After leading teams to two straight victories at the Division I Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Florida State coach Bob Braman had a pretty good idea entering the final day of this year’s meet what his team needed to do for a “three-peat.”

“We’re in a good position,” he said after Florida State ended the first day of competition at Drake one point ahead of LSU, 32-31, “but we have to get to 52 points tomorrow.”

Thanks largely to senior Walter Dix’s victory in his final collegiate race, the 200-meter dash, Florida State did exactly that -- posting 52 points to outpace LSU and Auburn for the win.

But the real key to victory was a combination of gutsy performances and adapatibility.

LSU pressured Florida State Friday night with victories in the 400-meter relay and by Richard Thompson in the 100-meter dash -- races in which Florida State coped with an injury to a key relay-team member and then hoped against hope that Dix might find enough speed just five weeks after returning from a hamstring injury to repeat as champion in the 100.

As things turned out, Dix managed only a fourth-place finish in that race.

“I didn’t think Walter would come in here on five weeks training  –  coming back from the hamstring  –  and win the 100,” Braman said. “Walter thought he was, because that’s Walter. But we were thinking that’s the way it was going to go.”

But Dix’s surprise appearance as a member of the relay team helped Florida State salvage points it otherwise feared losing after team captain Charles Clark dropped out of the lineup due to a Thursday-night hamstring injury.

“We put Walt in there,” Braman said. “We put our long jumper in there. We put our second long jumper on anchor and they had never passed the stick. We figured we were not going to get much anyway, and they finished fourth. That ... really turned things around – that that group could pull that together and we just kind of kept going from there. So it was a good comeback for us.”

Then, needing 11 points in Saturday’s 200-meter dash to clinch the title, Florida State got not just 10 from Dix’s victory -- the seventh individual championship of his career -- but the crucial final point from none other than Clark, who worked through the injury to finish the race.

Braman enjoyed the victory -- “it never gets old,” he said -- but Dix’s comeback from the disappointing showing in the 100 to win his final collegiate race made this title a special one.

“It's not complete -- it's not right if Walt doesn't win," Braman said. “When the guy gives up the opportunity (to go pro), you don't want him to have that bad misfortune to not win a championship. I knew he could, not too many people can, and even if it didn't matter for the team title it was big for what he represents. If he makes the Olympic team it really vindicates people staying in school.”

Florida State got off to a great start early in the meet with Ngonidzashe Makusha’s victory in the long jump, and collected 16 points before Friday. But LSU’s relay win and its 16 points in the 100-meter dash (in which the Tigers’ Trindon Holliday also finished ahead of Dix) quickly tightened things up.

Appropriately, it was Dix who ultimately made the difference, joining Ralph Metcalfe (who won in 1932 through 1934) as the only men to win three straight outdoor 200-meter crowns. With his 100-meter wins in 2005 and 2007, he finishes with five outdoor titles as well as two indoor 200-meter crowns.

Dix’s win was one of three successful defenses of 2007 outdoor crowns. Shadrack Songok of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi won again in the 10,000-meter run and Baylor again won the 1,600-meter relay -- its 10th victory in the event since 1985 and fifth in the past nine years.

Cory Martin’s pair of victories in the shot put and hammer throw powered Auburn into a tie for second in the team standings with LSU.

Team results

1. Florida St., 52; 2. (tie) LSU and Auburn, 44; 4. Texas, 35; 5. Texas A&M, 32; 6. Arizona St., 28; 7. (tie) Baylor and Southern California, 27; 9. Kentucky, 25; 10. Colorado, 24; 11. (tie) UNI and Oregon, 22; 13. (tie) UTEP and Tennessee, 21; 15. Florida, 20; 16. Washington, 19 1/3; 17. Arkansas, 18; 18. (tie) Idaho and South Carolina, 15; 20. Virginia Tech, 13 1/3; 21. (tie) Clemson and Wisconsin, 12; 23. (tie) Washington St. and Arizona, 11; 25. (tie) Cornell, Tex. A&M-Corp. Chris., Georgia, Texas Tech, Villanova and Oral Roberts, 10; 31. (tie) Long Beach St., Louisville and Virginia, 8; 34. (tie) UCLA and Missouri, 7 1/2; 36. Nebraska, 7; 37. Air Force, 6 1/3; 38. (tie) Liberty, Alabama, Kansas and Bethune-Cookman, 6; 42. (tie) Brigham Young, Kansas St., North Carolina, Northern Ariz., Eastern Ky., New Mexico, Michigan and Iowa St., 5; 50. (tie) Fresno St., Albany (N.Y.), Ohio St., Oklahoma St., Georgia Tech and Weber St., 4; 56. (tie) Minnesota, La Salle, Colorado St., Boise St., Syracuse, Indiana, Stanford, La.-Monroe, Memphis, Southeast Mo. St. and Hampton, 3; 67. (tie) Akron, Oklahoma, TCU and UTSA, 2; 71. (tie) Mississippi St., Duke, California, Florida Int’l and Notre Dame, 1.

