Boone, NC- The Lincoln Memorial University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams opened their seasons today, Friday, September 1st, at the Firetower Project Run hosted by Appalachian State. The meet took place at Don Kenney Trails at State Farm in Boone, NC. Both teams would make strong starts to the season with key performances in a tough competition field. 

The women's 5k would be a successful one for the Lady Railsplitters, who finished 5th as a team only behind other strong programs such as race-winner Florida State. This placement includes an edge over top Division II program in Alabama-Huntsville. Six runners would finish in the Top 50 for LMU and have personal bests from both Olivia Truelove (21:49.73) and Reaghan Curde (20:16.30). Grace Rose would lead the charge for Lincoln Memorial with a personal best time of her own of 18:52.13, good for a 22nd place finish.

In the men's 8k race, the team would finish 7th. All of the competing runners would put up solid times to start the season strong. Marig Engelbrecht gave the Railsplitters a Top 35 finish with a time of 26:05.63. Head Coach Jeff Kavalunas would also point out sophomore Sam Fulton for his near-best time of 26:31.18 to finish in the Top 50. 

Coach Kavalunas would have this to say of the teams' performances: "Great opening meet today for both squads. The women's team was strong with a big PR from Grace Rose to lead them.  Also had big season-opening races with personal bests from Olivia Truelove and Reaghan Curde. Many other women were very close to their all-time best. For the men, the returners opened up with really strong performances.   Strong runs across the board, especially considering where we are at coming off of mostly base training."

The Railsplitters will be back to racing on Saturday, September 16th, at the Converse Kick-Off at Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, SC.