The two most successful track and field programs in Division II matched the closest finish in the 42-year history of the Division II Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 27-29, as Abilene Christian survived Saint Augustine's victory in the meet's final event to claim the crown by a single point.

Abilene Christian won its third straight championship and 14th overall, but only by offsetting Saint Augustine's win in the 400-meter relay with its own third-place finish in that closing event at Cal Poly Pomona.

It is the 13th time in meet history that Abilene Christian and Saint Augustine's have claimed the top two spots at the championships, with Abilene Christian winning seven of those showdowns. This year's finish also was a bit of an echo from the 1994 championships, when Saint Augustine's beat the Wildcats by a point in what was the tightest finish before this year.

"Saint Augustine's has a very good program and it looked like we had our work cut out, but our team did a great job and kept improving," said Abilene Christian coach Jon Murray, who credited sprinter Marvin Bien-Amie's surprise second-place finish in the 200-meter dash and a one-three finish in the triple jump as the keys to the victory.

Freshman Bien-Amie -- who posted only the sixth-fastest time in the 200-meter preliminaries -- and senior teammate Christie VanWyk finished second and third in the 200, scoring 14 points to begin chipping away at what was then a 23-point Saint Augustine's lead after 17 events.

The Falcons built that lead with a dominating performance in the 400-meter hurdles, won by freshman Bershawn Jackson, who combined with teammates Adrian Findlay and Tim Riley to rack up 21 points. Earlier, Jackson set a meet record in preliminary heats in the event, scorching the hurdles in 48 1/2 seconds.

But Bien-Amie and VanWyk's heroics in the 200 cut the margin to 11 points, then sophomore Yevgen Pashchenko won the triple jump and Ben Washington took third in that event to boost the Wildcats into the lead by five points, 69-64, with only the 400-meter relay remaining.

Saint Augustine's did everything possible to pull out the victory, with Jackson anchoring the Falcons to a two-second victory and 10 points in the relay. But Abilene Christian crossed the finish line nearly five seconds ahead of fourth-place North Carolina Central, good enough for six points and the team title.

With the victory, the Wildcats completed their third straight sweep of the Division II indoor and outdoor track championships.

And even with the heroics from Bien-Amie and the triple-jumpers, it was distance runner Bernard Manirakiza who built the foundation for the Wildcats' win, with his victories in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs. The senior, who also won the 800-meter run and mile at the indoor championships in March, claimed the sixth and seventh individual titles of his collegiate career at Abilene Christian.

Even those victories were hard-won, though, as Manirakiza edged Cal State Chico's Peter Paplanus and North Dakota State's Andy Moen by less than a second in the 800 meters, and won in similarly close fashion over the Adams State tandem of Mohamed Aden and Aucencio Martinez in the 1,500.

North Dakota State finished third at the championships, powered by a one-two finish in the decathlon by Nate Schmidt and Andrew Aakre. Adams State finished fourth with 2003 cross country champion Celedonio Rodriguez's victory in the 5,000-meter run and the Aden-Martinez performance in the 1,500. Lincoln (Missouri), whose Lerone Clark won the 100-meter dash, and Western State tied for fifth.

The only meet record in addition to Jackson's preliminaries mark was set in the hammer throw by Indianapolis' Damieon Smith, who beat the previous record by three feet with a toss of 218-4.

Team results

1. Abilene Christian, 75; 2. St. Augustine's, 74; 3. North Dakota St., 57; 4. Adams St., 48; 5. (tie) Lincoln (Mo.) and Western St., 30; 7. Tarleton St., 29; 8. NYIT, 28; 9. (tie) Tex. A&M-Kingsville and Morehouse, 27; 11. Cal St. Chico, 23; 12. Central Mo. St., 21; 13. Harding, 20; 14. (tie) Lewis, Livingstone and Indianapolis, 18; 17. (tie) Cal St. Bakersfield, Ashland, Angelo St., and Albany (Ga.), 15; 21. Findlay, 13; 22. Fort Hays St., 11; 23. (tie) Truman, South Dakota St., Minn. Duluth, Minn. St. Mankato and Lock Haven, 10; 28. Neb.-Kearney, 9; 29. (tie) Incarnate Word and Western Ore., 8; 31. Mo. Southern St., 7; 32. (tie) Emporia St., Seattle Pacific, Tex. A&M-Commerce and Kutztown, 6; 36. (tie) Southern Conn. St., Concord, Shippensburg, Augustana (Ill.), St. Cloud St., N.C. Central and UC Colo. Spgs., 5; 43. (tie) North Dakota, Edinboro, Cal Poly Pomona, South Dakota, Northwood and Bowie St., 4; 49. (tie) East Stroudsburg, Clayton St., North Fla. and Central Wash., 3; 53. (tie) New Haven, St. Joseph's (Ind.) and Kennesaw St., 2; 56. (tie) Mo.-Rolla and Cal St. Stanislaus, 1 1/2; 58. (tie) Millersville, Wheeling Jesuit, Cal St. L.A. and Wis.-Parkside, 1.