Individual champions

100-meter dash: Richard Thompson, LSU, 10.12.

200-meter dash: Walter Dix, Florida St., 20.40.

400-meter dash: Andretti Bain, Oral Roberts, 44.62.

800-meter run: Jacob Hernandez, Texas, 1:45.31.

1,500-meter run: Leonel Manzano, Texas, 3:41.25.

3,000-meter steeplechase: Kyle Alcorn, Arizona St., 8:28.26.

5,000-meter run: Robert Curtis, Villanova, 13:33.93.

10,000-meter run: Shadrack Songok, Tex. A&M-Corp. Chris., 28:46.69.

110-meter high hurdles: Jason Richardson, South Carolina, 13.40.

400-meter intermediate hurdles: Jeshua Anderson, Washington St., 48.69.

400-meter relay: LSU (Armanti Hayes, Richard Thompson, Gabriel Mvumuvre, Trindon Holliday), 38.42.

1,600-meter relay: Baylor (Marcus Boyd, Justin Boyd, LeJerald Betters, Quentin Iglehart-Summers), 3:00.22.

High jump: Mickael Hanany, UTEP, 2.32 (7-7 1/4).

Pole vault: Maston Wallace, Texas, 5.35 (17-6 1/2).

Long jump: Ngonidzashe Makusha, Florida St., 8.30 (27-2 3/4).

Triple jump: Muhammad Halim, Cornell, 16.66 (54-8).

Shot put: Cory Martin, Auburn, 20.35 (66-9 1/4).

Discus throw: Rashaud Scott, Kentucky, 60.87 (199-8).

Hammer throw: Cory Martin, Auburn, 74.13 (243-2).

Javelin throw: Chris Hill, Georgia, 78.41 (257-3).

Decathlon: Ashton Eaton, Oregon, 8,055.

Individual results

100-meter dash: 1. Richard Thompson, LSU, 10.12; 2. Travis Padgett, Clemson, 10.16; 3. Trindon Holliday, LSU, 10.18; 4. Walter Dix, Florida St., 10.22; 5. Jacoby Ford, Clemson, 10.33; 6. Jeremy Hall, Florida, 10.36; 7. Teddy Williams, UTSA, 10.40; 8. Kendall May, Mississippi St., 10.44.

200-meter dash: 1. Walter Dix, Florida St., 20.40; 2. Richard Thompson, LSU, 20.44; 3. Chris Dykes, Texas A&M, 20.73; 4. Evander Wells, Tennessee, 20.80; 5. Brent Gray, Long Beach St., 20.88; 6. Rubin Williams, Tennessee, 20.96; 7. Trey Harts, Baylor, 20.97; 8. Charles Clark, Florida St., 22.36.

400-meter dash: 1. Andretti Bain, Oral Roberts, 44.62; 2. Lionel Larry, Southern California, 44.63; 3. LeJerald Betters, Baylor, 44.83; 4. Jordan Boase, Washington, 44.83; 5. Calvin Smith, Florida, 45.14; 6. Miles Smith, Southeast Mo. St., 45.67; 7. Joel Phillip, Arizona St., 45.76; 8. Terrance Reid, UNI, 45.79.

800-meter run: 1. Jacob Hernandez, Texas, 1:45.31; 2. Andrew Wheating, Oregon, 1:45.32; 3. Duane Solomon, Southern California, 1:45.71; 4. Elkana Kosgei, LSU, 1:47.34; 5. Elias Koech, UTEP, 1:47.85; 6. Tyler Mulder, UNI, 1:48.11; 7. Austin Abbott, Washington, 1:48.46; 8. Yarrick Kincaid, Tennessee, 1:50.25.

