Ken Toye

Ken Toye was a two-time IHSAA state champion hurdler at Kokomo High School and a state record-holder who later excelled in Big Ten and
national competition. Toye won the 120 yard high hurdle event at the 1951 IHSAA state finals (:15.1). He repeated in 1952 with a :14.6
performance that was the fastest winning time in the 49 year history of the event. Toye also finished 2nd at the ’52 state meet in the 180 low hurdles.

Toye then enjoyed an outstanding career at Northwestern University lettering three years for Coach Rut Walter, a former Kokomo track star and
charter member of the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame. In 1954, Toye finished 2nd at the Big Ten indoor meet in high hurdles and took 3rd in
low hurdles. At the Big Ten’s outdoor meet at Purdue that year, Toye was nipped at the wire in the high hurdles by NCAA champion Willard
Thompson of Illinois. Toye claimed 2nd in the highs and 3rd in the lows. In a post-season Big Ten vs. Pacific Coast Conference meet, Toye placed
second in the high and low hurdle events.

While injuries sidelined Toye for much of the 1955 season, he bounced back as a senior in 1956, taking 3rd place in the high hurdles at both indoor
and outdoor Big Ten meets.

During his career, he competed twice in the NCAA Track and Field Championships, acquiring All-American status. In ’54 at the University of
Michigan, he ran a lifetime best :14.3 to finish third nationally in the high hurdles and in ’56 at the University of California, he finished seventh.

An inductee in the Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame, Toye retired from Delco Remy in Anderson after 27 y
years.