The Illinois men’s track and field team trailed Wisconsin by 1.5 points heading into the final event this weekend, but Stephon Pamilton of the 4×400 meter squad tripped on the final lap to derail Illinois’ comeback effort.

For the majority of the weekend, the Illini were neck-in-neck with four Big Ten opponents: Nebraska, Minnesota, Penn State and eventual champions Wisconsin. But Illinois’ Pamilton lost his footing in the final event and the relay squad did not finish, leading to the Illini’s second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

“That last turn was a very tough turn of events for us,” Pamilton said. “We had a great race going until things outside of our control happened. Unfortunately, we can’t go back and redo that final lap, so we have move on and learn from it.”

Though his meet ended on a difficult note, he made a major contribution to the Illinois’ effort earlier Saturday. In the 400-meter dash, he recorded a time of 46.07 seconds en route to the conference crown in the event.

Pamilton and fellow sprinter Brandon Stryganek both won the individual titles in their respective events, allowing the Illini to boast its best finish in the conference meet since 2000.

“I thought we had a great meet and exceeded the expectations we had at the start of the indoor season,” head coach Mike Turk said. “The guys came with a ton of energy and were well-prepared to put us in a position to win. We came up a bit short at the end with the 4×400, but sometimes things don’t always go your way.”

Stryganek finished the 60 meters with a time of 6.71 seconds, third fastest in school history, in the event to take home the title. He also nearly came away with a victory in the 200, only to finish second in the event, losing by .04 seconds.

“I just did my job, what I’ve done all season, and it was great to see the team step it up,” Stryganek said. “Nobody expected to even come close to second place, so it was great to see everyone bring their best and show the conference what we are made of.”

Other events that scored points for the Illini were pole vaulting and the 60-meter hurdles. Pole vaulters Matt Bane and Cody Klein finished second and third, respectively. In the hurdles, Vanier Joseph placed second to capture points for the team.

Illinois was also looking to qualify athletes for the NCAA Championships in two weeks but no members officially qualified, though Pamilton and Stryganek strengthened their positions with titles.

Turk expressed confidence that the duo will likely qualify and a handful of others should be in a good position to advance in their respective events.

The biggest takeaway from the weekend’s events are the benefits that the indoor competition will have on the outdoor track season.

“This weekend proves that we can compete with any team in our conference, especially Wisconsin,” Stryganek said. “Going into the outdoor season, I can see us being one of the favorites in the Big Ten and ranked in the top 10 nationally.”

Dan can be reached at [email protected].