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Eric Peterson
High School: North Eugene Position: Director of Track & Field/Cross-Country Experience: Third Season Alma Mater: Oregon, 1990

ericp@tulane.edu
Office Phone: (504) 865-5514
Cell Phone: (504) 919-0498

A veteran on the college cross country and track and field scene, Eric Peterson enters his third season as the Director of the Tulane programs. Taking his post with the Green Wave on September 17, 2009, Peterson continues to build Tulane's programs, just as he did in his two previous stops at UCLA and Oregon.

In his first three seasons guiding the programs, Peterson has watched as 53 student-athletes entered their names into the Tulane record book. On the indoor oval, 25 competitors have etched their names into the top-ten in school history, while 28 individuals and four relay squads have all stamped their names onto the outdoor charts. The program has had ten student-athletes advance to the NCAA Track and Field East Regional and Ana Ruzevic has qualified for the last two NCAA National Championships in the javelin.

With Peterson at the helm, Tulane has seen its program continue to grow and prosper in the classroom and on the competition front. The men's and women's track and field programs each earned All-Academic accolades from the United State Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, marking just the second time in school history both programs were honors. Also, junior sprinter Kasey Rodgers was named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team after boasting a solid season on the track and in the classroom.

On the competition front, Tulane's men's cross country program returned to the NCAA South Central Regional during the 2011 season. It was the first time that the Green Wave sent both programs to the cross country post season in over a decade. Ruzevic earned All-American honors in 2011 with a fourth place finish in the javelin at the NCAA National Championships and is one of two individual Conference USA Champions on Peterson's resume. Ruzevic captured the C-USA title in the same event in 2011, while Jamie Riles was the 400 meter champion as a freshman in 2010.

The Green Wave has been a staple on the in-state scene, too, with Paige Callahan earning the 2011 Louisiana Runner of the Year award. Callahan was joined on the All-State squad by Katherine Crabtree, while rookie Mark Manion earned the distinction on the men's side. Overall, five cross country runners have earned the honor from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and 13 athletes have garnered the honor in track and field.

During his final nine seasons at UCLA, Peterson served as the head coach for the Bruins' men's cross country and the track & field distance squads for the Bruins' men's and women's squads. He served as the women's cross country head coach for the last 15 seasons, taking over after just one year as an assistant with the program.

Under Peterson, the distance running program at UCLA was a Pac-10 Conference and national power. His men's team advanced to the NCAA championship as an at large in 2006 after the program's highest Pac 10 finish in a decade. The Bruins were back in the NCAA championship team competition in 2008 placing 26th in the nation, while three of student-athletes from the men's team qualified for the NCAA as individuals in 2007.

In track and field, UCLA's men's teams sent three individuals from the distance program to the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships and four in the NCAA Indoor Championship with 10 student-athletes participating in the NCAA Regional meet. Peterson had six steeplechasers qualify for regionals, which was tied for No. 1 in the country for single event qualifiers. He also coached freshman Dylan Knight to a UCLA freshman class record in the steeplechase and a 10th-place finish at the World Junior Championships. In 2008, he coached athletes to four UCLA all-time top-10 marks and a UCLA record in the indoor 3000m for Austin Ramos.

Peterson contributed to three women's track National Championship squads, aiding the Bruins to the 2004 outdoor championship, and indoor championships in 2000 and 2001.

Under his tutelage, his student-athletes have racked up 40 All-American honors, including five multiple winners on the men's side. Ben Aragon, Martell Munguia and Jon Rankin earned honors on the 2005 NCAA Indoor runner-up distance medley relay team. Munguia also added individual honors in the 800 meter along with Erik Emilsson in the steeplechase. Marlon Patterson, Laef Barnes and Cory Primm earned indoor All-American honors in 2008, while Henry Hagenbuch earned outdoor honors in the steeplechase.

Emilsson, who set the Bruins' junior class record in the steeplechase, began his career at Tulane, but transferred to UCLA following Hurricane Katrina.

On the women's side, ten women earned All-American distinction, including six multiple honorees, under Peterson. Karon Hecox-Candaele won the 3000m in the 1994 NCAA Outdoor Championship and earned five All-American awards in total. Peterson also coached her to an eighth-place finish in the 1500 meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000. Lena Nilsson won three NCAA titles and tallied seven All-American finishes during her career at UCLA, while Ysanne Williams was a six-time All-American. Tiffany Burgess (three-time All-American), Ashley Caldwell (five-time All-American) and Beth Bartholomew (two-time All-American) also earned multiple All-American distinctions.

He has also coached several Pac-10 champions including school record holders Ben Aragon (800m) and Jon Rankin (1500m) on the men's side, and four-time Pac 10 champions Karon Hecox-Candaele and Lena Nilsson, the two time Pac-10 Female Athlete of the Year.

Before his arrival at UCLA, Peterson was the graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Oregon for the 1992-93 season. He also spent two seasons as an assistant track and field and cross country coach at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego.

Peterson has trained and coached with some of the top distance coaches in the world, including Mike Manley (1972 U.S. Olympian in the steeplechase), former Oregon head coach Bill Dellinger (three-time Olympian in the 5000m), Luiz de' Olivera, who tutored Joaquim Cruz to the 1984 Olympic 800m gold medal and Larsen, who coached the U.S. men's distance corps at the 2004 Olympic Games.

As a distance runner at Oregon, Peterson was a member of 1989 Pac-10 Championship cross country team that was the NCAA Runner Up. An All-American in 1988, he was a two-time Olympic Trials qualifier in the 1500m (1988, 1992), running a personal best 1:49.78 in the 800m and 3:41.03 in the 1500m.

Peterson was the 1985 Oregon State high school 800m champion and earned All-America honors in the 1500m and mile at North Eugene High School in his native Eugene, Oregon.

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