Divine , Roscoe
Roscoe Divine was a standout middle distance runner at Columbia River High School, Vancouver, Washington where he was the state champion in the mile run in 1965 with a time of 4:12.2 seconds and when he was seventeen years old he ran the mile in 4:10.5 seconds which is one of the fastest high school mile times ever. Divine also ran Cross Country, and in 1963 and 1964 he placed second in the state Cross Country championships with times of 11:27.5 seconds and 10:50.9 seconds respectively over a 2.3 mile course. After high school he continued his career at the University of Oregon. While at the University of Oregon he became one of the country's great milers when he became the 16th U.S. miler to run a sub 4-minute mile in 1966 with a time of 3:59.1. In 1967, he was PAC 8 mile champion with a time of 4:00.0 seconds and an NCAA All-American when he placed 2nd in the mile during the NCAA Championships with a time of 4:06.2. Divine participated in the 1968 U.S. Nationals and placed second in the 1500 meter run with a time of 3:43.4 seconds. Also in 1968 he was a member of a world record 4 x 1 mile relay team that included Wade Bell, Arne Kvalheim and Dave Wilborn in the time of 16 min 5 seconds. Once again in 1969 he was the PAC 8 mile champion with a time of 4:06.7 seconds. Among his other achievements was the 1969 PAC-8 championship in the mile. He was a top ten U.S. miler in 1966 and 1970 when was ranked 10th among U.S. milers, and 1968 when he ranked 6th. Divine's career best came in 1970 when he ran the mile in 3:56.3. He also ran cross country and placed 27th in the 1969 NCAA cross country championships.
He was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
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