Biography
Honors and Awards:
WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll (Bronze) — 2023-24, 2024-25
Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete — 2023
PEPPERDINE XC 2024 (JR): Did not compete in any races as a junior.
PEPPERDINE XC 2023 (SO): Competed in five out of six meets … Ran a season-best 8K of 24:50.40 at the UC Riverside Invitational (9/16) … Competed in the 6K once at the Waves Invitational (9/9) and ran a 19:17.7
PEPPERDINE TRACK 2024 (SO): Ran in one of 11 meets … Started but did not finish the 800-meter run at UC Riverside (4/20)
PEPPERDINE XC 2022 (FR): Competed in five out of the six meets … Ran a season-best 8K of 24:08.7 at the WCC Cross Country Championships (10/28), which is also the seventh fastest all-time ... Competed in the 10K once at the NCAA Division I West Region Cross Country Championships (11/11) with a time of 31:36.5, which was is the ninth fastest all-time.
PEPPERDINE TRACK 2023 (FR): Ran in eight of the nine meets, mainly competing in the 5,000 meters and 1,500 meters … Had a season-best 5,000 meters time of 14:38.7 at the APU Franson Last Chance (5/12), which was good for eighth all-time ... Earned a season-best of 3:57.22 in the 1,500 meters at the 2023 Bryan Clay Invitational (4/13), which was the fifth fastest all-time.
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from IMG Academy, located in Bradenton, Fla., in 2022, and also attended St. Mark’s School, located in Southborough, Mass., for three years … Had a top-50 finish at the 2021 Cross Country nationals in a time of 15:25.7 … Collected a first-place finish at the 2021 Seffner Christian Invitational in the 5K in a time of 16:23.66 … Named St. Mark's Boys Cross Country MVP in 2019 and 2020 … Named 2022 Most Valuable Distance Runner at IMG Academy … Had a sixth-place showing at the Foot Locker Cross Country Northeast Regionals Soph/Freshman Race … Notched a top-10 finish at the 2019 NEPSTA DI XC Championship (ninth in a time of 16:45) … A two-time Boston Globe XC League All-Star … Collected a third-place finish at the 2019 NEPSTA DI All-Star Race in a time of 16:21 … Holds the school records at IMG Academy in the 5K (15:09) and 3,200 meters (9:14) … Holds the fastest 5K time (15:33) at St. Mark’s, which hadn’t been broken in 20 years … Had the second-fastest time on St. Mark’s home course in a time of 16:05 in 2020.
CLUB: Ran for Emerging Elites for six years.
PERSONAL: Majoring in sports medicine ... Born in Rochester, N.H. … Son of David and Kathy Bergers … Brother to Caleb and Tianna … Dad, David Bergers, attended Pepperdine Law School for the first year of graduate school … Dad also ran cross country at Eastern Nazarene College … Chose Pepperdine because of “the community and atmosphere. Not even after 10 minutes walking around campus for the first time, with my now team co-captain, I felt like I was home.”
FAVORITES: Enjoys reading, driving, road and mountain biking, sudoku, hanging out with friends/teammates, hiking, paddle-boarding and trying new things … Favorites include Steve Prefontaine (pro athlete), The Golden Compass trilogy (books), The Goonies (movie), History Channel (TV show), The Score (musical artist), calamari (food) and road or mountain biking (sport other than running).
