For the second week in a row, an Illinois runner broke a school record. After setting the Illini men’s track and field record in the mile at the Indiana University Relays, senior Graham Morris broke the school record in the “Meyo Mile” at Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind. Morris led going into the final 100 meters, only to finish second in the event with a time of just over four minutes.

“Graham came out strong and ready to go after another solid week in practice,” head coach Mike Turk said. “He has made a name for himself and has led our long-distance guys very well.”

While Morris highlighted the Illini’s effort in South Bend, the sprinters were competing 700 miles away in New York at the Armory Collegiate Invitational. Leading the way for the Illini was Stephon Pamilton, who ran in four events over the weekend, including setting a career-best time in the prelims of the 400-meter dash and boasting the fastest split in the 4×400 meter relay.

“I thought I came out and ran some good events today,” Pamilton said. “Every week, I’m getting back into shape and running stronger, but I’m still looking to improve.”

Sophomore Brandon Stryganek delivered other notable performance in the 200-meter dash. Stryganek matched his indoor personal-best time in the 200, finishing sixth with a time of 21.43 seconds. The 4x400m squad of DJ Zahn, Malcolm Taylor, Corey Hammon and Juan Green placed fourth with a time of 3:11.75. The squad’s time was a team and season best. 

In the weight throw, sophomore Davis Fraker placed third in the event with a mark of 19.31 meters.

“Overall, there were plenty of good things that we saw in New York and certain things that we can improve upon going forward,” Turk said. “I was mostly happy to see us come in and show some fight against several of the nation’s elite teams and showed we can respond to a stressful competitive environment. The experience of this meet will pay dividends for us down the road.”

At the Meyo Invitational, Kyle Engnell and redshirt freshman Tommy King had strong showings in the 3,000. Engnell finished fourth overall with a personal-best time of 8:25.51, improving upon his previous best of 8:30.85. King also set a PR after placing sixth with a time of 8:26.62.

Sophomore Josh Jones improved his personal-best 800 time, finishing in 1:53.48. In the field events, junior pole vaulter Matt Bane placed first for the Illini after he jumped 5.20 meters.

“I really want to see us manage our expectations more effectively. We have higher expectations for many of our guys than in recent years, so we have to ensure that we don’t get too high or too low after a meet or event,” Turk said. “It really comes down to our mental toughness, and that will be our main focus.”

Dan can be reached at [email protected].