Eric Peterson, who was directly responsible for the success of one of the most illustrious track and field programs of the last two decades, is entering his 12th year with the Green Wave in 2020-21.
Peterson was hired to his first head coaching post in September 2009, guiding the Green Wave after a long tenure at UCLA. It is no coincidence that the Tulane track and field program has experienced tremendous success since that time.
In the 2019 indoor season, Tulane's Kyah Loyd and Brandi Hughes shined in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing second and third, respectively, in the American Athletic Conference Championship. Loyd became the new program record holder, finishing with a time of 8.33Â seconds in the race. Nastja Modic also finished a second standout season in her sophomore year with the Green Wave, securing the second-place spot in the pole vault at the AAC Championship with a career-best height of 14.13 meters. Tulane's 4x400 relay team took home bronze medals at the event, recording a career-best time of 3:42.43 to move up to seventh overall in school history.
In 2018-19, Tulane had an All-American pole vaulter in Rebekah Markel, who broke the school record in the event indoors and outdoors before placing 14th nationally in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She also cruised to conference championships in the event indoors and outdoors. Emmanuel Rotich was a competitor at the NCAA Outdoor Championships (3K steeplechase) and the cross country national championship as well, and he won the league title in cross country, the 3K steeplechase and the 5K. Tulane had eight athletes qualify for the NCAA East Regional – one more than the previous season – including freshmen Trina Praprotnik Malej, Nastja Modic and Alex Potts. Peterson's program had 10 combined all-conference selections in track & field and four conference athletes of the week during the year.
During the 2017-18 season, Peterson guided two more student-athletes to All-American status, bringing his Tulane total up to 17 in his 10 years. Emmanuel Rotich and Jessica Duckett both earned Second Team All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, following finishes of 13th and 11th place, respectively in the 3K steeplechase and 400 hurdles. Peterson's Green Wave had eight entries at the NCAA East Regional in 2018, and Emmanuel Rotich was the NCAA South Central Regional cross country champion to earn a spot at the national meet as well. Duckett (100h outdoors) and Brandi Hughes (60h indoors) won conference championships during the season.
In his 10 completed seasons with Tulane, his student-athletes have been named All-Americans 18 times and he has had 74 entries at the NCAA Outdoor Regional. Twenty-five student-athletes have won conference championships (21 women, four men) and 88 have earned All-Conference selections (58 women, 20 men). Peterson's student-athletes have also been named Conference Student-Athlete of the Week 39 times, and his teams have won 17 USTFCCCA Academic Awards.
Before joining the Green Wave, Peterson was a highly successful coach at UCLA for 16 seasons. While in Westwood, Calif., Peterson was an integral part of the Bruins 2004 NCAA Outdoor National Championship team, while also aiding in winning Pac-10 Outdoor Championships in 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. During that ten year stretch, the team posted ten top 3 finishes in the NCAA. During the indoor season, the 2000 and 2001 UCLA women's squads won NCAA Indoor National Championships with the help of Peterson.
Individually, Peterson mentored Karen Hecox-Candaele – a five-time All-American – to an NCAA National Championship in the 3,000 meters (9:22.63) during the 1994 outdoor season, while Lena Nilsson won an NCAA National Championship in the 1,500 meter (4:12.60) during the 2002 outdoor season and added another in the 800 meters (2:05.13) during the 2003 indoor season under Peterson's watch. The 2002 distance medley team that starred Nilsson - a seven-time All-American and a two-time Pac-10 Female Athlete of the Year - won an NCAA National Championship during the 2002 season with a time of 10:58.19, as well. Peterson also coached Hecox-Candaele to an eighth-place finish in the 1500 meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000. Ysanne Williams (six-time All-American), Tiffany Burgess (three-time All-American), Ashley Caldwell (five-time All-American) and Beth Bartholomew (two-time All-American) were also Bruins who earned multiple All-American honors due to Peterson's tutelage.
In addition to his assisting with the women's success, Peterson was an immeasurable asset to the men's squad. The UCLA 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.
Ben Aragon, Martell Munguia and Jon Rankin earned All-American honors on the 2005 NCAA Indoor runner-up distance medley relay team with Peterson as coach. 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. All in all, Peterson's student-athletes racked up 40 All-American honors during the track and field and cross countries seasons at UCLA.
While working closely with the track and field squads, Peterson was the head coach of the Bruin cross country program, turning them into a Pac-10 Conference and national powerhouse. 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.
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.
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.
A star student-athlete himself, Peterson was a four-time letterman in track and field and a two-time letterman in cross country at Oregon from 1987-90. Peterson was a member of the 1989 Pac-10 Championship cross country team that was the NCAA Runner Up. He earned All-American honors 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. For his stellar campaign in 1988, he was honored by the Ducks' track and field program as the most improved athlete of the year.
During his prep years, 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.
Peterson resides in New Orleans.
Coach Peterson Highlights at Tulane:
14 Outdoor Track & Field All-Americans
3 Indoor Track & Field All-Americans
1 Cross Country All-American
18 Total All-Americans
74 Entries in NCAA Outdoor Regional
22 Women's Conference Champions
7 Men's Conference Champions
64 Women's All-Conference Selections (3 cross country, 23 indoor, 37 outdoor)
24 Men's All-Conference Selections (8 cross country, 16 outdoor)
39 Student-Athletes of the Week
3 Outdoor Track Most Outstanding Performers (Rotich 2019, Duckett 2017, McMillan 2016)
1 Indoor Track Most Outstanding Performer (McMillan 2016)
1 Indoor Track Freshman of the Year (Breaux 2013)
17 Team USTFCCCA Academic Awards
10 Individual USTFCCCA Academic Awards
1 Academic All-American (Bartels 2018)