Individual results

100-meter dash: 1. Lerone Clarke, Lincoln (Mo.), 10.16; 2. Clement Campbell, NYIT, 10.19; 3. Christie VanWyk, Abilene Christian, 10.28; 4. Carlos Moore, Tex. A&M-Kingsville, 10.32; 5. Allen Burrell, North Dakota St., 10.38; 6. Kendall Stevens, Findlay, 10.41; 7. Jody Stewart, Ashland, 10.42; 8. Marvin Bien-Amie, Abilene Christian, 10.45.

200-meter dash: 1. Jordan Vaden, Livingstone, 20.42; 2. Marvin Bien-Amie, Abilene Christian, 20.64; 3. Christie VanWyk, Abilene Christian, 20.72; 4. Mike Lawrence, Minn. St. Mankato, 20.84; 5. Lerone Clarke, Lincoln (Mo.), 21.07; 6. Kendall Stevens, Findlay, 21.18; 7. Bershawn Jackson, St. Augustine's, 21.43; Jaquon Morrison, Tex. A&M-Kingsville, did not finish.

400-meter dash: 1. Oluwagbenga Awoleye, Tarleton St., 46.05; 2. Jordan Vaden, Livingstone, 46.27; 3. Nathaniel McKinney, St. Augustine's, 46.31; 4. Wilan Louis, St. Augustine's, 46.67; 5. Jamaal Torrance, St. Augustine's 46.83; 6. Sterling Gray, Albany St. (Ga.), 47.02; 7. Reginald Cross, Indianapolis, 47.21.

800-meter run: 1. Bernard Manirakiza, Abilene Christian, 1:50.23; 2. Peter Paplanus, Cal St. Chico, 1:50.50; 3. Andy Moen, North Dakota St., 1:50.87; 4. Damien Sobers, NYIT, 1:51.50; 5. Josh Weber, Northwood, 1:51.97; 6. Moses Tum, UC-Colo. Spgs., 1:52.26; 7. Marius Skarbauskas, New Haven, 1:52.34; 8. Pat Lehmann, Minn. St. Mankato, 1:54.05.

1,500-meter run: 1. Bernard Manirakiza, Abilene Christian, 3:44.98; 2. Mohamed Aden, Adams St., 3:45.40; 3. Aucencio Martinez, Adams St., 3:45.70; 4. Brad Lowery, South Dakota St., 3:46.69; 5. Will Banks, Western St., 3:46.86; 6. Jerry Reckart, North Fla., 3:49.57; 7. Moses Tum, UC-Colo. Spgs., 3:50.35; 8. Scott Fiksdal, Minn St. Mankato, 3:50.66.

3,000-meter steeplechase: 1. Kelly Christensen, Western St., 8:56.83; 2. Chris Perleberg, North Dakota St., 8:59.50; 3. Josh Merrick, Adams St., 8:59.95; 4. Luke Baltrusch, Augustina (Ill.), 9:02.77; 5. Jim Ansberry, Edinboro, 9:14.32; 6. Mike Steele, South Dakota St., 9:14.41; 7. Francis Korir, Kennesaw St., 9:15.76; 8. Quinn Newton, Wis.-Parkside, 9:16.45.

5,000-meter run: 1. Celedonio Rodriguez, Adams St., 14:16.88; 2. Jacob Rotich, Harding, 14:28.43; 3. Will Banks, Western St., 14:34.45; 4. Jesus Solis, Adams St., 14:34.72; 5. Tyler Graff, Cal St. Chico, 14:36.58; 6. Scott Nagelkerke, Western St., 14:38.30; 7. Brian Lyons, Mo. Southern St., 14:39.49; 8. Charlie Serrano, Cal St. Chico, 14:39.52.

