Saint Augustine’s College finished strong down the stretch to win its fourth consecutive men’s national title on Saturday (March 14) in the 2009 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships held at Yeoman Field House on the campus of the University of Houston.

The victory gave the Falcons their 31st national championship overall (men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor) under acclaimed head coach George Williams including 12 men’s indoor titles.

The Falcons pulled away from Adams State for their latest men’s championship. Leading 67-66, the Falcons outscored Adams State 38-14 in the final five events.

The Falcons scored 23 points in the pivotal 200-meter dash when Josh Scott (Winter Haven, Fla.) won the race and teammates Dennis Boone (Petersburg, Va.) and Travon Lee (Norwalk, Calif.) finished second and fourth, respectively. The Falcons ended the meet on an emphatic note as the 4×400 relay team of Scott, Lee, Antonio Abney (Willingboro, N.J.) and Rashaud Johnston (St. Louis, Mo.) won easily.

–Courtesy St. Augustine’s Atheletics

“The 200 was the key,” Williams said. “All three [runners] stepped up.” Scott also won the 400 dash for the Falcons, who scored 105 points. Adams State was second with 80 points and Abilene Christian was third with 62 points. While Scott and Joe Kindred (Fuquay-Varina, N.C.), who won the long jump and high jump Friday, were double winners, other Falcons stepped up as well. Boone and Ramon Gittens (St. Michael, Barbados) were second and third, respectively, in the 60 dash, Abney was third in the 400 dash, Jason Boyd (Bristol, Pa.) was fourth in the 60 hurdles and Christopher Copeland (Suffolk, Va.) was fifth in the high jump. Brandon Quarles (Phoenix, Ariz.) was second and Kindred was fourth, respectively, in the triple jump.

There also were several highlights for the Lady Falcons, who finished seventh in the women’s standings with 32 points. Lincoln (Mo.) won the women’s national championship with 100.50 points followed by Grand Valley State with 48 points and Central Missouri with 41 points.

Barbara Pierre (Winter Haven, Fla.), who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, won the 60 dash in 7.27 seconds which broke the meet record (7.29) Pierre set in Friday’s preliminaries. The win also gave Pierre her third straight indoor national crown in the 60 dash.

Angelique Smith (Union City, Calif.) was second in the 200 dash and fifth in the 400 dash. Kirsten Fields (Mount Vernon, NY) placed third in the triple jump.