Dyche Stadium, Evanston, IL | May 22–23, 1931
High-hurdle artists Lee Sentman of Illinois and Jack Keller of Ohio State provided the real high-voltage thrill at the Big Ten Championships—the premier collegiate meet in the nation, gathering schools from all across the Midwest. The pair hit the tape shoulder-to-shoulder in the 120-yard timbers in 14.4 flat, tying the world record. The judges awarded 21-year-old Sentman the nod for first place, though officials turned up their noses when it came to ratifying the mark. To show you how fast the field was, James Hatfield of Indiana nipped third place with a 14.7—the 25th fastest time of the season worldwide.
If Keller ever smoothed out his timber-topping technique, he’d easily chop another couple tenths off his time. He was awkward as a newborn calf jumping the stick, but he moved between the hurdles like a bat out of hell. At the Los Angeles Olympics the following year, he missed out on a medal by six-hundredths of a second.
Eddie Tolan, the future double-gold Olympic hero, began hitting his stride as summer approached. He swept both the 100 and 220-yard dashes, turning in a 20.9 on the straightaway in the longer race—a mark equal to a 21.3 around a turn, good for seventh-best in the world that year.
There was no stalling in the 880, either, as even the raw, chilly weather couldn't cool off the runners. Freshman phenom Dale Letts, a 21-year-old kid out of the University of Chicago, let 'er rip to take the win in 1:53.7, the 18th fastest time on the global ledger for the season.
Tom Warne of Northwestern, who’d toured Europe for competitions back in 1930, cleared 4.20 (13-9½) to take the vault—a height he had topped three times the year before when he was the undisputed king of the event.
When all the points were tallied, the Badgers of Wisconsin walked off with the team trophy, snapping a dry spell that had lasted fifteen long years.