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ALMA MATER
In the Mississippi Valley,
In the Crescent Bend
Stands our loved and noble Xavier,
Far her praises send.

Refrain:
Wave her colors bear them onward
Gold and white so true
Hail to thee, all hail, dear Xavier
Hail, all hail, X.U.!

Xavier, ever be our guide
And lead us on the way,
Through life's journey, onward, upward
To the eternal day. (Refrain)

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Gold Zone

Next: The Gold Rush will conclude its season on Saturday, November 21 in the 2009 NAIA Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championships at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash. The men's 8,000-meter race (4.97 miles) will start at 10:30 a.m. PST (12:30 p.m. New Orleans time), followed by the women's 5,000-meter race (3.1 miles) at 11:45 a.m. PST (1:45 p.m. New Orleans time). The meet will be Xavier's ninth of the season. Both Xavier teams qualified for nationals for the second consecutive year. Vancouver is approximately 10 miles north of Portland, Ore., and 165 miles south of Seattle.

Most Recently: Xavier finished first out of seven schools to win the men's team title of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships for the fourth consecutive year. XU's Ray Walston, Mark Dotson, Darren Wallace and Matt Pieri were the first four finishers, with Walston, the 2008 runner-up, using a late kick to beat Dotson for the individual championship. Walston's time for 8,000 meters was 27 minutes, 55.18 seconds. story results

2009 Highlights:
     • Xavier won three team championships — the Radisson Hotel Wolfpack Invitational on September 12, the USM Open on October 16 and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships on November 7.
     • Freshman Mark Dotson had three top-five finishes in the first three meets, won the individual title at the USM Open on Oct. 16 and won five of the first six men's GCAC Runner of the Week awards, including the first three.
     • Xavier's other scholarship freshman, Matt Pieri, had three top-six finishes in the first three meets and was GCAC Runner of the Week once.
     • The footprints of the Rush are all over the school's all-time list for four miles. Nine of the 12 fastest times in school history were recorded this season at that distance.
     • In the Gulf Coast Stampede on October 3, Xavier had two men — freshmen Mark Dotson and Matt Pieri — run 8,000 meters in less than 28 minutes in the same race for the first time in school history.
     • Mark Dotson's 16:22.25 for three miles in the Demon Invitational resulted in a mile pace of 5:27.41 — the best this season by a GCAC male.

You Go, Joe! Joe Drexler-Dreis, who graduated from Xavier in May 2009, earned a first for the university and the GCAC when he earned College Division second-team honors on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® men's track and field/cross country team. Drexler-Dreis, from Shorewood, Wis., and Shorewood High School, was the first Xavier student-athlete chosen to an Academic All-America squad. Drexler-Dreis shared the distinction of first GCAC athlete chosen with Spring Hill's Patrick Aucoin, who also made the second team.

2009 Rankings: Xavier did not receive a vote in any of the national polls. The Gold Rush was No. 1 in every GCAC rating. The November 8 final conference ratings: 1, Xavier. 2, Spring Hill. 3, Loyola. 4, Belhaven. 5, Mobile. 6, Dillard. 7, SUNO.

2008 Rankings: Xavier received one point in the preseason NAIA top 25 poll announced August 19 — the Gold Rush's first vote in the national rankings since 2003 — but did not receive another point until the fourth regular-season poll, which was announced September 30. Xavier was No. 1 seven times in the GCAC ratings and never was lower.

2009 Individual Honors:
   • All-GCAC: Mark Dotson, Matt Pieri, Darren Wallace, Ray Walston.
   • GCAC Runner of the Week: Mark Dotson (five times: Aug. 31-Sept. 6, Sept. 7-13, Sept. 14-20, Sept. 28-Oct. 4 and Oct. 12-18); Matt Pieri (Sept. 21-27); Ray Walston (Nov. 2-8).
   • GCAC Coach of the Year: Joseph Moses.

2008 Individual Honors:
   • ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America: Joe Drexler-Dreis (College Division second team).
   • ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 6: Joe Drexler-Dreis (College Division first team).
   • Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars: Darren Wallace (third team).
   • Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Honor Roll: Joe Drexler-Dreis, Darren Wallace.
   • All-GCAC: Bryan Khan, Joe Drexler-Dreis, Darren Wallace, Ray Walston.
   • GCAC Runner of the Week: Ray Walston (twice — Sept. 15-21 and Oct. 6-12).
   • GCAC Coach of the Year: Joseph Moses.
   • Louisiana Coach of the Year: Joseph Moses.

Recruiting: There are two scholarship newcomers on the 2009 roster:

     • Mark Dotson of Alexandria, La., and Holy Savior Menard Central High School.
     • Matt Pieri of New Orleans and Brother Martin High School.

The 2009 Xavier University of Louisiana men's cross country team.

Xavier appearances at the
NAIA National Championships

Team in 2002, 2008 and 2009
Individuals in 1997, 1998,
1999, 2000 and 2003

Xavier's Gulf Coast
Athletic Conference Champions

Team — 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009
Individual — Farris Gransberry in 2000,
Ray Walston in 2009

Career Statistics of 2009 Gold Rush

	Best 8K Time (Date)	Top-10s	Top-5s
Ray Walston	27:11 (Sept. 20, 2008)	9	6
Mark Dotson	27:17 (Oct. 3, 2009)	6	6
Darren Wallace	27:45.20 (Oct. 6, 2007)	13	8
Matt Pieri	27:49 (Oct. 3, 2009)	6	4
Bryan Khan	29:08.85 (Oct. 6, 2007)	7	1
Jordan Wilson	29:44.35 (Oct. 6, 2007)	0	0
Mario Myles	29:55.53 (Oct. 6, 2007)	0	0
James Hearn	31:15 (Oct. 3, 2009)	0	0
Gabriel Green	36:49.78 (Sept. 26, 2009)	0	0

The Xavier Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets compete in Division I of the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) as a member of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC). Xavier fields men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country and tennis.

Department of Intercollegiate Athletics
Xavier University of Louisiana
1 Drexel Drive
Campus Box 92
New Orleans, LA 70125
(504) 520-7329 phone
(504) 520-7934 fax