CULLOWHEE, N.C. (April 1, 2006) - Senior James Rainer (Alcoa, Tenn.) guaranteed himself a spot at the NCAA Mid East Regional Championships on Saturday, racing to a first-place and track-record time of 10.40 in the 100-meter dash, at the Western Carolina Invitational.  Rainer's mark easily bettered the NCAA standard of 10.50, and bested the field by .14 seconds. 

Freshman Guy Hornsby (Morgantown, W.Va.) also had a good day, posting a season-best and school-record shattering 133-2 (40.58m) in the hammer throw, good for eight place.

Daniel Williams (Knoxville, Tenn.) recorded a first-place finish for the Bucs, claiming the pole vault crown at the Liberty Invitational in Lynchburg, Va.  Williams topped a personal-best 15-0 (4.57m) for the event win.  The ETSU vaulters were the only event group to make the trip to Lynchburg.  Freshman Rebecca Cole (Knoxville, Tenn.) cleared 10-0 (3.05m) on the women's side, good for a new ETSU outdoor record.

Rainer also had a hand a second-place finish by the 4x100-meter team, which clocked a season-best 41.55.  The relay team was comprised of Johnny Tucker (Spartansburg, S.C.), Mike Wright (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Tyler Woodruff (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Rainer on the anchor.

Also in the relays, the team of Josh Hicks (Riceville, Tenn.), David McDaniel (Elizabethton, Tenn.), Josh Rock (Sportsylvania, Va.), and Tucker posted a third-place finish in the 4x400-meters, finishing in season-low 3:23.68.

Shane Estes (Maryville, Tenn.) was the top place winner in the field, taking second in the high jump with a clearance of 6-0.75 (1.85m). 

On the women's side, Anna Marie Ricciardi (Canfield, Ohio) took top honors in the high jump with a season-best leap of 5-7 (1.70m).

Cagney Bailey (Statesville, N.C.) lowered her season-best 100 time to 12.27, good for second place on the day.  Ebonie Jones (Richmond, Va.) also managed a top-five finish in the sprints, taking fourth-place honors in the 200-meters with a spring-best time of 24.93.

MacKenzie Labonte (Port Charlotte, Fla.) paced the Lady Bucs in the distances, earning second place in the 1,500-meters with an outdoor-best 4:52.86.  Heather Adkins (Kansas City, Mo.) and Traci McAmis (Cleveland, Tenn.) also posted high-place finishes, claiming third and fourth, respectively, in the 3,000-meter run.

ETSU will be off until the Atlantic Sun Outdoor Championships, which is set for April 14-15, at the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla.