It was a historic weekend for Clemson’s men’s track and field program, which won its first ACC outdoor championship since 2004 in Raleigh, N.C. on Saturday. The Tigers’ victory shook out in dramatic fashion with the win coming down to the final event – the 4×400 relay – with the Tigers down four points to the then-leader Florida State.

Thanks to a gutsy performance from Clemson’s 4×400 relay squad that included Wanya McCoy, D’Andre Anderson, Cameron Rose and Tarees Rhoden, the Tigers came away with a meet record of 3:02.25 and their first ACC outdoor championship since 2004, overtaking the Seminoles by just one point.

“Oh, I’m very proud of our team. I mean, it’s what championships are all about,” program director Mark Elliott said in an interview with ACC Network. “You see where we started the day, but we knew championships are never perfect. It wasn’t perfect for us, but they’re resilient kids and I love the way they competed.”

In addition to the 4×400 relay that sealed the ACC outdoor title win, Clemson had two individual ACC Champions thanks to stellar performances by Rose in the 200 meter dash and Rhoden in the 400 meter run.

In total, the Tigers racked up seven individual top-five performances, a meet record, school record and Clemson’s second ACC men’s outdoor track MVP of the year in Rose — the first being McCoy, who was named the men’s track MVP earlier this year at the ACC indoor championship meet.

Rose and McCoy’s ACC men’s MVP accolades mark the first time since 1990 that Clemson has had two different athletes earn the honor in both indoor and outdoor, according to Clemson’s Sports Information Department.

For the 10th-year program director Elliott, the win was so much more than just another championship. Just two seasons ago, the program’s future looked dim following then-athletic director Dan Radakovich’s announcement that Clemson would discontinue its men’s cross country and track program — a decision that would later be reversed less than six months later.

Now two years after the program’s reinstatement, Elliott was more than pleased with both the resiliency and dominant performances his team brought to the track, sending the message that not only is Clemson men’s track and field back and here to stay — but they are here to win.

“It’s 10 years in the making,” Elliott said. “I’m happy for the coaching staff, happy for all of the support people, happy for administration… I mean it’s just one of those things, championships are very hard to win as you see that it’s a couple of points, so I’m excited about that.”