10,000-meter run: 1. Jacob Rotich, Harding, 29:06.12; 2. Celedonio Rodriguez, Adams St., 29:55.57; 3. Mike Nagelkerke, Western St., 30:09.77; 4. Tyler Graff, Cal St. Chico, 30:16.51; 5. Mark Batres, Cal Poly Pomona, 30:17.82; 6. Dale Dexter, Fort Hays St., 30:18.83; 7. Miereczko Maciek, Harding, 30:44.00; 8. Ricky Moore, Wheeling Jesuit, 30:49.95.

110-meter high hurdles: 1. Tarmo Jallai, Tex. A&M-Kingsville, 13.67; 2. Enrique Llanos, St. Augustine's, 13.81; 3. Chris Stephens, St. Augustine's, 14.15; 4. Javonie Small, Morehouse, 14.16; 5. Stephen Chambers, Central Mo. St., 14.22; 6. Adrian Stuart, Minn St. Mankato, 14.28; 7. David Hegland, South Dakota St., 14.29; 8. Cale Brereton, Findlay, 14.39.

400-meter intermediate hurdles: 1. Bershawn Jackson, St. Augustine's, 49.62 (meet record in preliminaries, 48.50, Jackson; old record 49.11, Tranel Hawkins, Angelo St., 1984]; 2. Adrian Findlay, St. Augustine's, 49.82; 3. Antwane President, Lincoln (Mo.), 50.96; 4. Javonie Small, Morehouse, 51.56; 5. Sanchez Ross, Findlay, 51.58; 6. Tim Riley, St. Augustine's, 51.58; 7. Ed Vilt, Findlay, 52.09; 8. Garret Conover, Western St., 52.27.

400-meter relay: 1. Tex. A&M-Kingsville (Carchell Wright, Carlos Moore, Carlton Williams, Jaquon Morrison), 39.49; 2. Lincoln (Mo.), 39.60; 3. NYIT, 39.87; 4. Albany St. (Ga.), 40.07; 5. St. Augustine's, 40.23; 6. North Dakota St., 40.39; 7. Tex. A&M-Commerce, 40.52; 8. Central Mo. St., 41.15.

1,600-meter relay: 1. St. Augustine's (Wilan Louis, Nathaniel McKinney, Jamaal Torrance, Bershawn Jackson), 3:05.61; 2. North Dakota St., 3:07.75; 3. Abilene Christian, 3:07.80; 4. N.C. Central, 3:12.49; 5. Tex. A&M-Commerce, 3:12.84; 6. Clayton St., 3:13.05; 7. Albany St. (Ga.), 3:13.68; 8. Morehouse, 3:23.92.

High jump: Will Littleton, Angelo St., 2.19 (7-2 1/4); 2. Keith Moffatt, Morehouse, 2.19 (7-2 1/4); 3. Ivan Varbanov, Central Mo. St., 2.19 (7-2 1/4); 4. Ivan Schmidt, Southern Conn. St., 2.16 (7-1); 5. Robert DeVaul, Bowie St., 2.16 (7-1); 6. Jason Cornelius, Morehouse, 2.16 (7-1); 7. Brandon Jones, Lincoln (Mo.), 2.13 (6.11 3/4); 8. Eugene Hutchinson, Cal St. L.A., 2.08 (6-9 3/4).

Pole vault: 1. Duane Chappell, Lewis, 5.20 (17-0 3/4); 2. Francisco Leon Cannock, Incarnate Word, 5.10 (16-8 3/4); 3. Marc Steckler, North Dakota St., 5.10 (16-8 3/4); 4. (tie) Sam Pribyl, South Dakota; Cory Aguilar, Abilene Christian; and Mark Zilch, Lewis, 5.00 (16-4 3/4); 7. (tie) John Skola, Mo.-Rolla; and Eldwin Chappell, Cal St. Stanislaus, 5.00 (16-4 3/4).

