KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (May 26, 2006) - Senior James Rainer (Alcoa, Tenn.) earned a spot in Saturday's 100-meter final, sprinting to a career-best time of 10.16, Friday at the NCAA Mid-East Regional Championships, hosted by the University of Tennessee at Tom Black Track.

Rainer's career mark was good for second place in his preliminary heat, and the fifth-best time in tomorrow's eight-man final.  His run was a huge personal-best, nearly a quarter of a second ahead of his previous top time.

Wisconsin's Demi Omole recorded the top time on the day with a blistering 9.96.  Kelly Willie of LSU, who won Rainer's heat, was second in qualifying, running 10.04.

The top five finishers in tomorrow's competition will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.  Tomorrow's 100 final is slated for 5:35 p.m.