Greeneville, TN – It was a dominating performance for the Lincoln Memorial Men's and Women's Cross Country teams, as both teams finished in first place in the South Atlantic Conference Preview meet, hosted by Tusculum University. The men ran the 8k while the women ran the 6k. 

LINK TO RESULTS 

THE BASICS 

• Location: Kinser Park; Greeneville, Tennessee 

• LMU Men: 1st out of 7 teams (40 Points) 

• LMU Women: 1st out of 7 teams (57 Points) 

• LMU Top Performers: Jaxson Branham, 2nd out of 62 (29:00.5); Weslyn McIntosh, 7th out of 65 (27:00.3) 

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• For the third time this season, Branham and McIntosh lead their respective teams as the top finishers for the Splitters.  

• Railsplitter men claimed three spots in the top 10 and six of the top 15 spots, as LMU finished 29 points better than second-place Tusculum.  

• This meet marks the first top-finish for the men's team since last season's Railsplitter Open. 

• Women's runners finished with four runners in the top 15, more than any other team in the meet as the Splitters ended six points ahead of second-place Carson-Newman. 

• The women's team earned the top placement for their third through fifth place finishers, helping them earn the top overall team finish.  

• The women earned their first first-place finish since last season's Railsplitter Open. 

FOR THE RAILSPLITTERS  

• The second-place finish for Branham marks the highest he has finished in an individual, besting his third-place finish from the season-opening Fleet Feet Invitational.

• Junior Luis Boerkey finished behind Branham on the men's side, ending the race in seventh place with a time of 30:18.0, earning his highest finish as an individual.

• The LMU men also claimed the eighth position, as freshman Vance Laster finished five seconds behind Boerkey with a time of 30:23.0.

• Senior Simon Fillers earned his best finish of the season so far, coming in 11th with a time of 30:37.4.

• LMU would earn the next two spots as well, with Sam Fulton finishing 12th at 30:45.1 and Roman Borgetti-Metz coming in at 13th with a mark of 30:49.6. 

• In total, four men's runners would finish with a career-best placement in this race.

• McIntosh's seventh-place result is her best individual finish, beating out her eighth-place finish in last year's Railsplitter Open.  

• Sophomore Jacie Begley finished the race in 11th place with a time of 27:44.6.

• Senior Reaghan Curde ended her race just behind Begley at 27:46.3, giving her a 12th place finish 

• Sophomore Greta Chizzali would be the fourth Railsplitter to finish in the top 15, ending the race with a time of 27:58.7 and a 14th place finish, her best finish to date 

• Emma Hainzer provided key points for the Splitters, earning a finish in 18th place with a time of 28:22.8

QUOTE FROM COACH KAVALUNAS
"Pretty good performances today. Both teams held back and ran conservatively as a pack early on, then moved up throughout race. Both teams executed well on a very challenging course"

UP NEXT 

• LMU will take the next weekend off before returning to competition on October 12th for the Charger Invitational, hosted by the University of Alabama-Huntsville.