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AUSTIN, Texas -- The 4x800-meter relay group shattered the UT school record and senior John Rouse joined the list of NCAA regional qualifiers as the No. 12 Texas Men's Track and Field team wrapped up day-two competition at the 2008 81st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

The quartet, comprised of All-Americans, NCAA and Big 12 champions and world record holders, rounded their home track at the Mike A. Myers Track Stadium on Thursday in a record-setting seven minutes, 17.63 seconds.

Junior Tevan Everett, redshirt junior Kyle Miller, senior Leo Manzano and junior Jacob Hernandez combined to break a 27-year old record of 7:18.1 (hand timed) clocked by Larry Johnson, Chris Bucknall, George Collins and Owen Hamilton in 1981. It marks the first time since 1988 a UT relay has cracked the top five in the 3,200-meter race.

Everett (Bel-Aire, Kan.), the two-time Big 12 champion in the indoor 600-yard run, started the record-setting relay. He handed off to Miller (Katy, Texas) -- the reigning Big 12 champion in the indoor 1,000-meter run -- who exchanged with four-time NCAA and Big 12 champion, Texas senior Leo Manzano (Marble Falls, Texas). Two-time Big 12 800-meter champion, junior Jacob Hernandez (Magnolia, Texas), anchored the quartet to victory. Three of the four legs -- Everett, Hernandez and Manzano -- won the 2008 NCAA distance-medley relay national championship, and Miller, Hernandez and Manzano were a part of the world-record setting DMR at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 16, 2008.

In the field events, senior John Rouse (Kaufman, Texas) became the sixth NCAA regional qualifier on the Longhorns' team. Rouse, who has made the trip to the NCAA Midwest Region meet twice during his first three seasons, tossed 189-6 (57.77m) and finished in ninth place.

Senior Donovan Kilmartin (Eagle, Idaho) pulled out of the decathlon after not registering a height in the pole vault. He started the day with a sixth-place performance in the 110-meter hurdles. He cleared each hurdle in 14.69 behind a 2.3 wind reading. In the discus, Kilmartin finished 12th in 122-2 (37.25m).

POSTMEET QUOTES
HEAD COACH BUBBA THORNTON
On the 4x800-meter relay setting the UT school record: You come out and watch the 4x800-meter relay. They get a school record out of this thing. It was four great guys, all Big 12 champions and All-Americans, world record holders and national championships. That's the kind of performance you would expect from those guys. It's nice to see it in the record book especially for Leo. I'm hoping we get this weather because I'm thinking we will see something special from him [in the invitational mile run] on Saturday.

On Kilmartin's performance in the pole vault: I was disappointed for Donovan but there's a life lesson there for him. Just because you have dotted your 'I's' and crossed your 'T's', sometimes things won't work. It didn't work today. If you said there was one thing that Donovan could do, it would be make the opening bar in the pole vault. You could almost say he could do it blindfolded. It was really disappointing. Now what it means is, come the Big 12 Championships, that's 10 points [towards the team score] because he's not going to fail again, and we're going to need him.

JUNIOR JACOB HERNANDEZ
On anchoring the record-setting 4x800-meter relay: I was pretty excited to do it. This is my first anchor for The University of Texas. My coach and my teammates let me know that it's a big responsibility. It's a big role. Usually, it's Leo [Manzano] in the driver's seat. So, it's an honor to do an anchor leg.

On his thoughts during the race: I saw Leo coming around the corner, and I got pretty excited. We basically had the lead the whole way, so that really motivated me to get out there and run fast.