexis Milton, Justyce Riggs and Riley finished seventh out of seven in their heat in 48.59 seconds and placed 16th out of 21 teams overall. Defending champion and No. 1 seed Indiana Tech posted the fastest time, 45.83.
     
XULA will compete in two Friday events: Ariane Williams in the 400 trials at 3:30 p.m., and the 1,600 relay trials at 7:45 p.m. with Riley, Williams, Tramaine Shannon and Clarke Allen. The meet will conclude Saturday.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Chatters, Pace earn CoSIDA Academic All-District

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Drew Chatters and Brianna Pace were named Thursday to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District™ 2 women's track and field/cross country team in the college division for 2016-17.
     
Chatters, a junior from Lake Charles, La., and a graduate of St. Louis Catholic High School, is a biology / pre-medical major with a 3.78 cumulative GPA at XULA. She made Academic All-District for the second straight year, making her the sixth XULA athlete to receive the honor more than once. Chatters is a 3-time Gulf Coast Athletic Conference champion in the javelin throw; she holds school and GCAC meet records in that event.
     
Pace, a sophomore from Junction City, Kan., and a graduate of Junction City High School, is majoring in computer science at XULA and has a 3.87 cumulative GPA. Pace scored a team-best 26 points April 22 to help the Gold Nuggets win the GCAC team championship. She scored in five events that day, including second in the 800-meter run and 3,200 relay, and was All-GCAC in four events. In October she finished third at the GCAC cross country meet and helped the Nuggets win the team championship.
     
District 2 consists of non-NCAA colleges in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee. Nominees must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale. They also must have completed at least one full calendar year at their current institution and reached sophomore athletic eligibility.
     
Chatters and Pace are the only athletes from the GCAC to make an Academic All-District™ track/cross country team this year. They are among eight from HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges or Universities) to be honored, regardless of gender.
     
First-team Academic All-District™ members advance to the Academic All-America™ ballot. The College Division Academic All-America™ team will be announced June 20.
     
During the past nine years, XULA has produced 22 Academic All-District™ selections, all but one on the first team.




Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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XULA to compete in 5 events at NAIA national meet

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana will have six entries in five events — the men's triple jump and the women's 400-meter dash, 400 relay, 1,600 relay and long jump — at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.
     
The 3-day meet will begin Thursday at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Ala.
     
Freshman Ry-Anne Riley will be the busiest of the 10 XULA athletes. She'll compete in the long jump and will run the anchor segment of the 400 relay and the leadoff lap of the 1,600 relay.
     
"I feel really good about our chances here," XULA coach Joseph Moses said. "We look real fast, and we're healthy. That's the key to doing well at nationals. You can't go into this meet 80- or 85-percent healthy."
     
The XULA entries:
     
•  Women's 400 Relay (trials at 2:30 p.m. Thursday; finals at 2:40 p.m. Saturday):  Joining Riley on this team will be Martina Wright, Alexis Milton and Janelle Jones. Justyce Riggs is the alternate. None of the five is a senior. Wright, Milton, Jones and Riley won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championship in this event in 47.25 seconds April 22. Defending champion Indiana Tech is No. 1 this season at 45.23. The Warriors won a year ago in 45.57.
    
 •  Women's Long Jump (5:30 p.m. Thursday):  Riley (5.57 meters/18 feet, 3 1/4 inches) and Ireyon Keith (5.51/18-1) both qualified for nationals April 7 at the University of Mobile Invitational, then finished 1-2 in this event at the GCAC meet to help the Gold Nuggets win the team title. Wayland Baptist freshman Telecia Briscoe (6.26/20-6 1/2) is the season leader. Defending champion is Mobile's Joniana Brinson, who jumped 5.86/19-2 3/4 last year and is No. 3 in 2017 at 6.06/19-10 3/4.
     
•  Women's 400 (trials at 3:30 p.m. Friday; finals at 4:30 p.m. Saturday):  Newcomer Ariane Williams set a XULA record of 56.63 April 22 at the GCAC meet. She ranks 17th in the NAIA. GCAC rival SUNO has the top three in this event, including leader Shadae Hilton at 53.50. Teammate and defending champion Orenthia Bennett is No. 2 at 53.98; Bennett won a year ago in 54.44.
    
