When the starter’s pistol cracked for the men’s 4 × 400‑meter relay Friday night, five programs still had a mathematical path to the NCAA men’s outdoor team title. Seven furious laps later it was clear that the only winner was drama itself: South Florida stole the race, Arkansas’s protest was waved away, and Texas A&M and the University of Southern California were left locked together atop the team table with 41 points apiece, the first shared men’s crown in a dozen years.
Texas A&M anchor Auhmad Robinson found himself in a duel with USF’s Gabriel Moronta, each drawing roars from half of the Hayward grandstand. Robinson surged wide off the last bend, momentarily nosing ahead, only to watch Moronta claw back in the final ten meters and stop the clock at 3:00.42. The Bulls’ upset denied the Aggies the extra two points that would have handed them the outright championship; instead they settled for eight, while USC’s gritty eighth‑place finish earned the Trojans the single point they required to forge a 41‑41 stalemate.
Arkansas, third overall on 40, cried foul, alleging obstruction. Officials reviewed the footage, dismissed the claim, and froze the scores, preserving the first shared trophy since 2013.
For head coach Pat Henry it is national championship No. 37 across an extraordinary career, and his sixth on the men’s side since moving from LSU to College Station two decades ago. Afterward Henry told FloTrack that the night was “proof again that track is the ultimate team sport—every flight, every lane, every point matters.”
Whitmarsh’s wire‑to‑wire 1:45.86 in the 800 was the second‑fastest performance in Aggie history and the perfect redemption arc after finishing runner‑up in 2024.
Solovev’s decisive 5.80‑meter clearance in the pole vault, coming on his third attempt, kept A&M in touch while USC briefly surged ahead mid‑evening.
Remarkably, USC did not win a single men’s event yet still earned its 27th outdoor crown (and its first since 1976) by piling up second‑ and third‑place finishes in seven disciplines.
Director of Track & Field Quincy Watts praised a roster “with tremendous character” after the team rallied when 200‑meter bronze‑medalist Garrett Kaalund was scratched from the mile relay with hamstring issues. “We told him we were winning this one for him,” Watts said, voice cracking through equal parts joy and exhaustion.
By pairing this outdoor title with March’s indoor championship, the Trojans became just the third men’s squad ever to sweep both national meets in the same season and the first to do so since 2015.
SEC resurgence: For Texas A&M, the banner ends a 12‑year drought dating back to the Aggies’ 2013 triumph.
International flair: Alabama’s Samujel Ogazi (Nigeria) stormed to a 44.84 victory in the 400, while Baylor’s Ezekiel Nathaniel shattered his own national record in the 400 hurdles at 47.49, the second‑fastest time in the world this year.
The tie sets up a compelling 2025‑26 storyline. A&M returns Whitmarsh, Solovev, and the core of its relay pool; USC brings back Thomas, Jones, and the nation’s No. 2 4 × 100 unit. Both programs will recruit aggressively through the summer transfer window, with Watts hinting that “one or two marquee additions” are already in the pipeline. Meanwhile Arkansas leaves Eugene furious but motivated, vowing that the “unfinished business” will fuel every workout between now and next June.
