WINGATE, N.C. -- The Lincoln Memorial University cross country teams battled the elements and wrapped up the 2015 season at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional meet on Saturday on the campus of Wingate University in Wingate, N.C. The Railsplitters finished 14th in the 10k men's race while the Lady Railsplitters took 15th place in the 6k women's event.
 
The Southeast Region race consisted of 27 teams and 182 individual runners on the women's side and 22 teams and 160 racers on the men's side, and all of the participants faced adverse conditions on a course that was drenched and muddy after several days of heavy rainfall.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished in 15th place with 415 points and an average 6k time of 26:13.7. Defending Southeast Region champions Montevallo put five runners in the top 10 to repeat as region champions and punch a ticket to the National Championship meet, which is being hosted in Joplin, Mo. on November 21. South Atlantic Conference programs Wingate and Queens finished in second and third, respectively, to also lock up bids to that event.
 
Junior Whitney Elliott (LaFollette, Tenn.) paced the Lady Railsplitters and earned All-Southeast Region laurels for the second consecutive season, turning in a 13th-place finish with a time of 23:54.1. Elliott just barely missed out on qualifying for the National Championship meet as an individual, falling 16 seconds shy of Limestone's Sarah Rutto, who earned the third and final individual National Championship bid by finishing in eighth place at 23:38.0. Young Harris' Nancy Murgor and Augusta's Olivia Rodriguez received the other two individual bids.
 
Ontario Belter (Somerset, Wisc.) placed 81st with a time of 26:07.7 while Uria Thomas (Abilene, Texas) and Kelly Brown (Pineville, Ky.) finished three seconds apart in 101st and 103rd place, respectively. Caroline Cravens (Crossville, Tenn.) notched the final qualifying time for the Lady Railsplitters in 117th place.
 
Women's 6k results
15. Lincoln Memorial - 415 points
 
13. Whitney Elliott - 23:54.1
81. Ontario Belter - 26:07.7
101. Uria Thomas - 26:50.2
103. Kelly Brown - 26:53.0
117. Caroline Cravens - 27:23.3
121. Layney Vincent - 27:29.5
 
The Railsplitters accumulated 396 points to finish in 14th place with an average 10k time of 36:58.5. Mount Olive landed three runners in the top 10 to capture the Southeast Region title while both Mars Hill and Queens locked up bids to the National Championship meet with second and third place runs, respectively.
 
Blaine Benitez (Lubbock, Texas) was the frontrunner for the Railsplitters with a 36th-place finish and a 10k time of 35:08.8. Jorge Hernandez (Mount Pleasant, Texas) also notched a top-50 finish in 49th place with a time of 35:50.7.
 
Jacob King (Douglasville, Ga.) and Timote Colquhoun (Dour, Belgium) placed 96th and 98th, respectively, while Tristan Moore (Richardson, Texas) rounded out the Railsplitters' five-man rotation in 117th.
 
The Railsplitters were forced to run without No. 3 runner Brandon Vaughn (Dallas, Texas), who had to sit out the race with a stress fracture in his foot.
 
Young Harris' Mathew Biwott, Augusta's Nick Del Guercia and Barton's Joel Lagat earned the three individual bids to the NCAA National Championship meet.
 
Men's 10k results
14. Lincoln Memorial - 396 points
 
36. Blaine Benitez - 35:08.8
49. Jorge Hernandez - 35:50.7
96. Jacob King - 37:33.2
98. Timote Colquhoun - 37:38.1
117. Tristan Moore - 38:41.5
 
With the Southeast Region race now complete, the 2015 Lincoln Memorial cross country season is officially in the books. The Lady Railsplitters recorded three top-10 performances during the regular season and took sixth place in the South Atlantic Conference meet. The Railsplitters finished in the top 10 in all four regular season races and garnered a fourth-place turn in the SAC Championship.