•  Women's 1,600 Relay (trials at 7:45 p.m. Friday; finals at 6:15 p.m. Saturday): Clarke Allen will run anchor for the second straight year. She's the only returnee from last year's team that produced an All-America performance (seventh place) at nationals and set a school-record of 3:49.87 in the preliminaries. Williams will take the baton from Riley for the second lap, then hand off to Tramaine Shannon. The alternates are Jones and Milton. XULA is the No. 9 seed after its 3:53.83 March 17 at the Emory Invitational. Wiley is top-seeded at 3:43.71. Carroll (Mont.) won the 2016 title in 3:44.89 and is third-seeded this year at 3:47.54.
     
•  Men's Triple Jump (1:30 p.m. Saturday):  Keairez Coleman was the GCAC champion this year but did not qualify for nationals until he jumped 14.32/46-11 3/4 at XULA's final meet before nationals, the Southern Miss Open April 28. He ranks 27th nationally. Lindsey Wilson's Goabaone Mosheleketi (15.64/51-3 3/4) is the season leader. The 2016 champion, Eastern Oregon's Eric England (16.13/52-11), is not competing collegiately this season.
     
"We had a great week of practice after final exams," Moses said. "We're entering nationals with a positive outlook. I'm looking forward to seeing how well we'll do."

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Gold Rush earn No. 2 again in NAIA postseason poll

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana men's tennis, four days after its second consecutive runner-up finish at the NAIA National Championships, was ranked No. 2 in the postseason coaches poll.

The XULA men made their 86th consecutive top-25 appearance dating to April 4, 2007. It is the longest active streak in NAIA men's tennis. The Gold Rush were second in the 2016 postseason poll.

The Gold Rush finished 14-6 after a 5-0 loss Saturday to Georgia Gwinnett in the NAIA final at Mobile, Ala. Twelve XULA victories this season were against ranked or NCAA Division I teams — 10 of those were on the road.

XULA's resume got shinier Wednesday when Emory defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 5-1 in the NCAA Division III final at Chattanooga, Tenn. XULA won 5-4 at Emory Feb. 18.

The Gold Rush active poll streaks:
• 86 consecutive appearances in the top 25 . . . streak began April 4, 2007.
• 77 consecutive appearances in the top 20 . . . streak began April 30, 2008.
• 62 consecutive appearances in the top 15 . . . streak began Feb. 1, 2011.
• 56 consecutive appearances in the top 10 . . . streak began May 3, 2011.
• 18 consecutive appearances in the top 5 . . . streak began Jan. 26, 2016.
• 16 consecutive appearances in the top 3 . . . streak began March 1, 2016.
• 10 consecutive appearances in the top 2 . . . streak began May 25, 2016.

NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Postseason Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through May 20)

Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Georgia Gwinnett (12) 24-0 312 1
2 XULA 14-6 302 2
3 Keiser 19-4 292 3
4 Campbellsville 26-5 282 5
5 Northwestern Ohio 22-2 271 4
6 Lindsey Wilson 17-7 258 7
7 William Carey 18-6 254 6
8 William Woods 15-6 240 9
9 Cardinal Stritch 19-6 228 10
10 Arizona Christian 15-13 224 8
11 Mobile 23-5 213 11
12 Westmont 14-8 202 12
13 San Diego Christian 7-11 188 13
14 Middle Georgia 10-9 182 16
15 SCAD Savannah 9-9 162 19
16 Reinhardt 13-6 150 15
17 Asbury 17-2 146 RV
18 Coastal Georgia 14-8 143 14
19 Tennessee Wesleyan 12-5 137 17
20 McPherson 11-4 122 21
21 Lawrence Tech 20-7 118 20
22 Olivet Nazarene 12-7 102 18
23 Aquinas 17-7 88 22
24 Cumberland 7-6 78 23
25 SCAD Atlanta 11-4 75 24

Dropped from rankings: No. 25 St. Thomas (Fla.)
Others receiving votes: St. Thomas (Fla.) 60, Marian (Ind.) 41, Warner 29, Missouri Valley 20, Hastings 17, Davenport 15, Cumberlands 8, Point 6, Bethany (Kan.) 5, Cornerstone 3

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Tennessee Vols Add James Daniel III, Bolster Backcourt

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee -- James Daniel, a 6-0, 175-pound guard from Hampton, Virginia, has signed an institutional aid agreement and plans to enroll at Tennessee this summer and play for the Volunteers as a graduate transfer during the 2017-18 season.

Daniel earned his degree in Sociology from Howard University this spring.

One of the best-kept secrets in college basketball during the 2015-16 season, Daniel led the country in scoring at 27.1 points per game, ultimately earning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors and honorable mention All-America distinction. Daniel’s memorable junior season for the Bison featured nine games of 30 or more points, including a career-best 39 in a win over William & Mary.

“James gives us not only offensive production but toughness and experience as well,” Vols head coach Rick Barnes said. “He recognized that our program has a lot of positive momentum and it means a lot to us that this was an important factor for him. He has already distinguished himself individually and now wants to have an impact on team success. Adding James to our roster is significant because it gives us some really good depth in our backcourt and the potential for some potent offense.”

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Top HBCU basketball coach Cy Alexander pens new book a year after resigning from North Carolina A&T

Beyond the Backboard: My Unique HBCU Experience In the Shadows of Big Time Basketball

GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- North Carolina A&T Men’s Basketball Coach Cy Alexander sent ripples through the basketball world when he resigned from his post as the Division 1 head coach citing in a statement to press, “I have decided to step away from actively coaching to pursue other interest within athletics. I look forward to pursuing those interest here at North Carolina A&T State University … I have a strong love for broadcasting, and I think being able to sharpen my skills on the Aggie basketball broadcasts will assist me in pursuing broadcasting as my next career. My decision to step down was a difficult one, but the last three years of my life have been tumultuous with the passing of my wife and mother. Therefore, I believe this decision was in the best interest of me and my family.”

He went on to thank all the young men “I’ve coached here at North Carolina A&T State University for their commitment to the program as well as their respective families who entrusted those young men to my care,” he continued. “Secondly, I want to thank Chancellor Harold L. Martin and Athletics Director Earl Hilton for the opportunity they gave me to become the head coach at North Carolina A&T, and the opportunity they are giving me to pursue my second career. I also want to say thank you to my coaches, managers and every person who has been involved with North Carolina A&T men’s basketball during my tenure.”

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Nuggets in final top 10 for 4th time in last 5 seasons

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana fell three places Wednesday to No. 10 in the NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Postseason Top 25 poll, but the Gold Nuggets can boast of their fourth top-10 appearance in the last five postseason polls.
     
The Gold Nuggets began the season 19th, and on March 14 they made their first of six consecutive top-10 appearances. A No. 7 ranking May 7 was their highest of the season.
     
The Gold Nuggets lost 5-4 to Indiana Wesleyan one week ago in the round of 16 at the NAIA National Championships in Mobile, Ala. IWU replaced XULA at No. 7.
     
XULA is in the top 25 for the 48th consecutive time. That streak began May 1, 2012. Dating to Feb. 25, 2004, the Gold Nuggets appeared in 93 of the last 103 polls. (The 2005-06 season, when XULA did not compete intercollegiately, is not included.)
     
Georgia Gwinnett, which repeated as national champion, is a unanimous No. 1 for the 10th consecutive poll.

NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Postseason Poll (first-place votes in parentheses — records through May 20) Rank Team Record Points Last 1 Georgia Gwinnett (14) 26-0 374 1 2 Lindsey Wilson 22-5 362 2 3 William Woods 14-10 346 12 4 SCAD Savannah 16-4 337 3 5 Keiser 15-8 331 4 6 William Carey 18-4 312 6 7 Indiana Wesleyan 37-9 294 10 8 San Diego Christian 15-4 287 5 9 LSU-Alexandria 19-4 285 9 10 XULA 7-14 270 7 11 Northwestern Ohio 19-7 257 8 12 Cardinal Stritch 16-6 237 13 13 Mobile 23-5 229 11 14 Cumberlands 16-9 215 15 15 SCAD Atlanta 13-7 211 20 16 Arizona Christian 17-9 194 14 17 Lewis-Clark State 8-14 175 16 18 Davenport 14-11 160 18 19 Olivet Nazarene 10-12 156 19 20 Middle Georgia 13-8 140 17 21 Campbellsville 12-12 139 21 22 Georgetown (Ky.) 16-8 125 23 23 McPherson 9-3 124 22 24 Tennessee Wesleyan 12-7 78 25 25 St. Thomas (Fla.) 4-10 74 24 Dropped from rankings:  none Others receiving votes:  Reinhardt 48, Coastal Georgia 37, Cumberland 36, Marian (Ind.) 35, Asbury 35, Hastings 25, Missouri Valley 17, Southwestern (Kan.) 17, Brenau 13, Southeastern (Fla.) 6 Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold