Wabash College Athletics

Native son of nearby Roachdale, Indiana, you were a bit overwhelmed by your first days at Wabash in the fall of 1992. While a multi-talented athlete at North Putnam High School where you were MVP of the track and cross country teams, you had never seriously trained prior to your arrival at Wabash. That quickly changed, and you drew inspiration from Hall of Fame teammates Jeremy Wright and Scott Gall, and together the three of you would radically change the face of distance running at Wabash.

You were the quintessential late bloomer, whose career skyrocketed you from the back to the front of the pack—literally. The training habits you developed in the fall of your freshman year prepared you well for the ICAC track championships in the steeplechase, and you won your first of four consecutive steeplechase titles in your rookie year. But you were—and continue to be—blessed with versatile talents. Twice you finished as runner-up in the ICAC Cross Country Championships, but would lead Wabash with an All-American, sixth-place finish at the 1995 NCAA Cross Country Championships, posting a sizzling time of 24:29 as a senior.

In track, you were a two-time ICAC Most Valuable Runner, taking titles in the 800, 5,000, and 3,000-meter steeplechase in both 1995 and 1996. You qualified for the National Championships in the steeplechase as a senior, and ran to fifth place with a time of 9:09 to become an All-American in that sport, too. And you continue to develop as a runner to this day, competing in marathons, mini-marathons, and Iron Man triathlons from your home base in Maui, Hawaii.

For defining the competitive spirit of the “Three Amigos” and for the distance runners of your era, the National Association of Wabash Men is proud to induct you, Roger H. Busch, in the Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame.