University of Alabama track star Kirani James has captured his second NCAA championship at 400 meters in as many years for the Tide, beating out Texas Tech runner Gil Roberts by .03 seconds to repeat as champion.

Since coming to the Tide from Grenada, James has had continued success. Friday’s NCAA championships were no different as James won the 400-meter dash with a time of 45.092.

“It was a very close finish, and there were a lot of question marks and tense moments as we waited for the results,” James said. “When they flashed the final results on the board, I was ecstatic and happy that I could pull off such a feat. It’s always great to accomplish something like this. I ran and competed with a great group of guys, and I’m so happy to repeat as the NCAA Champion.”

Running out of the eighth lane, James ran the whole race without seeing the competition. James, however, was not affected by the challenge, not letting go of his lead the entire race.

“It happens, and you can’t control things like that,” James said of those adversities. “I’m glad I was ready and prepared to deal with that and control what I could control. I was running blind and just trying to control my race and finish strong.”

James’ title is the 24th Championship for the men’s track and field program.