The term “4x1” nearly took on new meaning at the Division I Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, as the final event offered the possibility that four teams could tie for the team title. Texas A&M made the most of the opportunity and won its first national championship in the sport Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The term “4x1” normally refers to the 400-meter relay, but the title actually was decided in the meet-ending 1,600-meter relay, where the Aggies finally caught Oregon and held off two other rivals to spoil those teams’ title hopes.

The win clinched a rare double victory since Texas A&M had captured the women’s track and field title moments earlier.

“We’re the national champions,” said Justin Oliver, who anchored Aggies to a second-place finish in the 1,600-meter relay to lock up the title. “Texas A&M, no one else. That’s all I could say when I finished the race. We did it! We did it!”

Oliver is a member of coach Pat Henry’s first graduating class, which brought the former LSU coach – who led the Tigers to three men’s and 12 women’s national track and field titles – his first crowns in five seasons at Texas A&M.

“We’re extremely pleased, my staff worked very hard and this is a very gratifying pair of championships for this team," Henry said.

Texas A&M needed a big comeback to catch Oregon, which was bidding to add the outdoor crown to the cross country and indoor track team titles it claimed during the school year. The Ducks built a lead entering the last day on Ashton Eaton’s decathlon win and Galen Rupp’s double victory in the 10,000- and 5,000-meter run. The Ducks then kept alive its hopes of fending off the surging Aggies with Andrew Wheating’s come-from-behind win in the 800-meter run.

It wasn’t enough, though, as the Aggies scored big with four finalists in the triple jump to position themselves within striking distance entering the final relay. They then surged from sixth place midway through the race to claim the points they needed.

“The position the rest of the relay put me in, I was second and I wanted to maintain that position,” Oliver said. “When it got to the 300 mark and I saw that I'm still in second place, I see the finish line and I can see the trophy waiting on me. Drive, that's all I thought, just drive. Put them up and put them down, and pump my arms. When I finally crossed the line a million tons came off my back from all the hard work I’ve been putting in over the years.”

The relay team also received an assist from four Aggie triple jump finalists, who combined for 18 points just before the final track event. Julian Reid led the parade with a runner-up finish, followed by Zuheir Sharif in fourth, Tyron Stewart in sixth and Melvin Echard in seventh.

“When we got into that final, from that point on it was just maintaining and building the momentum we had,” Sharif said. “It’s all about the endurance. But it was nerve-wracking watching the outcome of the 4x400. I’m at a loss for words, I can’t believe what we jumped today, I can’t believe we are national champions.”

While Oregon fell short in its bid for a cross country/track sweep, Rupp became the first Division I man to claim five individual championships in a year, adding the first 10,000/5,000 outdoor sweep since 2000 to his cross country title last fall and a sweep of the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs at the indoor championships in March. He also was a member of Oregon’s victorious indoor distance medley relay team.

The win in the outdoor 5,000 was especially dramatic, as Rupp stopped on the track to put a shoe back on after tangling with another runner, then recovered from behind the pack to take the lead with about a lap and a half to go.

“I was trying to do what I could to help the team out,” he said. “I was pretty tired. I tried to slow it down a little bit, but it’s hard. I’m not going to go out of my way to get behind everybody.”

The Ducks finished in a three-way tie for second with Florida and three-time defending champion Florida State, which after winning the 1,600-meter relay would have tied Oregon, Texas A&M and the Gators for the team title had the Aggies finished third rather than second in the race.

“We won it, but credit A&M for coming up big as well,” said Florida State’s Charles Clark, who helped power his relay squad to a commanding lead in the event after winning the 200-meter dash.

Team results

1. Texas A&M, 48; 2. (tie) Oregon, Florida and Florida St., 46; 5. LSU, 37; 6. South Carolina, 33½; 7. Stanford, 30; 8. Arizona St., 29; 9. Arkansas, 27; 10. Southern California, 26; 11. Georgia, 19; 12. Auburn, 18; 13. (tie) Kansas St. and BYU, 16; 15. Kentucky, 15; 16. Virginia Tech, 14½; 17. (tie) Nebraska, Mississippi St. and Washington St., 14; 20. (tie) Washington, Baylor and Texas, 13; 23. (tie) Bethune-Cookman and Arizona, 11; 25. (tie) Oklahoma St., California, Boise St., Rice and Oklahoma, 10; 30. (tie) Missouri and North Carolina, 9; 32. (tie) Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Middle Tenn., Iowa St. and Northern Ariz. 8; 37. (tie) Illinois, Minnesota and Villanova, 7; 40. (tie) New Mexico, Butler, UTEP, Clemson, Albany (N.Y.), Liberty, UNI and Brown, 6; 48. (tie) Manhattan, Virginia, Notre Dame and Tennessee, 5; 52. (tie) Western Ky., Iona, Louisville and Purdue, 4; 56. (tie) Delaware St., Ohio St., Md.-East. Shore, Harvard, Eastern Mich. and Georgetown, 3; 62. (tie) Tex. A&M-Commerce, Michigan, Air Force, Alabama and Penn St., 2; 67. (tie) TCU, Hampton, Syracuse, Northwestern St., Central Mich., Northeastern, Texas Tech and Cornell, 1.

