Florida’s Antwan Wright, Hugh Graham Jr., Leonardo Seymore and Dedric Dukes were crowned champions of the men’s 4×100 relay race with a time of 38.53, just a hair quicker than runner-up Alabama, who finished in 38.54.

Florida and LSU claimed the front of the pack for the first three legs of the race until the final stretch when Alabama’s Dushane Farrier pumped the gas to catch up with Gator runner Dukes. In the last few meters, it was a battle for first and second until Dukes jerked his head forward to cross the finish line just a millisecond before Farrier.

Dukes wasn’t aware his team had won until the final score appeared on Hayward Field’s board.

“It was kind of shaky though. Like for me, coming from behind, I didn’t know who had won, like who was the first or second, so it was kind of crazy when I saw that first pop up on the board,” Seymore said. “It was kind of exciting though.”

This is the first NCAA championship for the four Florida runners, two of whom are freshmen.

Although the Gator runners were excited about their victory, they don’t feel finished at the NCAA Championships.

“It (national championship) has been on our mind since we got here. That’s the goal. We came here to get a national championship; we came to compete,” Wright said. “For us to come out with the victory, that’ll be really sweet. We are defending champions, and we want to defend our championship.”

Last season the Florida men’s track and field team took home the overall gold as first-time champions. The men’s team is currently in second place with 48 points.