HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Xavier University of Louisiana freshman Mark Dotson ran four miles in 22 minutes, 38.64 seconds Friday to win the men's race of the USM Cross Country Open and lead the Gold Rush to its second team victory of the season.
Ray Walston (season-best 22:54.23), Matt Pieri (22:58.54) and Darren Wallace (23:07.41) finished 3-5-7 for Xavier, which scored 34 points in the five-team race. Nicholls State was second with 45 points.
The Gold Nuggets placed third in the women's division with 80 points behind Nicholls (20) and Southern Miss (42). Ebony Harding ran 5,000 meters in 20:26.76 to finish 11th and lead Xavier, and the Nuggets got season-bests from Sabrina Vargas (13th, 21:14.00), Ashley Taylor (18th, 22:13.40), and Stacey Windon (25th, 23:23.62).
Nicholls freshman Dakota Goodman won the women's race in 18:37.54.