Gig Harbor grad Peloquin takes 9th at NCAA championships

Coming into her freshman year at Boise State, Gig Harbor High School 2015 graduate Brenna Peloquin just wanted to make the varsity cross country squad.

Now, she’s an All-American.

Peloquin finished in ninth place at the NCAA Division I cross country championships last weekend in Louisville, Kentucky, with a time of 20 minutes, 4.3 seconds in the 6-Kilometer course.

“I can’t even believe it, really,” Peloquin said. “How I finished was beyond expectations. I was ranked 27th coming into the race. Scoring ninth is just crazy. Some people are there all four years and never get ninth. Ninth would be fantastic as a senior. Doing it as a freshman, it’s just really unreal for me.”

Peloquin got out to a fast start and just kept her focus on whoever was in front of her.

“I get in the right position and compete,” Peloquin said. “All I cared about was just hanging on to the people in front of me as long as I could. Throughout the entire race, I didn’t know what place I was in. I was just focusing on that person in front of me. With 1k to go, my coach was just screaming to me, ‘You can get top 10!’ I was like ‘Wow, ok.’ It was just awesome. It was so crazy.”

Peloquin gives credit to her coaches at Boise State, helping her develop this season. But she said a lot of her improvement has come on her own.

“After my nationals race, everyone said to me, ‘You must have really good coaches,’” she said. “Part of me is like, ‘Hey, I’ve put in a lot of work, too.’ But with the coaches, it’s a perfect fit for me. They don’t force you to work hard, it’s your choice. It’s a decision you make. What’s great about their program — they err on the side of not getting hurt. Some college programs really ramp up your mileage. It’s really great having coaches that are really intelligent about the way they train you. The biggest thing — my coaches believed in me so much.”

They had good reason to believe in Peloquin, who matured mentally this season and simplified her racing approach.

“This year, I stopped putting limits on myself as a runner,” she said. “Going into a race, I never saw it as, I shouldn’t be running with this person. I didn’t care about my splits at nationals. All I cared about was competing. I just simplified everything, bringing what I could on the day and being a warrior. I didn’t have any expectations and didn’t put pressure on myself. I just go for it; I have nothing to lose. I’m starting to race fearlessly.”

Peloquin credited her coach at Gig Harbor, Mark Wieczorek, for setting her up for success. After battling an injury during her sophomore year, Wieczorek paced Peloquin during her final two years of high school to avoid further injury.

“Coach Mark did a great job almost holding me back in high school, erring on the side of caution,” Peloquin said. “He was prepping me to be ready to run collegiately. I was healthy and had two good years of training when I came to Boise State.”

Peloquin’s roommate, Allie Ostrander, another freshman, finished second at nationals, giving the Broncos two freshmen All-Americans.

“It’s really special to see a teammate run well,” Peloquin said. “It’s really cool having great teammates. There were points in the race where we were right next to reach other.”

Peloquin’s finish is the best ever for a Gig Harbor grad at the NCAA cross country championships, per Tides’ track coach Kevin Eager.

“I’m really happy to represent Gig Harbor,” Peloquin said. “If you told me going into this year, as a senior, that I’d place ninth, I’d be stoked. To place this well this year, it really blows my mind and it’s really cool to be able to represent Gig Harbor well. I’ve had so many good role models at Gig Harbor High School.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor grad Peloquin takes 9th at NCAA championships."