Newberry College Men's Cross Country

Peterson as the Wolves' new men's and women's cross country coach for the 2014 fall season. Peterson is an experienced running coach in the Midlands, having worked as the head coach of client running programs for Strictly Running since 2001. He has also assisted at Dutch Fork, Richland Northeast and Eau Claire High Schools in the past eight years, where he coached three cross country state champions and three state track champions in the mile and 2-mile races. He holds a level 2 coaching certification in both endurance and combined events from USA Track & Field, and is also a level 2 certified coaching instructor. Peterson is also accomplished as a competitor, qualifying for the Boston Marathon seven times. He was a scholarship runner at Penn State from 1965-70, where he competed at the Penn Relays, IC4A Championships, NCAA Cross Country Championships and Millrose Games. In his post-collegiate career, Peterson has posted three top 5 finishes at the USATF National Masters Cross Country Championships and has won multiple New Jersey and South Carolina state championship events in track, road racing and cross country. He has won both the Palmetto and Running Journal Gran Prix Series Master's Running Championships. "I'm looking forward to having a great coaching experience at Newberry College," Peterson said. "I hope I can be an asset to the College and I can't wait to get started." "I'm excited to have a candidate with vast experience in running," Finley said. "I could not be more pleased to provide our student-athletes with an elite coach who understands the mission of the college. Phil will do a tremendous job for Newberry College and our cross country programs." Peterson also served as a captain in the United States Marine Corps from 1970-76.