Thursday, June 08, 2006

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 8, 2005) - Senior James Rainer (Alcoa, Tenn.) breezed through the opening 100-meter round at the NCAA Championships on Thursday afternoon, placing third in his qualifying heat to advance to this evening's semi-finals.

Rainer clocked a time of 10.41 in an elite field, with the top four finishers in each of three heats advancing, plus the next six fastest times.

The senior's mark is the currently ranked eighth heading into the semis, with Clemson's Travis Padgett leading the way at 10.23.

The field has been widdled down from 27 to 18 competitors following the qualifying rounds with the semi-finals set to kick off at 5:35 p.m. PST, this evening.