Wethersfield’s Roger Vertefeuille, a Hall of Fame coach and the first coach of the varsity wrestling team at Bulkeley High School in Hartford, died on June 28, 2022, at the age of 88.

For nearly a quarter century, Vertefeuille coached three sports at Bulkeley – wrestling (1968-94), cross country (1971-93) and boys track and field (1971-94). His track and field team won the Class L state championship in 1976.

A physical education teacher at Bulkeley, Vertefeuille was an outstanding wrestling coach. He coached five All-American wrestlers, nine State Open champions and 13 Class L state champions in his 26 years as coach.

His Bulldogs finished second in Class L in three consecutive seasons — 1977, 1978 and 1979. Bulkeley was also third at the State Open in 1972 when the Open was the only statewide tournament. According to the Hartford Courant, his Bulldogs won 252 matches in Vertefeuille’s career, captured 10 Capital District Conference (CDC) championships and won 19 city titles in competition with rivals Hartford Public and Weaver.

Vertefeuille was inducted into the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Bulkeley Hall of Fame in 2016.

More on Roger from Connecticut Wrestling Online

Published July 10, 2022 by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame