BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — No award-winning athletic career is truly complete without a moment of high-grade drama, right? Reggie Torian remembers his vividly.
It was Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997. Torian, a senior multi-event standout for the Wisconsin men's track and field team, was getting ready for one final go-round in the Big Ten Conference indoor meet.
The Badgers were the defending two-time champions and were favored to claim their third consecutive title during the two-day get-together in Iowa City, Iowa. Torian was a major reason why.
A stunningly gifted two-sport athlete at UW — he also was a reserve wide receiver for the football team — Torian was viewed as the man to beat in all three of his specialties: the 55-meter dash, the 55-meter high hurdles and the long jump. The prevailing notion was that Torian would generate 30 points for Wisconsin in the team standings, enough to keep the likes of contenders like Illinois and Minnesota at bay.
Everything changed when the long jumpers gathered for their 1:30 p.m. competition. On his first attempt, Torian launched himself 24 feet, 9¼ inches, which would be good enough for second place. But his second try ended with Torian on the ground screaming in agony. His right shoulder, separated during a 1995 Big Ten football game at Minnesota, had been reinjured.
"He dislocated it in mid-air," UW coach Ed Nuttycombe said. "He's in agony. They took him away on a stretcher."
When the first day of competition ended, Nuttycombe made his way to the hospital where he encountered an angry, defiant Torian.
"I'll be there tomorrow," Torian vowed.
Apparently he noticed some curious reactions from rival coaches and spectators when he left the Recreation Building. Later he got calls from friends and fellow competitors who verified his instincts, saying his exit triggered giddiness in some camps.
"The looks on their faces when I went down were of joyous satisfaction," Torian said.
Why?
"I think we have a chance to beat Wisconsin now," Torian said of the mood. "That was the talk that I heard when they took me to the hospital. Friends from Iowa. Friends from Illinois. Friends from high school. They were calling me in my hospital room, telling me that their coaches are telling them, that they've got it now. Wisconsin is down 40 points. The window of opportunity is open."
Torian was irate.
"I sat in my hospital bed and thought, 'How do I want this legacy to go, not just for myself but for this university?'
"I was thinking that this is my last Big Ten championship indoors. I felt disrespected and I felt the team was being disrespected. It did piss me off."
Torian said he summoned the physician who handled his case and told him he was going to resume competing the next day.
"There's no way I'm going to release you to run," he told Torian, saying that he was risking long-term damage.
Torian was insistent. He said he signed a release, checked out the next morning and rode to the track with Nuttycombe. On the way, they stopped at a Walgreen's to purchase an ace bandage, tape and a bottle of Tylenol.
"He's really sore," Nuttycombe emphasized.
The second day of the Big Ten meet was well underway when Nuttycombe and Torian, in uniform, arrived and came into view.
"You could have heard a pin drop when he walked into the arena," Nuttycombe said.
"No one knew that I was going to return," Torian said. "When we walked in, you could hear a mouse fart. That's how quiet it was."
Soon, murmurs were replaced with the sound of applause. It became louder 45 minutes later when Torian won the 55 in 6.29 seconds. Roughly 30 minutes after that, Torian scorched the field in the 55 hurdles, running a Big Ten-record 7.07 seconds to secure his fourth career title in that event.
Wisconsin rolled to the team crown, winning by 29½ points. Torian, who accounted for 28, was voted Athlete of the Championship and Athlete of the Year.
"A phenomenal performance," Nuttycombe said. "He literally did those two events with 1½ arms. It was pretty amazing. He was the hero that day. He said, 'I'm not letting anybody down.'"
A quarter-century has passed and Torian finds himself on the cusp of a similarly satisfying moment, minus the bad attitude. He's about to become the 38th product of the men's track and field program to be inducted in the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.
"Very rewarding," he said of the honor. "I'm grateful. I actually didn't think it was ever going to happen. Once it did, it kind of capped off the notion that Wisconsin still remembers me, the exploits and the sacrifices I made."
Torian was the NCAA champion in the 110-high hurdles in 1997, setting a national record (13.24 seconds) that stood for 16 years and still ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten. In all, he earned five All-America citations, amassed nine Big Ten individual titles and helped the Badgers to six league team titles (three indoor, three outdoor).
During a career that spanned 1994 to '97, Torian was Big Ten Freshman of the Year, a three-time Big Ten Athlete of the Year in track and field, and team captain as a senior.
Torian also won a silver medal in the 60-meter high hurdles in the 1999 World Indoor Championships.
Torian also played football for UW in 1994 and '95. While he never crossed the goal line, he averaged 14.9 yards on 22 touches.
"He's the most talented athlete I've ever coached, yes," said Nuttycombe, a UW Hall of Famer himself.
What set Torian apart from, say, five-time NCAA distance champion Chris Solinsky or Olympic-caliber shot putter-turned-NFL-legend Joe Thomas?
"When he was on his game," Nuttycombe said of Torian, "things just seemed to come so easy to him."
Example: In his first collegiate meet for UW, Torian broke the school indoor long jump record on his first try (25-10¾).
"He was just naturally blessed and gifted," Nuttycombe said.
Torian came to UW from Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois, with the assurance he could play two sports. While he was more accomplished in track and field, he pursued both with equal passion and his trademark charisma.
"He talks to everybody and anybody, and the conversation is always well-received on the other side," Nuttycombe said.
Torian, 47, left Wisconsin a semester shy of a degree in Afro-American Studies and psychology. He's currently navigating that challenge.
After leaving UW, Torian competed on two global stages. He ran in the World Track Championships in 1999 and played in the NFL Europe League in 2003 with the Scottish Claymores before an injury forced him to retire.
Torian has worked as a youth coach in Indiana and Illinois is currently working with aspiring track athletes in the Madison area. He's also training to compete in master's level competitions sponsored by the U.S. Track and Field Federation though he has moved up to the 800 meters.
"I'm hoping to break a few world records," he said.
The UW Hall of Fame news was welcome.
"It feels like I'm included with some individuals or teams that have sacrificed a lot to perform to the best of their capabilities and represent the university as ambassadors," Torian said.