1,500-meter run: 1. Leonel Manzano, Texas, 3:41.25; 2. Dorian Ulrey, UNI, 3:42.56; 3. Jack Bolas, Wisconsin, 3:42.57; 4. Craig Miller, Wisconsin, 3:42.67; 5. Jeff See, Ohio St., 3:43.14; 6. Garrett Heath, Stanford, 3:43.15; 7. Darren Brown, Texas, 3:43.25; 8. Evan Jager, Wisconsin, 3:43.26.

3,000-meter steeplechase: 1. Kyle Alcorn, Arizona St., 8:28.26; 2. Billy Nelson, Colorado, 8:28.85; 3. Luke Gunn, Florida St., 8:34.41; 4. Hillary Bor, Iowa St., 8:36.84; 5. Peter Kosgei, Arkansas, 8:37.61; 6. Kyle Heath, Syracuse, 8:38.03; 7. Patrick Mutai, UTEP, 8:38.48; 8. Carl Moe, Washington, 8:41.83.

5,000-meter run: 1. Robert Curtis, Villanova, 13:33.93; 2. Stephen Pifer, Colorado, 13:39.34; 3. Brent Vaughn, Colorado, 13:39.44; 4. David McNeill, Northern Ariz., 13:42.17; 5. Ryan Vail, Oklahoma St., 13:42.85; 6. Hassan Mead, Minnesota, 13:44.30; 7. Kenyon Neuman, Colorado, 13:45.54; 8. Patrick Smyth, Notre Dame, 13:47.82.

10,000-meter run: 1. Shadrack Songok, Tex. A&M-Corp. Chris., 28:46.69; 2. Shawn Forrest, Arkansas, 28:47.08; 3. Tyson David, Alabama, 28:49.76; 4. Jacob Korir, Eastern Ky., 28:49.92; 5. Seth Pilkington, Weber St., 28:51.81; 6. Sean Quigley, La Salle, 29:03.27; 7. Jeremy Johnson, New Mexico, 29:06.13; 8. Japheth Ng'ojoy, UTEP, 29:07.08.

110-meter high hurdles: 1. Jason Richardson, South Carolina, 13.40; 2. Ty Akins, Auburn, 13.46; 3. Ronnie Ash, Bethune-Cookman, 13.59; 4. Shawon Harris, Texas Tech, 13.73; 5. Drew Brunson, Florida St., 13.80; 6. Kai Kelley, Southern California, 13.80; 7. Omo Osaghae, Texas Tech, 13.90; 8. Ronald Forbes, Florida Int’l, 14.05.

400-meter intermediate hurdles: 1. Jeshua Anderson, Washington St., 48.69; 2. Rueben McCoy, Auburn, 48.71; 3. Robert Griffin, Baylor, 49.55; 4. Jussi Heikkila, South Carolina, 49.69; 5. Nick Robinson, Texas A&M, 49.92; 6. Terry Thornton, Hampton, 49.99; 7. Kai Kelley, Southern California, 50.34; Justin Gaymon, Georgia, (disqualified).

400-meter relay: 1. LSU (Armanti Hayes, Richard Thompson, Gabriel Mvumuvre, Trindon Holliday), 38.42; 2. Texas A&M, 38.58; 3. Florida, 38.84; 4. Florida St., 39.11; 5. Tennessee, 39.19; 6. Baylor, 39.47; 7. TCU, 39.60; South Carolina, (did not finish).

1,600-meter relay: 1. Baylor (Marcus Boyd, Justin Boyd, LeJerald Betters, Quentin Iglehart-Summers), 3:00.22; 2. Texas A&M, 3:01.78; 3. Kentucky, 3:02.00; 4. Michigan, 3:04.64; 5. UNI, 3:04.97; 6. Texas Tech, 3:05.22; 7. Texas, 3:05.27; 8. Florida, 3:07.91.

High jump: 1. Mickael Hanany, UTEP, 2.32 (7-7 1/4); 2. (tie) Dusty Jonas, Nebraska and Grant Lindsey, Kentucky, 2.26 (7-5); 4. Scott Sellers, Kansas St., 2.20 (7-2 1/2); 5. Donte' Nall, North Carolina, 2.17 (7-1 1/2); 6. Ehi Oamen, UNI, 2.17 (7-1 1/2); 7. Norris Frederick, Washington, 2.17 (7-1 1/2); 8. Raymond Harris, Texas, 2.14 (7-0 1/4).

