KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (April 16, 2005) - Senior Nichola Cornish (Spartanburg, S.C.) earned a NCAA regional qualifying mark in the 400 meters at the Sea Ray Relays held this weekend on the University of Tennessee's campus. Cornish recorded time of 54.39 on Friday's competition in the event for 10th place, which is also an ETSU school record for the outdoor event and replaces her previous best of 54.60 set by Cornish last season. This is the second consecutive year that Cornish has reached an NCAA regional qualifying mark in the 400 meters (54.61).

East Tennessee State's women's sprints also showed consistency with their performance in the 4x100m relay where they finished with a time of 47.51 and in the 4x200m relay with a time of 1:40.07.

In the field events, Anna Marie Ricciardi (Canfield, Ohio) had a solid performance for the Bucs reaching a mark of 1.70m, which ties her season best for the year and placed her tied for seventh in the event.

The women's distance runners also garnered experience at the meet. Christine Ward (Candler, N.C.) and Maggie Hunter (Roanoke, Va.) both competed in the 5000 meters for the Bucs. Ward finished 16th at 18:26.20 and Hunter finished 20th with a time of 19:44.31.

The Bucs now have one more chance this weekend at Vanderbilt to compete before they travel to Cullowhee, N.C. for the SoCon Outdoor Championships. The Vanderbilt meet in Nashville, Tenn. is a two-day competition beginning on April 22.