Vaughan leads Nuggets at nationals for 2nd straight year

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Maliya Vaughan was Xavier’s University of Louisiana’s fastest finisher at the NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships for the second straight year, running the 5,000-meter course at Fort Vancouver National Historical Site in 21 minutes, 24 seconds Saturday.

Vaughan, a junior, was 311th out of 338 runners.

The Gold Nuggets’ other finishers were Taylor Price, 318th in 21:35; Brianna Pace, 324th in 21:53; Hajjia Mohammed, 332nd in 23:11; and Carlie Calais, 336th in 23:45.

XULA was 36th in team scoring with 1,189 points. The University of British Columbia scored 109 points to win the team title for the second straight year and the fifth time in six years, and Oklahoma City’s Aminat Olowora was individual champion in 16:50.

XULA’s lone male runner was freshman Camren Sewell, who finished 306th out of 328 runners. His time for the 8K route was 29:19. Oklahoma City’s Mark Shaw was individual champion in 24:09, and British Columbia won its first men’s title and had five runners in the top 19. The Thunderbirds’ 41 points were the fewest by an NAIA men’s team since Life won with the same score in 1998.

Pace was honored Friday as the Gold Nuggets’ NAIA Champions of Character recipient. Pace also was named a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete.

The XULA distance runners will resume competition in early March during the outdoor track and field season.