Individual champions

100-meter dash: Trindon Holliday, LSU, 10.00.

200-meter dash: Charles Clark, Florida St., 20.55.

400-meter dash: Jonathan Borlee, Florida St., 44.78.

800-meter run: Andrew Wheating, Oregon, 1:46.21.

1,500-meter run: German Fernandez, Oklahoma St., 3:39.00.

3,000-meter steeplechase: Kyle Perry, BYU, 8:29.24.

5,000-meter run: Galen Rupp, Oregon, 14:04.12.

10,000-meter run: Galen Rupp, Oregon, 28:21.45.

110-meter high hurdles: Ronnie Ash, Bethune-Cookman, 13.27.

400-meter intermediate hurdles: Jeshua Anderson, Washington St., 48.47.

400-meter relay: Florida (Dennis Martin, Calvin Smith, Terrell Wilks, Jeremy Hall), 38.58.

1,600-meter relay: Florida St. (Kevin Williams, Kevin Borlee, Charles Clark, Jonathan Borlee), 2:59.99.

High jump: Scott Sellers, Kansas St., 2.26 (7-5).

Pole vault: Jason Colwick, Rice, 5.70 (18-8½).

Long jump: Ngonidzashe Makusha, Florida St., 8.11 (26-7¼).

Triple jump: Will Claye, Oklahoma, 17.24 (56-6¾).

Shot put: Ryan Whiting, Arizona St., 20.11 (65-11¾).

Discus throw: Martin Maric, California, 59.82 (196-3).

Hammer throw: Marcel Lomnicky, Virginia Tech, 71.78 (235-6).

Javelin throw: Chris Hill, Georgia, 81.80 (268-4).

Decathlon: Ashton Eaton, Oregon, 8,241.

Individual results

100-meter dash: 1. Trindon Holliday, LSU, 10.00; 2. Ahmad Rashad, Southern California, 10.10; 3. Gerald Phiri, Texas A&M, 10.18; 4. Terrell Wilks, Florida, 10.19; 5. Rondel Sorrillo, Kentucky, 10.22; 6. D'Angelo Cherry, Mississippi St., 10.22; 7. Adam Harris, Michigan, 10.29; 8. Reggie Dixon, Hampton, 10.38.

200-meter dash: 1. Charles Clark, Florida St., 20.55; 2. Rondel Sorrillo, Kentucky, 20.70; 3. Marcus Rowland, Auburn, 20.82; 4. Gerald Phiri, Texas A&M, 20.83; 5. Gavin Smellie, Western Ky., 20.96; 6. Chris Dykes, Texas A&M, 21.05; 7. Trey Harts, Baylor, 21.09; 8. Joel Redhead, Bethune-Cookman, 21.15.

400-meter dash: 1. Jonathan Borlee, Florida St., 44.78; 2. Michael Bingham, Wake Forest, 45.09; 3. Calvin Smith, Florida, 45.29; 4. Kevin Borlee, Florida St., 45.43; 5. Dwight Mullings, Mississippi St., 45.48; 6. Allodin Fothergill, Md.-East. Shore, 45.81; 7. Thomas Murdaugh, Ohio St., 45.90; 8. Bryan Miller, Texas A&M, 45.91.

800-meter run: 1. Andrew Wheating, Oregon, 1:46.21; 2. Tevan Everett, Texas, 1:46.27; 3. Tyler Mulder, UNI, 1:46.80; 4. Chris Gowell, Baylor, 1:46.88; 5. Richard Jones, LSU, 1:47.10; 6. Sean Tully, Villanova, 1:47.25; 7. Irek Sekretarski, Southern California, 1:47.78; 8. Ryan Foster, Penn St., 1:47.81.

