EUGENE, Ore. - The University of Florida men's track and field team are national champions again.
The Gators used a dramatic finish to share the 2013 NCAA crown with Texas A&M (53 points) in front of a packed house at famed Hayward Field. This is the 31st national championship in University of Florida athletics history and the fifth team title for the UF men's track and field program since 2010 - three indoor titles (2010-12) and two outdoor (2012-13).
This is the second NCAA title for the University of Florida this year, with women's gymnastics claiming its first NCAA Championship in April. The Gators are the first team since 1978 (UTEP, UCLA) to share an NCAA outdoor title and this is just the fourth time in NCAA history a tie has occurred.
"I'm just so proud...proud of our guys, my coaching and support staff, and everyone associated with the program," Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. "The big thing is that we recruit these guys and expect them to go out there and compete for national championships. I'm extremely proud of them. No one gave us a chance. I watched the replays of ESPN this weekend and they didn't even mention the Gators. I told the guys to just keep fighting, be who we are and do what we do."
Trailing Texas A&M by nine points heading into the final event, the Gators, with a lineup of Najee Glass (Woodbridge, N.J.), Hugh Graham, Jr. (Miami, Fla.), Dedric Dukes (Miami, Fla.) and Arman Hall (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), claimed the 4x400-meter relay title (3:01.34) and the 10 points that came along with it. A&M - in the same race - dropped the baton but rebounded to finish eighth, giving them one point and putting them in a tie for the national title with the Gators.