Pole vault: 1. Maston Wallace, Texas, 5.35 (17-6 1/2); 2. (tie) Yavgeniy Olhovsky, Virginia Tech; Nick Frawley, Air Force, and Jared O'Connor, Washington, 5.25 (17-2 3/4); 5. Luke Schoen, Albany (N.Y.), 5.25 (17-2 3/4); 6. Robert Caldwell, New Mexico, 5.25 (17-2 3/4); 7. Jeff Coover, Indiana, 5.25 (17-2 3/4); 8. Johnny Quinn, UCLA, 5.10 (16-8 3/4).

Long jump: 1. Ngonidzashe Makusha, Florida St., 8.30 (27-2 3/4); 2. Matt Turner, Arizona St, 8.01 (26-3 1/2); 3. Julian Reid, Texas A&M, 7.90 (25-11); 4. Elvie Williams, Idaho, 7.81 (25-7 1/2); 5. Gary Lee, Fresno St., 7.81 (25-7 1/2); 6. Norris Frederick, Washington, 7.79 (25-6 3/4); 7. Cadeau Kelley, Akron, 7.75 (25-5 1/4); 8. Kiwan Lawson, Indiana, 7.74 (25-4 3/4).

Triple jump: 1. Muhammad Halim, Cornell, 16.66 (54-8); 2. Andre Black, Louisville, 16.65 (54-7 1/2); 3. Nkosinza Balumbu, Arkansas, 16.56 (54-4); 4. Rayon Taylor, Florida St., 16.53 (54-2 3/4); 5. James Lemons, Georgia Tech, 16.49 (54-1 1/4); 6. Ryan Grinnell, Boise St., 16.32 (53-6 1/2); 7. Shardae Boutte, Oklahoma, 16.31 (53-6 1/4); 8. Austin Davis, North Carolina, 16.23 (53-3).

Shot put: 1. Cory Martin, Auburn, 20.35 (66-9 1/4); 2. Ryan Whiting, Arizona St., 20.24 (66-5); 3. Russ Winger, Idaho, 19.73 (64-8 3/4); 4. Zack Lloyd, Arizona, 19.40 (63-7 3/4); 5. Shawn Best, Arizona, 18.52 (60-9 1/4); 6. Justin Clickett, Virginia Tech, 18.52 (60-9 1/4); 7. Jarred Sola, Arizona, 18.47 (60-7 1/4); 8. Rashaud Scott, Kentucky, 18.29 (60-0 1/4).

Discus throw: 1. Rashaud Scott, Kentucky, 60.87 (199-8); 2. Yemi Ayeni, Virginia, 59.50 (195-2); 3. Clendon Henderson, Liberty, 58.70 (192-7); 4. Leif Arrhenius, Brigham Young, 57.27 (187-11); 5. Russ Winger, Idaho, 57.17 (187-7); 6. Jason Schutz, Colorado St., 56.76 (186-3); 7. Greg Garza, UCLA, 56.71 (186-1); 8. Martin Maric, California, 56.64 (185-10).

Hammer throw: 1. Cory Martin, Auburn, 74.13 (243-2); 2. Jake Dunkleberger, Auburn, 72.98 (239-5); 3. Egor Agafonov, Kansas, 69.92 (229-5); 4. Boldizsar Kocsor, UCLA, 69.92 (229-5); 5. Matej Muza, Virginia Tech, 69.83 (229-1); 6. Steffen Nerdal, Memphis, 68.21 (223-9); 7. Colin Veldman, Oregon, 66.94 (219-7); 8. Andy Fryman, Kentucky, 66.03 (216-8).

Javelin throw: 1. Chris Hill, Georgia, 78.41 (257-3); 2. Corey White, Southern California, 77.79 (255-2); 3. Adam Montague, Florida, 74.62 (244-10); 4. Preston Chatham, LSU, 71.51 (234-7); 5. Alex VanderMerwe, UTEP, 70.60 (231-7); 6. Jeffrey Kent, La.-Monroe, 68.74 (225-6); 7. Alex Wolff, Oregon, 67.09 (220-1); 8. John Austin, Duke, 66.10 (216-10).

Decathlon: 1. Ashton Eaton, Oregon, 8,055; 2. Jangy Addy, Tennessee, 7,916; 3. Gonzalo Barriolhet, Florida St., 7,907; 4. Nick Adcock, Missouri, 7,612; 5. Chris Richardson, Long Beach St., 7,594; 6. Raven Cepeda, UNI, 7,581; 7. Lars Rise, Missouri, 7,534; 8. Rickey Moody, Washington St., 7,477.