OATCCC Hall Of Fame
Roger Hosler

Ohio’s cross country and track and field athletes compete in numerous meets throughout their high school careers through the combined efforts of coaches, meet managers, and officials. Our officials often educate, encourage, and energize our athletes, along with officiating meets. One amazing official, Roger Hosler, has officiated for 50 years and has made many positive contributions to our sports of Cross Country and Track & Field in Ohio. The Ed Barker Award, named in honor of Ed Barker in 1964, honors individuals who have shown exceptional service to our sports, and Roger is absolutely deserving of this honor. A track athlete himself, Roger competed for Ohio University, earning NCAA All-American honors on two occasions. He then coached in the Athens City School District before obtaining his officiating license in 1974. In his 50 years of officiating, Roger has served in many capacities, always striving to do what is best for student-athletes. He began officiating Logan High School cross country and track meets in 1974 and worked his first district track meet in 1978 as a discus judge. Roger served as a regional starter beginning in 1992 and then became the D3 regional referee at Pickerington in 1997. Roger continued to serve as regional referee for D2 and D1 as well in southern Ohio. In 1981, Roger’s first state track meet assignment was that of an inspector (now titled umpire). At the state track meet, Roger served from 1985-1990 as an umpire, and then as a starter from 1991-1994. In 2008, Roger worked at the discus state meet competition and was then appointed as the D1 state track meet referee, a position he held through the 2024 state track meet. In cross country, Roger’s first district meet assignment was in 1981, with his first regional assignment coming in 1985. In 1985, Roger also served for the first time at the state cross country meet as an umpire. His contributions at the state level continued, serving as head timer from 1989-1995, starter from 2006-2009, and umpire from 2010-2014 then in 2015, Roger was appointed as the cross country state meet referee. Roger’s service to our sports continued behind the scenes as he served as the officials’ assignor for the regional and state cross country meets in 2021. As a member of the Track and Cross Country Assignment Task Force, Roger helped create new policies for official assignments that eliminated his and other officials’ lifetime assignments. His work on this committee helped to re-organize our officiating policies to ensure the continuity of knowledge of officials, which in turn ensures the highest quality of fair competition for our student athletes. Roger is a past president and clinic director of the Ohio Track & Field and Cross Country Officials Association. He has been inducted into several Hall of Fames, including Bethel-Tate, Clermont County Athletics, Ohio University Athletics, and the OHSAA Officials Hall of Fame. In recognition of his outstanding contributions the Ohio Association of Track & Cross Country Coaches is honored to recognize Roger Holser as the 2025 Ed Barker Award recipient. Congratulations Roger!