Peterson Promoted to Associate Head Men's XC Coach

AMES, Iowa – Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jeremy Sudbury has announced the promotion of assistant coach Patrick Peterson to associate head men's cross country coach.

"Patrick is the ultimate Cyclone having been an All-American athlete here and now has done a remarkable job as a coach with our middle distance and distance groups," Sudbury said. "I look forward to seeing him continue to excel in the cardinal and gold."

Peterson made his return to Ames in August 2024, and in his two seasons assisting the cross country team has seen a national runner-up and third place team finish. The Cyclone men have totaled eight All-America honors in the two seasons.

On the track, Peterson has helped men and women earn eight All-America honors in the 800m and 3,000m steeplechase, including four who finished top 10. In the 2026 outdoor season, Joash Ruto took sixth in the men's steeple, Makayla Clark placed 10th in the women's 800m and Jailan Sohna placed 24th in the men's 800m.

Clark took down the 1990 school record with the finish, while Sohna became the first Cyclone freshman All-American in the men's 800m since 1984.

Prior to returning to ISU as a coach, Peterson was an assistant at EKU and UConn. In his two seasons at Eastern Kentucky, Peterson's coaching produced seven NCAA finals qualifiers and the cross country team to automatically advance to NCAA Championships. At UConn, Peterson coached an athlete to All-America honors in the men's 5,000m.

Peterson ran at Iowa State from 2013-15, and ended his collegiate career as First Team All-American and three-time Big 12 medalist in the 800m and distance medley relay. Peterson ran the third-leg on the DMR that took bronze at NCAA Championships.