As the national post-season meets draw to a close, it's time to look at a few outstanding seniors from the class of 2023. In this series, we are highlighting 2 boys and 2 girls from across Kansas who have had noteworthy careers and a stellar 2022 cross country season.

Today the spotlight shines on Chesney Peterson of Stanton County.

The small town of Johnson City is quite familiar with elite distance runners. Over the years, hundreds of champions have roamed the halls of Stanton County High School, whether it was individually or on a team. History like that can bring about generations of good runners. At the 2A level, the statistical likelihood of finding elite talent is slim, though. Most small schools have good athletes, a few of them even find great athletes, and every so often... there's a legend.

The recipe for a legendary athlete is different for every individual case. With Chesney Peterson, the combination of Stanton County's unmatched cross country tradition and her statistically unlikely talent were surely two major ingredients.

2023 Indoor Schedule

Early on, Peterson was noticeably talented. While not always a winner, she was a contender in every race as a middle schooler. In regular season meets, she often battled with Ozia Trujillo of Southwestern Heights (a future 3A runner-up), Madison Sutterfield from Meade (future 1A runner-up) or teammate Suzanne Farnham. Despite finishing 2^nd, her 5:34 mile at the league meet as an 8^th grader would stand well at the state level in most years.

Stepping up to high school, Chesney joined her sister, Peyton, on the varsity team. The Peterson family was no stranger to starring as freshmen, as Peyton was the Hi-Plains champion and a state medalist in her rookie year. Chesney exceeded expectations, though, winning her first meet by 19 seconds, clocking 20:39. Battling with Meade's Sutterfield, Peterson would go on to win two more meets and get second in two more during the remainder of the regular season. Her season best came at the Great Bend regional, where she finished 2^nd in 19:13.

Stanton County won the region as a team, and moved on to 2A State at Wamego. Despite finishing behind Trego Community's Sybil Giefer at regionals, Peterson found herself with a sizeable lead late in the race. The state course at Wamego can be surprisingly tough, though, and is often unforgiving. During the final stretches of the race, Peterson saw what may have been her first sub-19 performance turn into a nightmare. Ellinwood's Erin Hammake closed the gap, and by the time she overtook 1^st place, Peterson was barely moving.

The next 5 minutes felt like an eternity as 39 more runners, including 3 teammates, went around her. Perhaps the most heart-wrenching moment was when Chesney's sister Peyton went by. The rush of emotion was clear on older Peterson's face, but the Trojans were still in the hunt for the team title. The only thing she could do was finish her own race. Astonishingly, Chesney not only finished, but she was still their 4^th scoring runner; and despite the horror of the last 5 minutes, her team was crowned 2A champions.

2022 Cross Country Results

Luckily, the source of the incident at state was discovered shortly after. A nutrition deficiency - something easily fixable. With the following track season cancelled, Peterson's next competition would come in the fall. After being robbed of a sub-19 performance at state, she just decided to do it in the first meet, winning by two minutes. After that, she never lost a cross country race again. She blew through the 2020 season, winning 2A state at Victoria in 18:15. She was a terror on the track, too. Her only loss of the season (snapping an 18-race win streak) was at the KC Trials of Miles Qualifier, where she opened her 1600m in 59 seconds, only to get barely outkicked by Riley Beach, Anjali Hocker-Singh, and Hope Jackson in a legendary battle down the homestretch. Three state titles on the track later, it was XC season again.

The 2021 season was as quiet of a dominant season as she could have had. There were no PRs, but she won every race, including state, by nearly 2 minutes. Ozia Trujillo, who a few years before could routinely beat Peterson, only managed to shrink the gap to 65 seconds at League.

On the track, Peterson's winning streak grew to 46. She won 2A titles in the 400, 800, 1600, and 3200, with PRs of 57.5/2:10/4:54/10:45, and etched her name into the state record book.

Back to the cross country course for her final season, Peterson wasn't content with her lack of improvement in 2021, despite the margin of victory. She blasted a 17:44 to open the season, and held strong throughout the year. Her best time was 17:43 at Regionals on the same Great Bend course that she ran 19:13 on as a freshman.

One meet remained: State at Wamego. 2A State had moved to Victoria for 2020 and 2021, so Peterson had not visited Wamego since the nightmare her freshman year. This would not be a battle against the competition. No, she had already proved she was better than the rest of 2A. She had to prove she could defeat the course. She did exactly that, clocking 18:19.1, the third fastest all-time on the Wamego Country Club (behind Cailie Logue at 18:08 and Taylor Briggs at 19:19.0).

During her senior XC season, Peterson committed to run at the University of Tennessee, where she'll fit right in. The Volunteer women averaged between 17:15 and 17:30 through 5K for their meets this season, a mark that will be well within Peterson's range in the not-so-distant future.