1,500-meter run: 1. German Fernandez, Oklahoma St., 3:39.00; 2. Garrett Heath, Stanford, 3:39.51; 3. Lee Emanuel, New Mexico, 3:39.66; 4. Dorian Ulrey, Arkansas, 3:39.93; 5. Matthew Gibney, Villanova, 3:40.58; 6. Liam Boylan-Pett, Georgetown, 3:41.11; 7. Austin Abbott, Washington, 3:41.15; 8. Jeff See, Ohio St., 3:41.18.

3,000-meter steeplechase: 1. Kyle Perry, BYU, 8:29.24; 2. Hillary Bor, Iowa St., 8:35.12; 3. Stephen Lisgo, Butler, 8:35.49; 4. Jake Morse, Texas, 8:38.25; 5. Scott MacPherson, Arkansas, 8:38.87; 6. Josh Karanja, Eastern Mich., 8:40.16; 7. Cory Thorne, Louisville, 8:45.86; 8. Kyle Heath, Syracuse, 8:45.95.

5,000-meter run: 1. Galen Rupp, Oregon, 14:04.12; 2. David McNeill, Northern Ariz., 14:05.79; 3. Chris Derrick, Stanford, 14:07.34; 4. Brandon Bethke, Arizona St., 14:08.00; 5. Elliott Heath, Stanford, 14:08.56; 6. Hassan Mead, Minnesota, 14:09.87; 7. Tyson David, Alabama, 14:10.75; 8. Shadrack Biwott, Oregon, 14:11.45.

10,000-meter run: 1. Galen Rupp, Oregon, 28:21.45; 2. Shawn Forrest, Arkansas, 28:24.53; 3. Sam Chelanga, Liberty, 28:35.40; 4. Patrick Smyth, Notre Dame, 29:08.13; 5. Andrew Ledwith, Iona, 29:10.97; 6. James Strang, Arkansas, 29:11.65; 7. Girma Mecheso, Auburn, 29:12.99; 8. Jake Riley, Stanford, 29:14.53.

110-meter high hurdles: 1. Ronnie Ash, Bethune-Cookman, 13.27; 2. Jason Richardson, South Carolina, 13.49; 3. William Wynne, Florida, 13.68; 4. Myles Bradley, Stanford, 13.81; 5. Andrew Riley, Illinois, 13.83; 6. Booker Nunley, South Carolina, 13.84; 7. Kallinka Pitt, Florida, 13.88; 8. Kirkland Thornton, Nebraska, 13.99.

400-meter intermediate hurdles: 1. Jeshua Anderson, Washington St., 48.47; 2. Johnny Dutch, South Carolina, 48.62; 3. Justin Gaymon, Georgia, 49.02; 4. Joe Greene, Albany (N.Y.), 49.67; 5. Kirkland Thornton, Nebraska, 49.81; 6. Leslie Murray, Delaware St., 49.91; 7. Emmanual Mayers, Mississippi St., 50.06; 8. Javier Garcia-Tunon, Florida St., 50.40.

400-meter relay: 1. Florida (Dennis Martin, Calvin Smith, Terrell Wilks, Jeremy Hall), 38.58; 2. LSU, 38.67; 3. Clemson, 38.77; 4. Mississippi St., 39.06; 5. South Carolina, 39.09; 6. Kentucky, 39.27; 7. Auburn, 39.35; 8. TCU, 39.50.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Florida St. (Kevin Williams, Kevin Borlee, Charles Clark, Jonathan Borlee), 2:59.99; 2. Texas A&M, 3:00.91; 3. Baylor, 3:01.12; 4. Florida, 3:02.17; 5. South Carolina, 3:02.88; 6. LSU, 3:03.81; 7. Southern California, 3:04.18; 8. Texas Tech, 3:04.81.

High jump: 1. Scott Sellers, Kansas St., 2.26 (7-5); 2. Ryan Fleck, Auburn, 2.23 (7-3¾); 3. Manjula Wijesekara, Southern California, 2.23 (7-3¾); 4. Jerome Miller, Georgia Tech, 2.20 (7-2½); 5. Adetayo Adesanya, Purdue, 2.20 (7-2½); 6. Greg Shroka, Illinois, 2.17 (7-1½); 7. Tone Belt, Louisville, 2.17 (7-1½); 8. Garrett Huyler, Cornell, 2.14 (7-0¼);

Pole vault: 1. Jason Colwick, Rice, 5.70 (18-8½); 2. Scott Roth, Washington, 5.55 (18-2½); 3. Bob Low, BYU, 5.45 (17-10½); 4. Yavgeniy Olhovsky, Virginia Tech, 4. Marvin Reitze, South Carolina, 5.35 (17-6½); 6. Nico Weiler, Harvard, 5.35 (17-6½); 7. Nick Frawley, Air Force, 5.35 (17-6½); 8. Luke Schoen, Albany (N.Y.), 5.35 (17-6½).

