Alan Peterson enters his fifth year at Grand Valley State as an assistant coach for the cross country and track and field programs in the 2025 - 2026 season.
This past season, Peterson was named the GLIAC and USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year for the Indoor Track & Field season. His first honors as a coach were received as a result of the hard work and dedication he has contributed to his student-athletes. Peterson, a former GVSU student-athlete, oversaw and assisted the mid-distance/distance crew that scored 97 points at the GLIAC Indoor Championships and acquired five championships in individual and relay events. Under Peterson's direction, seven women and the distance medley relay event advanced to the NCAA DII Indoor Championships. The group scored 28 team points, including one national individual championship title (Lauren Kiley, 3000m) and one national runner-up title (Natalie Graber, 3000m). The 28 points contributed to the team's 47 point team score, contributing to their third place national finish.
His coaching proved successful in the outdoor season, as well, as his athletes earned three USTFCCCA All-American honors at the NCAA DII Championships. Klaudia O'Malley won her first ever individual national title, crossing the finish line first in the 1500m event. She added another All-American honor to her name in the women's 5000m with a sixth place finish. In her last outing as a Laker, Natalie Graber finished third in the 5k at the national championships to contribute six points to the team score. The two women added 20 points to the women's score, contributing to the women's first Outdoor Track & Field National Championship title in more than a decade.
Peterson served as assistant coach cross country and track & field at Loyola University Chicago from 2017 to 2019, before being promoted to associate head coach 2019 to 2021. Peterson was responsible for women's distance and middle distance athlete training and recruiting, and helped develop the program to win three consecutive cross country conference championships, including the programs first conference championship.
The Missouri Valley Conference named Peterson the women's cross country coach of the year in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Student-athletes under Peterson claimed five individual conference championships, five conference athlete of the year selections, 11 conference scholar-athlete selections, and four USTFCCCA all-academic team selections in women's cross country. In track, Peterson coached 11 individual conference champions, 28 all-conference selections, seven preliminary qualifiers, and 21 conference scholar-athletes.
Peterson also worked as a graduate assistant coach track and field at Grand Valley State from 2015-2016. He competed for the Lakers from 2010 to 2014. Peterson was a two-two All-American, six-time academic All-American, received the GLIAC Commissioner's Award in 2014 and 2015, and won the 5000m race at the 2013 GLIAC Outdoor Championships. As a professional, he qualified for the Olympics Trials in 2016, 2020 and 2024 in the marathon.
In 2014, he received a bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State in clinical exercise science. He continued his studies at Grand Valley and earned his master's degree in college student affairs leadership in 2016.
