The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
81st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays
Men's Track and Field ends first day of Texas Relays with six top-10 finishes
04.02.2008 | Track & Field / Cross Country m, Track & Field / Cross Country
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AUSTIN, Texas -- Senior Donovan Kilmartin ended the first day in sixth place in the decathlon and six Longhorns placed in the top 10 of their event finals as the No. 12 Texas Men's Track and Field team wrapped up the first day of the 2008 81st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
Kilmartin (Eagle, Idaho), a three-time NCAA champion in the indoor heptathlon, totaled 3,890 points on the opening day of the largest home track and field meet of the season for the Longhorns. Texas ex Trey Hardee, competing in his first decathlon as a professional, led the combined events field with 4,212 points.
Competing in his first outdoor decathlon since June of 2006, Kilmartin registered his highest finish in the shot put, placing second with a throw of 45 feet, 10 inches (13.97m). He also tied for third in the high jump, clearing 6-6.25 (1.99m). In the long jump, Kilmartin landed in the pit at 22-5.75 (6.85m) for sixth place. He opened the day with a seventh-place, 10.99-second showing in the 100-meter dash.
Fellow senior Erik Stanley (Spring, Texas) and freshman Logan Gonzales (Boone, Iowa) finished in the top 10 in the 800-meter university/college section on Wednesday evening. Stanley placed eighth in 1:52.48 while Gonzales completed the race in 1:52.83.
The freshmen trio of Brian Rhodes-Devey (Slingerlands, N.Y.), Rob Wetzel (Crofton, Md.) and Jay Heller (Marietta, Ga.) chipped in top-10 performances in the 1,500m. Rhodes-Devey crossed the finish line in third place with a mark of 3:57.18 ahead of Wetzel's seventh-place time of 4:01.34 and Heller's mark of 4:03.30.
Redshirt freshman Brandon Birdsong (Lubbock, Texas) competed in the final event of Wednesday's evening session, finishing eighth in the 5,000-meter run. He posted a lifetime best of 14:46.95 in his first outdoor 5,000m race as a Longhorn.
The Relays continue on Thursday with the remaining five decathlon events, starting at 11 a.m. Central. The first field event of the weekend, the hammer throw, also begins tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.
