Shaquille Dill helped his Saint Augustine’s University team win their fifth straight NCAA Division II outdoor Track and Field Championship over the weekend at the IMG Academy in Brandenton, Florida after being a part of the title-winning 4x400 metres relay team.

The Falcons started the day with six points but finished with 58 to outdistance Lincoln University (52 points), Ashland University (50 points) and Tiffin University (50 points) for their 16th men’s outdoor title overall. It came down to the relay with the Falcons beating Lincoln to clinch the title as all four teams had a shot at winning. Saint Augustine’s trailed Ashland and Tiffin by two points (50-48) and led Lincoln by four points (48-44) heading into the relay.

The SAU programme has won 39 NCAA championships under legendary head coach George Williams, who has won the most NCAA track and field championships regardless of division. The five-year championship streak is the longest for the Falcons since they won seven straight between 1989 to 1995.

Unlike last year when the Falcons won by 49 points, this time their victory was not decided until the last race. Senior Khari Herbert Jr anchored the Falcons to victory as he blazed across the finish line well ahead of the Lincoln sprinter, Miguel Barton.

Herbert is the only Falcon on this year’s team to win four consecutive championships in his career. The top-ranked 4x400 squad — which included Shawn Rowe, a senior, Dill, a sophomore, and junior Adrian Kimmons — outran Lincoln by nearly a full second to win in 3min 06.96sec. Lincoln was second in 3:07.98.

The turning point for the Falcons was the 400 dash when Johnson finished second and Herbert placed third in a race which also featured two Lincoln and one Ashland sprinter. The Falcons scored 14 points in the event to slide into second place past Lincoln (28-25) while Ashland led with 44 points. The Falcons eventually closed within two points of Ashland behind Dill’s fifth-place performance in the 800 metres, Rowe’s 400 hurdles win and Johnson’s high finish in the 200.

From there, the Falcons relied on their bread and butter event, the 4x400 relay. The Falcons have won 22 of the last 31 4x400 relays in the NCAA championship meet including five of the last six.

Bermudian Dage Minors also competed in Saturday’s 800 metres final, finishing eighth in 1:52.48, two and a half seconds behind the winner Decano Cronin who clocked 1:49.75. Dill crossed the line in 1:50.86.