Wednesday, February 11, 2004

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Feb. 11, 2004) - East Tennessee State's James Rainer (Alcoa, Tenn.) has been named the Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field male athlete of the week for February 11. Rainer, a sophomore for the Buccaneers, tied for fifth in the 60-meter dash Saturday when the Buccaneers competed at the Carolina Classic hosted by UNC Chapel Hill. Rainer had a consistent showing at the meet, beating his previous best time with a mark of 6.85 in the preliminaries to qualify for the finals. In the finals, Rainer then went on to improve to a new personal best of 6.82, which tied him for fifth place (second collegian) and is the second best time in the SoCon this season. "I'm really proud of James," commented assistant coach Michelle Byrne. "This award recognizes his hard work and commitment." Rainer and the Buccaneers will continue action as they compete at the Virginia Tech Challenge this weekend in Blacksburg, Va.