“Heavenly Twins” Reach New Heights In Pole Vault
The first pair of pole vaulters to earn the nickname “Heavenly Twins” was Bill Sefton and Earle Meadows of Southern California.
“Any higher, it was felt, and they’d need angels’ wings,” longtime Los Angeles Times sports editor Jim Murray wrote in 1982.
The Heavenly Twins were at their best in 1937, when the two Trojans – who tied for NCAA titles in 1935 & 1936 – entered the NCAA as favorites to do so again after trading/sharing world records multiple times. They were already Olympic veterans: Sefton taking gold and Meadows fourth in Berlin the previous summer.
Sefton, a Los Angeles native and a year older than Meadows, claimed the WR in April at 14-7¼ (4.45m). Then Meadows – a Mississippi native who grew up in Fort Worth, Texas – went even higher in early May at 14-8½ (4.48m), only to be tied by Sefton in the same meet.
At the Pacific Coast Conference Championships the Heavenly Twins did it again, this time Sefton first over a WR 14-11 (4.54m) with Meadows matching minutes later. The competition ended there as the standards could not be raised any higher.
The NCAA meet added unanticipated excitement with Oregon sophomore George Varoff – world record holder as the 1937 season began at 14-6 (4.43m) – coming back from a leg injury. Varoff split the Twins, taking second on misses over third-place Meadows at 14-4¾ (4.39m). Sefton was the only one able to clear 14-8¾ (4.49m), becoming the first vaulter to win at least a share of three NCAA titles in the event.
The Heavenly Twins led NCAA pole vault history in another way, too, as USC’s dominance in the event from 1935 to 1937 is unmatched. The Trojans tallied more than 18 points all three years on 6-place scoring, the only such occurrences. Their totals are the highest also when converting to the current 8-place system.
The NCAA and collegiate track & field will mark a momentous milestone in the spring of 2021 -- the 100th anniversary of the NCAA Championships and with that, the NCAA Track & Field Championships. In June 1921, the University of Chicago hosted the first track & field championships in NCAA history.
This point can’t be emphasized enough: Not only was the event the first for NCAA track & field, but the first championships for any sport under the sponsorship of the NCAA.
To celebrate, over each of the next 365 days, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) will celebrate moments, student-athletes, and coaches that have made a century’s worth of championships special. From humble beginnings to important historical milestones to the modern-day, collegiate track & field has evolved with the American society.
The 2021 edition of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships begin with preliminary round action on May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla., and College Station, Texas. The championships final site and culmination of the celebration is slated for June 9-12, 2021 at the newly rebuilt Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
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