HIGH POINT -- The Big South Conference men's outdoor track and field championship at High Point University's (HPU) Vert Stadium came down to the wire on Wednesday when perhaps the nailbiting was unnecessary.

The North Carolina A&T men were one point shy from claiming another conference championship. But instead, the HPU Panthers earned their second straight Big South title, scoring 178 points. On Wednesday, the Campbell Fighting Camels were also in the mix for the title, finishing third with 169 points. 

It would be easy to say the meet came down to Wednesday's final event, the somewhat controversial 4x400-meter relay. Before the event, the Panthers led the championships with 173 points, followed by Campbell (169) and A&T (167). 

The A&T team of sophomores Reheem Hayles and Shemar Chambers, junior Aveon Reed and senior Cory Poole easily won in 3:07.55. But that was not the fun part. 

The two-section event featured Campbell in the first section, where officials disqualified the Camels for running outside their lane. If not for the DQ, the Camels would have finished second and HPU fifth, leaving the three teams in question in a three-way tie for the conference championship. 

But instead, the Aggie men are without a track and field conference title -- indoor or outdoor -- for the first time since 2016. 

But don't expect Duane Ross, the Aggies director of track and field programs, to blame that on the 4x400. Instead, he points to three other factors, starting with one of the best 110 hurdlers in the nation not finishing his race. Secondly, the 200-meter results didn't turn out as he planned, and finally, the Aggies did not have much of a presence in the distance races where HPU racked up a multitude of points. 

Those three occurrences are a shame, considering the Aggies trailed HPU by more than 100 points going into the final day. A&T scored 154 points on Wednesday and even held the lead before the next to last event, the 5000M. 

But senior Rasheem Brown, who came into the week the eighth-best 100H in the country, fell midway through the final on Wednesday. He did finish the race, which would have yielded the Aggies a much-needed point. But Brown was penalized for not finishing in his assigned lane, wiping away the digit. 

Poole did claim the title to break the conference meet record by finishing in 13.71. Reid finished second with a personal-best 13.76, and senior Cedric McGriff placed fourth in 14.14. But Brown's absence was felt. 

In addition to his wins in the 4x400 and 110H, Poole also walked away with the 400H title (49.92), breaking the Big South, Vert Stadium and meet records. The Aggies finished top-3 in the 400H, with senior Akeem Lindo finishing second with a personal-best 50.17 and Reid placing third with a personal-best 50.79. 

"He's coming around at the right time," said Ross about Poole. "He was down a few weeks ago because a race didn't go his way. But I told him it matters when it matters. This is the week right here when we start to see the fruits of our labor. He can be a national champion, and I want him to fulfill that not just for the team but for himself."

Sophomore Javonte' Harding, an indoor 200M national champion, did as expected in the outdoor 200 on Wednesday, winning with a personal-best 20.16. He broke the meet, conference and facility records in the process. Junior teammate Randolph Ross Jr. followed him, finishing with a personal-best 20.26.   

Ross' frustration comes in when he sees where his other 200M runners finished. Senior Daniel Stokes placed fourth (20.49), and sophomore Brandon Nya finished eighth (21.19). 

"That 200 race should have been swept all day long," said Ross. "That's not what we trained for; we trained to come in here and do what was expected."

Despite the slight 200M hiccup,  the Aggies were largely dominant in the sprints. The 4x100 team of senior Tavarius Wright, Ross Jr., Stokes and Harding won in 38.74 for a new facility and meet record. 

Ross Jr., the defending outdoor 400M national champion, moved to No. 1 in the nation on Wednesday by winning the 400 in 44.61. He established a new meet, conference and facility record in the process. Hayles finished second with a personal-best 45.82 and Chambers placed third with a personal-best 46.02. 

Harding and Wright finished 1,2 in the 100M as Harding crossed with a wind-aided 10.14. Wright posted a personal-best 10.16 and Stokes finished fifth with a personal-best 10.35 (10.347). 

A&T's remarkable rally did not happen only because of the sprints, however. Hodgest completed a tremendous week by winning the discus. His best throw measured at 167-feet, 1-inch. Hodgest, who won the shot put a day earlier, earned freshman of the year honors from the Big South. 

In addition to Hodgest's award, Ross Jr. was named most outstanding performer and senior Morris Kimble earned Big South scholar athlete of the year. 

"I'm proud of the men who, when called upon, do what they're supposed to do," said Ross. "We knew it would be close, but my hurdler falling, the 200 and we had absolutely no presence in distance events. We have to correct that.

But like I've always said, we train through the conference meet. Our goals are regionals and NCAAs. We were training on Sunday for regionals before we came out here. It's the long game for us. It's not to say the Big South championship is not important, but it's not as high up on my priority list as NCAAs.