Donyé Coleman
Yazmin Ramirez
Javon Mead
Three runners sign scholarships with Xavier
March 26, 2010
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana announced Friday the signing of three high-school seniors to scholarships for cross country. They are Xavier's first signees for 2010-11.
Donyé Coleman of Snellville, Ga., and Yazmin Ramirez of Los Angeles signed with the women's program, and Javon Mead of Baton Rouge, La., signed with the men.
Four times Coleman ran 5,000 meters in less than 20 minutes while competing for Shiloh High School. Her best time is 19 minutes, 27.48 seconds. She finished 21st out of 210 runners in 2007 at the Class AAAAA state meet.
Ramirez competed for St. Mary's Academy of Inglewood, Calif. She was the Santa Cruz League individual champion in 2009 and led the Belles to the team championship.
Ramirez is from the same high school as Dominique Webb, a redshirt on Xavier's 2009 women's team.
Mead competed for Baton Rouge Magnet High School and finished 40th out of 312 runners in the 2009 Class 5A state meet. His best three-mile time in cross country is 17:01, and his best track times outdoors include 4:51.78 at 1,600 meters and 10:57.69 in the 3,200.
Mead is from the same high school as Ebony Harding, the 2009 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference individual women's champion, and four-time All-GCAC men's runner Darren Wallace. During the past decade five runners from Baton Rouge Magnet became all-conference runners at Xavier.
Coleman and Ramirez will be pre-medical majors at Xavier, and Mead will major in accounting.
Xavier is a four-time defending GCAC team champion in women's and men's cross country. Xavier is one of 12 colleges to qualify its women's and men's teams for the NAIA National Championships each of the past two seasons. The Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush will begin the 2010 season in late August.