In below 50 degree weather, senior Ryan Peterson passed multiple runners at the NCAA Division III Central Regional meet on Nov. 15 and crossed the finish line to place at 13 to punch his ticket to nationals, during that last mile Peterson revealed there was one thing on his mind.

“‘Shoot, if I don’t finish now I’m going to lose fingers,’” Peterson said.

Peterson along with cross country teammate senior Chris Gill and their coaches went on a road trip last week to Mason, Ohio. The two went to the banquet together and on Saturday Nov. 22, Peterson finished placed at 205 in the NCAA Division III Cross Country meet.

“I was hoping the coaches’ would ask me if I could bring somebody [to the national meet] and the first person that came to my mind was Chris,” Peterson said.

Peterson and Chris have been teammates for the past eight years as they both attended North High School in St. Paul, Minn. together. They were also roommates during their first-year at Hamline. This year, both athletes have ended their season on a high note.

Gill was coming off an injury that caused him to miss time during the spring for track season. Over the offseason, he worked on leg strengthening to prep himself for the cross country season. He missed two of the last three seasons of track and field due to injury, but Gill said he uses that missed time as motivation for him to perform better when he’s healthy.

“It’s been tough [dealing with injuries] but I always look forward to cross [country season]. I think it just makes me tougher too, just knowing how much I have to go through,” Gill said. “It keeps me motivated because I don’t take it for granted. I know how easy it is to get injured. It makes it easy to make the most of every season. You never know when you can get injured again. It’s always tough, seeing your teammates running and not being able to train with them.”

Gill said he’s been pleased to see how well his teammates performed this season and he said overall as a group they’ve improved each year.

“We had a lot of returners make some good strides,” Gill said. “[Also,] our freshmen did an amazing job this season.”

This season at the MIAC Championships on Nov. 1, the men’s cross country team finished in fifth place, the same standing as last year but at a faster time.

“We placed fifth but our score this year compared to the last year would have got us about third,” junior Nathan Rock said.

Peterson was the top runner in that meet and placed at 13.

“I finished the race and turned to my coaches and said ‘its about damn time,'” Peterson said.

Peterson certified his place on the All-Conference team along with junior Nathan Rock as he placed at 15.

“It’s kind of relieving because I’ve been kind of close to it the past two years and I kind of hit the nail on the head,” Rock said.

Gill managed to crack the top 25 as he finished at 20 to earn an honorable mention. Gill said he’s glad the team has finished on a high note but as a senior it’s bittersweet.

“It’s going to be really sad that this is my last year, I don’t get to comeback. Just a great team atmosphere and real nice to improve throughout four years,” Gill said.

At the regional meet, Peterson added another accomplishment to his season. He said his focus this season was going through the process and letting the results play itself out.

“Things have been going right for me. I just focus on the process,” Peterson said, “and not worry about racing outcomes. I just try to beat as many people as I can.”

Peterson beat just enough people at the regional meet to place high enough to earn a trip to nationals.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to finish that high. I knew I had the potential to do well but I shaved off a lot of time…I was just cruising on that last mile, I was just passing people,” Peterson said.

He said once he crossed the finish line, he saw his friend junior Thomas Feichtinger from St. John’s and Feichtinger spoke to him.

“We punched our ticket, we’re going to nationals,” Peterson recalled Feichtinger’s message.

Feichtinger said he and Peterson talked to each other a lot during this cross country season, before and after meets.

“I think the first race I remember running with him was last year…at St. John’s and ever since then he’s just been the nicest guy to race with and we compete well together,” Feichtinger said.

He said it was special for the two to race at nationals together.

“We didn’t race right next to each other, but it was nice to run with him because he’s always been a great guy to run with,” Feichtinger said.

Feichtinger said Peterson didn’t race as well as he wanted to at nationals but grateful he made the trip.

“I think he wasn’t very happy with the results compared to his race at regionals but he was still really appreciative of the chance to go to nationals, because if you get to end your season anywhere, nationals is a good place to end your season,” Feichtinger said. “I think he was just happy to go.”

Peterson said there would be one thing he’d miss when he went to nationals for his final cross country race.

“The thing I’m going to miss the most is not having the Ham Dogs huddle before [the race]. I’m so used to having the whole team there, everybody showing support and getting riled up and ready to race,” Peterson said.