Long jump: 1. Ngonidzashe Makusha, Florida St., 8.11 (26-7¼); 2. Stanley Gbagbeke, Middle Tenn., 8.00 (26-3); 3. Nicholas Gordon, Nebraska, 7.99 (26-2¾); 4. Julian Reid, Texas A&M, 7.96 (26-1½); 5. Jeremy Hicks, LSU, 7.96 (26-1½); 6. Luis Rivera-Morales, Arizona, 7.94 (26-0¾); 7. Alain Bailey, Arkansas, 7.91 (25-11½); 8. Mychael Stewart, Arkansas, 7.90 (25-11).

Triple jump: 1. Will Claye, Oklahoma, 17.24 (56-6¾); 2. Julian Reid, Texas A&M, 17.10 (56-1¼); 3. Christian Taylor, Florida, 16.91 (55-5¾); 4. Zuheir Sharif, Texas A&M, 16.76 (55-0); 5. Nkosinza Balumbu, Arkansas, 16.40 (53-9¾); 6. Tyron Stewart, Texas A&M, 16.27 (53-4½); 7. Melvin Echard, Texas A&M, 16.07 (52-8¾); 8. Clarence Smith, Penn St., 16.03 (52-7¼).

Shot put: 1. Ryan Whiting, Arizona St., 20.11 (65-11¾); 2. Zack Lloyd, Arizona, 19.86 (65-2); 3. Kemal Mesic, Florida, 19.68 (64-7); 4. Milan Jotanovic, Manhattan, 19.28 (63-3¼); 5. Aaron Studt, Minnesota, 19.27 (63-2¾); 6. Steve Marcelle, Georgia Tech, 18.63 (61-1½); 7. Jason Cook, South Carolina, 18.44 (60-6); 8. Nate Hunter, Northeastern, 18.41 (60-5).

Discus throw: 1. Martin Maric, California, 59.82 (196-3); 2. Ryan Whiting, Arizona St., 59.80 (196-2); 3. Daniel Schaerer, Stanford, 59.35 (194-9); 4. Yemi Ayeni, Virginia, 58.25 (191-1); 5. Matt Lamb, Washington St., 58.01 (190-4); 6. Jason Lewis, Arizona St., 57.82 (189-8); 7. Hickel Woolery, Tex. A&M-Commerce, 56.19 (184-4); 8. Greg Pilling, Central Mich., 55.89 (183-4).

Hammer throw: 1. Marcel Lomnicky, Virginia Tech, 71.78 (235-6); 2. Walter Henning, LSU, 70.72 (232-0); 3. Simon Wardhaugh, Boise St., 70.23 (230-5); 4. Chris Rohr, Missouri, 69.03 (226-6); 5. Dimitrios Fylladitakis, UTEP, 68.04 (223-3); 6. Jason Lewis, Arizona St., 67.22 (220-6); 7. Nate Rolfe, Georgia, 65.41 (214-7); 8. John Freeman, Georgia, 65.01 (213-3).

Javelin throw: 1. Chris Hill, Georgia, 81.80 (268-4); 2. Corey White, Southern California, 75.72 (248-5); 3. Craig Kinsley, Brown, 73.31 (240-6); 4. Cyrus Hostetler, Oregon, 72.71 (238-6); 5. Pontus Thomee, Boise St., 71.14 (233-5); 6. Kyle Nielsen, Washington, 70.56 (231-6); 7. Alex VanderMerwe, UTEP, 70.52 (231-4); 8. Cody Fillinich, Northwestern St., 68.61 (225-1).

Decathlon: 1. Ashton Eaton, Oregon, 8,241; 2. Mateo Sossah, North Carolina, 8,044; 3. Moritz Cleve, Kansas St., 7,937; 4. Michael Ayers, Tennessee, 7,794; 5. Lars Rise, Missouri, 7,776; 6. Bjorn Barrefors, Nebraska, 7,689; 7. Trinity Otto, Texas A&M, 7,652; 8. Daniel Keller, North Carolina, 7,631.