Senior Adam Harris looked at the scoreboard after he sprinted for the 100-meter dash at the NCAA Mideast Regional in Louisville, Kentucky.

What he saw was not only a personal-best time but also a new school record in the event (10.09). Harris had smashed the previous record of 10.22 set by Ike Okenwa in 2002.

"It's about time," Michigan coach Fred LaPlante said. "He felt he's been capable of running a fast 100 for the last two years, and for some reason, he hadn't been able to put the end of the second part of his race into a big race. He had a great finish in this race."

But the stellar performance wasn't good enough for the victory, Harris lost by six-hundredths of a second to qualify for the NCAA Championships in third place.

"It feels great to finally get down there," Harris said. "I've been flirting with that time for a couple years. Now, I will be one of the names in Michigan track and field history, and that is a great feeling."

And the senior was just beginning. In the 200-meter dash, Harris crossed the finish line fourth with a career best time (20.67). This time, the mark wasn't good enough to break the school record in the event (20.59), but he will one more attempt to break it at NCAAs.

Harris's performances led the Michigan men's track and field team to a seventh place finish at the NCAA Regionals (34).

On the first day of competition, redshirt junior Lex Williams extended his season by crossing the finish line second in the 5,000-meter run (14:08.56). Williams will be making his first appearance at the NCAAs after injuries have plagued his efforts in previous seasons.

Harris and Williams won't be the only Wolverines at the NCAAs. Joining them will be fifth-year senior Dan Harmsen and sophomore Carl Buchanon. The two have been trading top finishes all season and this weekend was no different.

In the preliminaries of the 400-meter hurdles, Buchanon posted the top time among qualifiers (50.90). Harmsen wasn't too far behind, grabbing a victory in his heat to qualify as the third-fastest runner in the event (51.12).

The preliminaries led to an interesting final between the two teammates. Harmsen got off to a fast start and Buchanon followed his lead despite stuttering on the first couple hurdles. The race tightened after the seventh hurdle heading down the final stretch.

"At one point, I thought he was a little far back to win," LaPlante said. "Sometimes (Buchanon) really closes and for whatever reason he lost his momentum. Danny really accelerated off the tenth hurdle, he had a really good finish."

For the fifth-year senior, it was race of redemption. Last year, Harmsen was in position to qualify for nationals but was unable to close after the eighth hurdle.

Harmsen leaned at the finish for third place with a personal-best mark (50.59) while Buchanon placed fourth (50.82), qualifying for his first-ever NCAA Championship.

"I've been working really hard to get this point," Buchanon said. "It's a blessing to qualify for nationals."

Buchanon and Harmsen had one more race, the 4x400-meter relay. With a trip to Fayetteville, Ark. secured, the two could have taken the race lightly.

But before the race, Buchanon instructed the team to give their all for senior Andre Barnes who had experienced an injury-marred senior campaign. The team of Barnes, sophomore David St. Amant, Harmsen and Buchanon posted a season-best mark in the event by nearly two seconds (3:07.83). But the race turned out to be Barnes' last as a Wolverine as the team placed seventh in the event.

"They ran seconds faster than they've ran this year, it was phenomenal" LaPlante said. "If we had been in a less region, they would have made it as a team."