Friday, March 24, 2006

RALEIGH, N.C. (March 24, 2006) - Senior James Rainer (Alcoa, Tenn.) opened his outdoor season with a bang on Friday, posting the top qualifying time in the 100-meter dash on day one of the Raleigh Relays, hosted by North Carolina State at Paul Derr Track. 

Rainer clocked a time of 10.59 seconds to earn the top spot in tomorrow's final, out-kicking the next-best competitor by .13 seconds.  Teammate Johnny Tucker (Spartanburg, S.C.) also found a spot in tomorrow's final, grabbing the 18^th and final position with a time of 11.08.

On the women's side, Jenny Knox (Connelly Springs, N.C.) placed 21^st overall in the 100, running 12.53.  Cagney Bailey (Statesville, N.C.) wasn't far behind, tying her season-best time of 12.61, good for 27^th place.

Michael Wright (Chattanooga, Tenn.) represented the Bucs in the hurdle races, racing to a season-best 15.31 to finish 22^nd in the 110-hurdles.  Wright finished the 400-meter hurdles in 58.74.

In the distances, Christine Ward (Candler, N.C.) finished 16th in the 10,000-meters, going 38:34.27 for the 25-lap race.

Action at Raleigh continues tomorrow, beginning at 10 a.m.  Rainer and Tucker are slated to compete in the 100 final at 12:10 p.m.