Oct. 19, 2008

CLINTON, Miss. — Xavier University of Louisiana's Ray Walston and Ebony Harding set school records Saturday in the Choctaw Open cross country meet at Choctaw Trails.

Walston, a freshman, ran four miles in 21 minutes, 24.37 seconds, finished ninth out of 55 men and broke the record by more than a minute. Harding, a junior, ran 5,000 meters in 20:12.48 to place seventh out of 57 women and break the XU record for the third time.

Harding broke the school record for 6,000 meters one week earlier.

Darren Wallace placed 16th in 22:07.33 and also bettered the previous XU men's record, 22:39.36.

Freshman Anna D'Souza ran a season-best 20:58.31 in the women's race and placed 13th. Teammate Jennifer Garcia (22:02.51) ran a career best, and Ashley Taylor (21:47.56) and Stacey Windon (22:45.43) had season bests.

Both the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets finished third in team scoring, and both finished ahead of two NCAA Division I opponents. Xavier is an NAIA member.

It was Xavier's fifth meet of the season. The Rush and Nuggets will compete in the Mobile (Ala.) Rampage next week, then return to Choctaw Trails on Nov. 8 for the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championship.