Jenna Rogers (2006)

One of Ridgewood High School's all-time running standouts, Jenna Rogers stills holds Maroon and Bergen County records. She was honored as an All-State first team athlete in both track and cross country in addition to numerous All-County first-team selections. Rogers' time of 10:33.9 in the 3,200-meter race still stands as a Ridgewood High and Bergen County record. She is one of only three females in the state to win the individual state cross country title and a team gold medal, accomplished during her undefeated senior season in 1993. Rogers went on from Ridgewood High School to an outstanding collegiate running career at Dartmouth, where she was a five-time Division 1 All-American in cross country and track and captained the cross country team her junior and senior years. She led Dartmouth's non-scholarship squad to two fourth-place finishes in the NCAA nationals. She was named the outstanding senior female scholar- athlete in both her junior and senior seasons and also received the Kenneth Archibald Prize given to the senior who has been the best all-around athlete with regard to moral worth and high standing in scholarship. After graduation, Rogers competed for the Boston Athletic Association for two years and started coaching track and cross country at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000. She then taught and coached the Suffield Academy, a boarding school in Connecticut, for three years. Since then she has taught and coached at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx. She received her master's degree from Columbia University Teachers College in educational administration in 2003. The 30-year-old Rogers is presently not coaching at Riverdale but still teaches and works in the admissions office. She ran her first New York Marathon in 2004 and was the 17th American woman finisher. She also ran in the 2005 New York Marathon and posted a time close to the 2004 mark despite running with an injury. Her brother Eric also was a Ridgewood High track athlete. Rogers, who lives in Manhattan, said that long-time RHS track and cross country coach Jacob Brown helped her a great deal in her career. "I wasn't burned out when I got to college," she said. "He looked out for my long-term health and progress."