He vaulted 13 ft 5+1⁄4 in (4.09 m) for a national high school record[1][2] and shared first place in the California interscholastic championship meet.

[9] However, the Olympic trials were held separately the following week and there Varoff only placed fourth and was left off the team, while Sefton, Meadows and returning Olympian and USC graduate Bill Graber all cleared 14 ft 3 in (4.34 m) to tie for first.

[15] A month later in San Francisco he cleared 14 ft 8+1⁄2  (4.48 m) in a dual meet against Stanford, but Meadows equaled that height later in the same competition.

[19] Sefton finally won outright at the NCAA championships, clearing 14 ft 8+7⁄8 in (4.49 m) for a meeting record and beating both Varoff and Meadows.

[7][20] Sefton also won the 1937 national title with a leap of 14 ft 7+5⁄8 in (4.46 m), another meeting record; Dutch Warmerdam, Meadows and Varoff all cleared the same height but missed out on countback.