Roger C. Vergin Track & Field Scholarship

Roger, a 1955 graduate, went out for track and field as a BHS sophomore. The coach did not select him to compete in a single track meet. Consequently, the following year, he went out for the newly established golf team instead. Roger waited until after retirement at the age of 71 to enter his first track and field meet. He won three events and came home with three gold medals. That was the start of something big. Over the subsequent fifteen years, he competed in local, state, national and world masters track meets. He has won a total of 121 national and international championships in nineteen different individual events and four relay events, breaking national records in nine different events — gaining recognition as one of the all-time greats in USA Masters Track and Field in the older age brackets. Roger also has been honored in both the BHS Distinguished Achievement and Athletic Halls of Fame. While he was not chosen to compete in a single track and field meet in high school, the young women in his class did not even have a chance to compete for a spot on a team. Sadly, there were no sports teams for females in 1955.