Long jump: 1. James Walton, Truman, 7.60 (24-11 1/4); 2. Fabian Hutchinson, St. Augustine's, 7.59 (24-11); 3. Justin Collins, Kutztown, 7.57 (24-10); 4. Eddie McDuffie, Albany St. (Ga.), 7.55 (24-9 1/4); 5. Yevgen Pashchenko, Abilene Christian, 7.49 (24-7); 6. Joey Brightbill, Ashland, 7.46 (24-5 3/4); 7. Marques Wooten, Central Mo. St., 7.38 (24-2 1/2); 8. Jeremy Singleton, Tarleton St., 7.26 (23-10).

Triple jump: 1. Yevgen Pashchenko, Abilene Christian, 16.03 (52-07 1/4); 2. Ivan Varbanov, Central Mo. St., 16.00 (52-6); 3. Ben Washington, Abilene Christian, 15.50 (50-10 1/4); 4. Cameron Dayne, Morehouse, 15.38 (50-5 1/2); 5. Lloyd Brown, NYIT, 15.18 (49-9 3/4); 6. Justin Lawrence, Central Wash., 15.18 (49-9 3/4); 7. Marquise Brown, Lewis, 14.91 (48-11); 8. Ryan Wilhelm, Angelo St., 14.78 (48-6).

Shot put: 1. Dan Soldner, Minn. Duluth, 18.05 (59-2 3/4); 2. Bennie Oliver, Tarleton St., 17.78 (58-4); 3. Nate Wheat, Neb.-Kearney, 17.36 (56-11 1/2); 4. John Paul Blankenship, Concord, 17.16 (56-3 3/4); 5. Manuel Brandeborn, Abilene Christian, 17.11 (56-1 3/4); 6. Brendan Page, Cal St. Chico, 17.04 (55-11); 7. Merek Dec, Tex A&M-Kingsville, 16.90 (55-5 1/2); 8. Michael Mayo, Angelo St., 16.86 (55-3 3/4).

Discus throw: 1. John Schulte, Ashland, 54.74 (179-7); 2. Isaiah Haines, Western Ore., 53.02 (173-11); 3. Spencer Tyler, Tarleton St., 52.37 (171-10); 4. Jake Evig, Adams St., 51.75 (169-9); 5. Jason Cook, North Dakota, 51.74 (169-9); 6. Scott Jorgensen, Neb.-Kearney, 51.66 (169-6); 7. Taylor Treesh, St. Joseph's (Ind.), 51.18 (167-11); 8. Brendan Page, Cal St. Chico, 51.16 (167-10).

Hammer throw: Damieon Smith, Indianapolis, 66.54 (218-4) [meet record; old record 65.64 (215-4), Robert Dilts, UC Davis, 1995]; 2. Arnaldo Cueto, Cal St. Bakersfield, 65.39 (214-6); 3. Aaron Lawson, Indianapolis, 57.51 (188-8); 4. Nick Umholtz, Cal St. Bakersfield, 57.00 (187-0); 5. John Christensen, North Dakota St., 55.64 (182-6); 6. Arley Smith, Mo. Southern St., 55.17 (181-0); 7. Denver Guillory, Cal St. Bakersfield, 55.1 (180-6); 8. Brendan Page, Cal St. Chico, 54.98 (180-4).

Javelin throw: 1. Nick Slotterback, Lock Haven, 66.41 (217-10); 2. Kevin Dolechek, Fort Hays St., 65.75 (215-8); 3. Andy Vogelsberg, Emporia St., 64.34 (211-1); 4. Robert Barnes, NYIT, 64.23 (210-9); 5. Dan Maha, Shippensburg, 63.25 (207-6); 6. Dan Gale, East Stroudsburg, 63.21 (207-4); 7. Mika Alahaivala, Mo. Southern St., 62.76 (205-11); 8. John Pacovsky, Shippensburg, 62.62 (205-5).

Decathlon: 1. Nate Schmidt, North Dakota St., 7,460; 2. Andrew Aakre, North Dakota St., 7,196; 3. Chris Randolph, Seattle Pacific, 7,030; 4. Ryan Koch, St. Cloud St., 6,719; 5. Carl Stovall, Tarleton St., 6,715; 6. Jason Simmons, Angelo St., 6,656; 7. Billy Stadele, Lewis, 6,643; 8. Dan Ober, Millersville, 6,618.