New Orleans, LA – With the season fast approaching, the Lincoln Memorial Men's and Women's Cross Country teams will open the season with another honor to note, as both teams find themselves on the preseason United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Regional Ranking.  

In the inaugural top 10 of the 2026 season, the women earned the sixth seed while the men will open the year ranked eighth in the southeast region.  

On the women's side, the Splitters reprise their rankings from the end of the 2025 season, which marked the fourth time in the last five years that LMU has finished in the southeast region's top 10. LMU will look to continue their streak in the rankings, as the Railsplitters now have been featured in each of the last 22 polls from the USTFCCA. 

For the men, the Railsplitters finished 2025 at eighth in the rankings, their third-consecutive season ranked in the regional poll. The preseason ranking marks the Splitters 10th straight appearance in the USTFCCCA top 10, continuing a program-record set at the end of last season.  

The Railsplitters open their season on Friday, September 4th as both the men and women travel to Cookeville for the Golden Eagle Invitational, hosted by Tennessee Tech University. The season will start at 10:00 a.m. eastern time, 9:00 central with the Women's 4K to be followed by the Men's 6K at 10:30 eastern, 9:30 central.  

A link to the complete regional rankings can be found below. 

Men's Ranking

Women's Ranking