Abraham Merinar's run to state championships and the SEC has broken the tape of the first class of the Harry Green Bridgeport High Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
"It was a surprise. I didn't know they started doing this and it was a surprise," Merinar said of finding out he was being inducted. "I was very honored."
 
Merinar won the Class AA-A state cross country individual championship as a senior and also won two cross country regional titles and a Big 10 crown.
 
In track season, he was an 8-time all-stater, 5-time regional event champion, 3-time Big 10 event winner and won the high point award with 32 points at the state meet in his senior year, winning the McCoy Award as the state's top runner.
 
Distance running is a sport that rewards hard work.
 
"It was a lot of time down at Wayne Jamison Field and in the City Park. When I started as a freshmen, we did not have a very large head count. I think we just had enough to field a team," Merinar said. "Through those four years, and beyond, that team, through the efforts of the coaches and the program overall, has developed and grown and become very successful. I remember it as a really positive transformation that the team went through."
 
Those points added up to team titles in cross country and track & field his senior year.
 
"They're fond memories. It's a hard sport, but it's a fun sport. It was really exciting to do something and do it reasonably well," Merinar said. "I had a lot of support from my family and my coaches as well. That was really great to see."
 
Merinar credits coach Jon Griffith for his tutelage.
 
"He had a tremendous impact on my life. The support he gave me to train and compete with the team and be a little creative with my training allowed me to push myself harder," Merinar said. "He has given me some valuable life lessons about work ethic and how I've approached other pursuits.
 
"On a more practical level, that support was able to shape my college career and put me into degrees and programs that have worked out with a career that makes me happy. I think that's a big part of it. You go through high school athletics and the right coach nurtures you as an athlete but also as a well-rounded individual."
 
Merinar signed with Ole Miss and later competed at Colorado State.
 
"My career as a college athlete was not remarkable, but it took me a lot of places. I got to travel all over the country and get another batch of teammates and relationships," Merinar said. "It expanded my worldview, seeing different cities and meeting different people."
 
The class will be announced one member at a time and announcements will continue as the full class is unveiled.
 
The inductees were selected via voting by a committee comprised of members of the Bridgeport High community.
 
The complete class will be recognized during the Homecoming football game against Robert C. Byrd on Friday, September 25.