Few have had a better start to the 2015 XC Season than Pembroke Hill's Evan Peterson. The senior matched his 8th place finish from the Class 3 State Meet in his first meet of the year at the Forest Park XC Festival. He followed that up with a 2nd place finish at the Platte County, only three seconds behind Clayton Adams, the top returner from Class 4. We talked with Peterson about his quick start to the season.
Let's begin with Forest Park -- you had an incredible race with a PR and an 8th place finish. Did you think that was something you were capable of going into the race?
I knew I was going to get a PR going into Forest Park. I trained all summer, which I had never done before, and two weeks before the meet, I ran a three mile time trial on the track in 15:06. My goal was to get top 10, and I was actually shooting for a 15:45, but the course was harder this year than the past three years I've run this meet so I was happy with my time.
What was your plan to compete against such a talented field? How did the race play out for you?
I was really excited to race against such good competition, but I never like going out as fast as some of the other elite runners. Since the race was so competitive, I knew that I didn't want to be anywhere near the front pack at the first mile because that's just not how I race. Unfortunately, I got boxed in the first 800 of the race, and so my first mile was about 10 seconds slower than I had intended. However, going out at a 5:07 did allow me to negative split the rest of the race so that was an accomplishment. Another smaller goal was to not get passed after the first 400 of the race and I only passed people after that, so that's always a good feeling.
I would say you made a big jump from 2014 to 2015 as you ran basically a minute faster than the year before. What do you think helped you make that big jump?
As for the drop in time from last year, I would have to say that it's partly because I didn't have that good of a race last year at Forest Park, but mostly I owe it all to summer training. I'm really trying to put the hammer down this year.
You followed it up with a second place finish at Platte County only three seconds behind Clayton Adams -- how did that race go for you?
Platte County was a crazy fun race. I think my mindset was just a little different going into it since I knew it was going to be a two horse race. After the first 800 Clayton and I already had a 10 or 15 second lead so then it got really strategic. It was really windy, and hot, so I just drafted off his shoulder making sure he didn't get too far ahead of me. My coaches told me to be like an annoying gnat and to just stay with him. We went out at a 4:50 so that was way faster than I had ever gone out. The second mile was pretty rough because there's this ridiculously long hill, but we picked it up again for the last mile. The whole race was kind of like an accordion because he would fly down the hills with his long stride and then I would catch up to him on the uphills. I passed him with about 800 to go but then with 400 left he started his master kick and I couldn't quite match his pace. I was still very pleased with the race because breaking 16 under those conditions was a huge accomplishment for me.
With you finishing right in the mix with the top runners in the state, what are your goals for the remainder of your senior year?
My lofty goal is to win State and to break 15:20 on that tough course. That's a lot easier said than done, though because I know it will take the best race of my life to beat Naeger, but it's definitely a possibility. Realistically, I would be happy with second and a 15:30, although that's still no walk in the park. But I'm confident that I could do that if I race the first mile with my head, the second with my legs, ant the last one with my heart.
That being said -- it is your senior year. How has the recruiting process gone for you?
The recruiting process has been a little strange because my junior year track season didn't go quite as well as I was hoping, so it's kind of all come down to my senior year of cross country. With these first two races, though, I'm excited to see how much more time I can drop. Maybe on an easier course like my districts course I could get down under 15:10. That would be awesome! I've narrowed down the schools I'm applying to by eliminating the ones where I have not yet met with the coaches. I'm keeping all of the coaches I've had contact with in the loop of how my season progresses so hopefully they'll see how much I can improve when I really start training.
How did you start running?
I ran maybe a dozen road races with my dad before high school and it was apparent that I had natural god given talent, but before I started running with the Pembroke team the summer before my freshman year, I had never even run two days in a row. The coach thought it was so funny when I was surprised that people ran not only two days in a row, but trained six days a week. It was a whole new ballgame for me but I just loved running so much. After my first high school cross country race, I knew what I was born to do.
What has been your favorite running related memory so far?
My favorite running memory was probably during my sophomore year in track, which was actually my first season for track since I played tennis my freshman year. My coach and I decided that I should only try to advance to sectionals in the 3200 and not even worry about the 1600 for my first year. I got through Districts just fine but I knew Sectionals was going to be a real race to get in the top four. I had Trent Classen, Ty Hughes, and Nathan Straubel, ahead of me so I knew I couldn't let Hunter Long pass me. The final lap was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life. All five of us came across the line as we heard the bell ring and I'm not sure I've ever been more scared in my life. My coach was screaming at me, making sure I knew that if I got passed I wasn't going to State. With 200 left I started sprinting and I actually almost passed Straubel and Hughes with just a few steps left. We finished within less of a second of each other, but that was probably one of the best kicks I've ever had. That was a stellar race!