Staying behind for much of the race in typical Oregon fashion, junior Mac Fleet advanced from tenth to third on the backend, speeding to the front for the final 100 meters.

After a disappointing finish for the Oregon women, Hayward Field erupted for the spectacular finish as Fleet finished in 3:50.25, ahead of Air Force’s Zach Perkins (3:50.39) and Oklahoma’s Patrick Casey (3:50.60).

Despite the field racing to catch Fleet in the final 10 meters, Fleet turned to the crowd, smiled and pointed up to the fans who were on their feet in celebration.

Crossing the line, Fleet continued to celebrate with the fans, applauding the grandstands for their support. After a short interview, Fleet sought out Andy Powell, Oregon’s distance coach, and embraced him near the finish line.

“He did not want my career to kind of end like his did with injury, so he worked harder than anybody to get me back into shape,” Fleet said. “I knew where he was coming from, I knew where he had been. I understood his frustrations, and for him to be able to dig me out of the hole that I was in because he knew exactly where I was, it was cool. I’m glad I could give him a win today.”

Being escorted to the championship podium, Fleet shook hands with Texas senior Patrick McGregor, who fell in the final 100 meters while taking out a few fellow runners.

Suffering from injury early in his career, Fleet took it upon himself to accomplish something all runners want to do.

“I finally have this weight off my shoulders, it’s something that we all train to do, every track and field athlete, we train to win this meet,” Fleet said. “To come here and be able to do that on this day, it’s hard to hit it when you need to, but it’s special, especially here at home.”