NEW ORLEANS — The NAIA announced Monday that Xavier University of Louisiana's Skylah Barton received an at-large bid to compete at NAIA women's cross country nationals.
        The 6,000-meter race will start at 11:30 a.m. CST Nov. 22 — one week from Friday — at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo. Barton is one of 82 individual qualifiers joining 35 teams in the 45th annual meet, and she is XULA's only entry.
        Barton — a senior from St. Gabriel, La., and a graduate of Mentorship Academy — is one of four individual qualifiers from the Red River Athletic Conference. Barton placed ninth in the RRAC meet Nov. 1 with a 6K time of 25 minutes, 31.8 seconds.
        Barton is the Gold Nuggets' first qualifier for cross country nationals since India Mastin in 2022.