Alex Peterson named area’s top boys runner

The area has proven to be one full of strong boys cross-country runners over the years. This fall was no exception.

Gillett Secondary School senior Alex Peterson was tabbed the NEW Media Inc. Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year after a huge fall season that ended at the state meet.

“The way I came into this season was wanting to be able to focus on the moment and enjoy what is happening now,” said Peterson. “Even though I am busy with lots of other extracurriculars, I made sure I left plenty of time to help my teammates and get in a great workout every day. Also, knowing where I’m going to college and running next year (UW-Oshkosh) took a lot of weight off of my shoulders.”

Peterson came into the season considered one of the top runners in not only the area, but the entire state. He didn’t disappoint.

The senior was locked in right from the start of the season, with a number of top finishes to his name.

He placed first at the Freedom Irish Waters Invite to help the boys team to a top finish. Peterson later placed second at a tough De Pere Invitational.

“Being ready to run well for cross-country is a year-round process, but most of the work is over the summer, and our middle school cross-country coach holds a summer running class which is very helpful,” said Peterson. “But I feel that the most important factor is my mental toughness. There are a lot of instances during the summer when I feel like doing a little less or taking an extra day off. But I just tell myself that my competition is training hard, so I need to train harder. Plus, I love the summer weather, so that makes it really fun.”

“Coming into this season I knew I had to work on my finish to each race. I started out the season not very confident in that, but after each race I analyzed the outcome and made changes for the next race. By the time state rolled around I was confident that I could finish the last 1.1 (miles) stronger. Also, I felt that my brother (Evan) and I did a nice job at keeping the youngsters enthusiastic about cross-country — I’m really confident that the Gillett program is in great hands.”

Peterson earned another strong finish when he placed fifth at the Shawano Invitational — and first among Division 3 runners. He came in third at the Red Raider Invitational.

The senior continued to place well in the postseason despite facing tougher competition and up against plenty of pressure.

Peterson placed first at the Marinette & Oconto Conference Meet while helping the team to a conference title. He also was first at the Division 3 Athens Sectional, helping the team place second and punch a ticket to state.

“There are tons of favorite moments throughout the season, such as the Parkside trip and winning the Freedom meet, but my favorite is when we found out our whole team was going to state,” said Peterson. “We only made it by one point, 70 to 71, so we breathed a sigh of relief and realized all of our pain, trials and triumphs had paid off in the biggest way.”

His favorite individual moment this fall was the following week at the state meet. He placed eighth to cap a stellar high school career.

“My favorite moment was pretty much passing out after racing at state,” said Peterson. “You may not think that would be fun, but it assured me that I closed out my high school cross-country career leaving absolutely nothing left to prove. I left my heart and soul on that course.”

Honorable mentions

Several other boys individuals enjoyed big fall seasons as well.

Shawano’s Will Chelberg and Ethan Onesti helped guide the team to state, placing 11th and 15th individually when at state, respectively.

Oconto Falls’ Ben Adams was an individual state qualifier. He came in 78th at the state meet.

Bonduel’s Ben O’Brien was also an individual state qualifier this fall. He placed 55th at state after pacing the Bears all season.

Alex Peterson’s brother, Evan, was another big reason behind Gillett qualifying for state. He came in 32nd at the state meet and was often behind only his brother at many other meets.

Team of the Year

After winning a number of meets, a conference title and eventually making it to state, Gillett takes the Team of the Year honor as well.

The boys team placed eighth at state and only had the Peterson brothers as upperclassmen on the team.

Alex Peterson, Evan Peterson, Bradyn Wendorff, Scott Herroux, Chase Anderson, Nash Stange and Zander Davis formed the seven-runner state team.

sports@newmedia-wi.com