City Park cross country meet will open schedule for Rush, Nuggets

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana’s men’s and women’s cross country teams will compete at several familiar venues during 2017 en route to the postseason.

Joseph Moses, beginning his 13th season as head coach, announced Friday the schedule, which will begin Aug. 25 when the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets play host to the Xavier Big Easy Opener at City Park, about four miles from the XULA campus. The women will run two miles starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 5,000-meter men’s race at 6.

It will be third time in four years that XULA opens the season at home. The 2016 Big Easy Opener was canceled because of a waterlogged course.

XULA’s second, third and fourth meets — the Mississippi College Season Opener Sept. 1, the Allstate Sugar Bowl Festival Sept. 9 and the LSU Invitational Sept. 16 — are repeats from last year.

The Sugar Bowl meet venue will be Lafreniere Park in suburban Metairie, La., giving XULA a second local appearance this season.

The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships will be run in late October at Clinton, Miss. — the same site as the Sept. 1 meet. GCAC administration will announce details soon. XULA won the last 10 GCAC men’s and women’s team championships.
The GCAC team champions will qualify automatically for the NAIA National Championships Nov. 18 at Vancouver, Wash., which will play host to that meet for the fifth time and the first time since 2012.

XULA’s returning letterwinners are Carlie Calais, Chinyere Jones, Dionysia Love, Brianna Pace, Taylor Price and Maliya Vaughan on the women’s team and Oji Wells, Ammiel Williams and Darrick Williams on the men’s. Price, a sophomore from Missouri City, Texas, was a GCAC individual champion in 2016.