updated 12:02 a.m. ET June 13, 2004

AUSTIN, Texas - The UCLA women ended their long string of near misses with their first NCAA outdoor track and field title since 1983 Saturday night, and Arkansas repeated as men’s champions.

The Bruins edged defending champion LSU by one point in a controversial final night of competition at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus.

“We thought we had a curse on us for a number of years,” said UCLA’s Monique Henderson, runner-up in the 400 meters and anchor in the 1,600 relay. “Finally, this breaks the curse and we know there are many more good years to come.”

A disqualification of LSU’s Stephanie Durst in the 200 meters ended up costing LSU the title. LSU won the final event, the 1,600-meter relay, with UCLA finishing fourth. That left the Bruins with 69 points to LSU’s 68. Nebraska was third with 58 and Texas fourth with 42.

“We’ve had so many close meets and we’ve stubbed our toe so many times,” UCLA coach Jeanette Bolden said. “I was talking to Jackie-Joyner Kersee a few minutes ago, and she said, ‘It’s about time’ and she said ‘It’s our time.”’

In an odd twist, UCLA can thank LSU for the title. The Tigers’ protest led to the disqualification of Texas in the 400-meter relay preliminaries, which allowed UCLA to make it to the finals. The Bruins went on to finish second to LSU in Friday night’s 400-relay finals.

“A rule is a rule, whether it costs you the championship or not,” LSU coach Pat Henry said. “It’s kind of like your academic center would tell us right now: If you cheat a little bit, you’re out of school period. There’s no cheating. The rules are the rules.”

The Texas women ended a disappointing week when Sanya Richards was upset in the 400 meters, then the Longhorns, favored in the 1,600 relay, messed up the first exchange.

UCLA had finished second in the NCAA meet eight times since 1989, five times in Bolden’s 11 seasons as head coach. Bolden’s Bruins won the NCAA indoor title in 2000 and 2001.

The Bruins, led by Sheena Johnson’s impressive triumph in the 400-meter hurdles, won their fourth national championship of 2004, adding the track title to championships in women’s gymnastics, women’s golf and softball.

Arkansas scored 65½ points to win its 11th outdoor title and 39th national championship in either indoor track, outdoor track or cross country under coach John McDonnell. Florida was second with 49 points and LSU third with 31.,

“Florida came after us. It was a hard-fought meet. How sweet it is to win,” McDonnell said.

The Razorbacks got a first place from freshman Wallace Spearman in the 200 meters and from senior Chris Mulvaney in the 1,500 Saturday night.

Spearman became the first Arkansas runner to win the 200 in NCAA meet history, one day after teammate Tyson Gay became the first to win the 100 for a school long known for its distance-running prowess, not its sprints.

Spearman just caught Stanford Routt of Houston at the finish to win in a wind-aided 20.12 seconds. Routt was second at 20.20. Gay finished fourth to move the Razorbacks to the brink of their 11th men’s outdoor title and second in a row. It was the first time Spearman had beaten Gay.

Johnson gave UCLA its only individual victory of the day’s competition, winning the 400-meter hurdles in 53.54 seconds, fastest in the world this year and second-fastest ever by a collegiate runner.

She said she was motivated by all the attention placed on teams such as Texas, LSU and others from the track-conscious Southeastern Conference.

“A lot of people talk about Texas, South Carolina, the SEC,” Johnson said. “They don’t know we can run out on the West Coast, too.”

Durst was second to LaShaunte Moore of Arkansas in the women’s 200, but was disqualified for running inside her lane. That moved LSU’s Muna Lee up to second, but cost the Tigers six points in the team race. LSU trailed UCLA by six points going into the 1,600-meter relay.

“The official made a call that he said was right. That’s the rule,” Henry said. “That’s all there is to it. There’s nothing else to say about it.”

The Englishman Mulvaney, a three-time runner-up in the event outdoors, was the 2002 NCAA indoor champion at 1,500 meters but finished ninth at the indoors this year.

“After finishing second the last three years, if I was ever going to get it this was my last chance, my last race in an Arkansas jersey,” he said. “I let the team down a lot indoors, cost us the national championship. Here I had to try and make amends.”

Dee Dee Trotter of Tennessee came from behind in the final 50 meters to upset the reigning U.S. champion Richards of Texas on Saturday in the women’s 400 meters at the NCAA track and field championships.

Trotter, a junior, won in 50.32 seconds. Henderson also ran down Richards at the finish to take second at 50.62. Richards, the defending NCAA champion, was third in 50.68.

Richards said she hadn’t lost a collegiate 400 since her freshman season at the NCAA indoors.

“I don’t like to lose,” she said. “I’ll go back to the drawing board and I’ll come back better.”

The 19-year-old Richards, considered one of the rising young stars of the sport and a safe bet to make the U.S. Olympic team, led through most of the race but couldn’t keep up the pace down the stretch in a stunning loss on her home track.

“I thought I was out of the race,” Trotter said. “I made my move at 200 meters, kept moving and finished with all I had.”

Neisha Bernard-Thomas kept LSU in the team race by winning the 800 meters in 2:02.86.

Three freshmen won titles — Florida’s Kerron Clement in the 400 hurdles at 49.05, Tommy Skipper of Oregon in the pole vault at 18-8¼ and Andra Manson of Texas in men’s high jump at 7-7¼.

Baylor sophomore Jeremy Wariner won the men’s 400 in 44.71, then helped the Bears win the 1,600 relay. Robert Chesaret of Arizona, second in the 10,000, won the 5,000 in 13:49.85.

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