The 2025-26 athletic season will be Tom Peterson’s 12th at the helm of the La Salle men’s and women’s cross country/track & field programs and 15th as a member of the Explorers' coaching staff.
In the 2024-25 campaign, MacCallum Rowe and Gwenno Goode swept the individual titles at the Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships, marking the first time since 2006 that La Salle achieved that feat. Both Rowe and Goode attained honors of All-Conference and Most Outstanding Performer following their individual wins, and both continued their cross country success that season with All-Regional honors at the NCAA Mid-Athlatic Regionals, with each runner placing in the top 10. Goode and Rowe's strong performances at Regionals led to each of them qualifying for the NCAA XC Championships. At the end of the cross country season, six Explorers received conference honors, with Rowe, Goode, and Helene Usher making the All-Academic team, while Callum Murray, Matt Hill, and Amelia Green made the All-Rookie team. The honors and awards didn't stop after the cross country season, as at the A-10 Indoor Track & Field Championships, the Explorers won two events with the women's DMR team of Goode, Neve Moulai, Soleil Morrison, and Lexy Rivard and in the women's 3k, which was won by Goode. Goode and Rowe received conference All-Academic honors during the indoor season, while Matt Hill was named to the conference's All-Rookie team. In the outdoor track & field season, four Explorers qualified to run in the NCAA East Regionals, and Goode placed 11th in the 3k steeplechase to qualify for her first appearance in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The 2023-24 season started off strong with Taonga Mbambo and MacCallum Rowe placing sixth and seventh, respectively, at the Atlantic 10 Men's Cross Country Championships, helping guide the men's team to a second-place finish. Both Mbambo and Rowe, alongside teammate Andres Hernandez and Christine Mancini of the women's team earned spots on the all-conference team as a result of their finishes at the conference championships. At the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals, Mbambo, Rowe, and Christine Mancini earned All-Regional honors for their finishes, with Mbambo and Rowe qualifying for the NCAA XC Championships as a result. Following the 2023 cross country season, Hernandez and Rowe were recognized by the conference as part of the Atlantic 10's All-Academic team, while freshman Helene Usher was part of the conference's all-rookie team. During the indoor track & field season, the women's DMR team of Chrisitine Mancini, Soleil Morrison, Gwenno Goode, and Georgia Rose-Dawson won the gold at the A-10 Indoor Track & Field Championships by a hundredth of a second, securing additionally a program and conference indoor championship record in the process. Christine Mancini would win another gold days later in the women's mile, while Liam Rivard defended his gold from the previous year with yet another winning performance in the men's 800m. During the A-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Goode won the individual title in the women's 3k steeplechase en route to her also receiving the conference title of Most Outstanding Rookie Performer. Liam Rivard continued his dominance in the 800m run, winning the outdoor conference individual title. Four Explorers qualified for the NCAA East Preliminaries, and five of Peterson's athletes were awarded conference honors following the outdoor season, with Liam RIvard and Christine Mancini being named to the All-Academic team, and Goode, Morrison, and Matt Hill named to the All-Rookie squad.
Peterson's success continued through the 2022-23 season with Liz Mancini claiming the individual title at the Atlantic 10 Women's Cross Country Championships helping guide the entire women's squad to a second-place finish. Seven Explorers finished in the top 15 to earn a spot on the all-conference team while MacCallum Rowe was named the A-10's Most Outstanding Male Rookie Performer of the Year and Liz Mancini claimed the league's Most Outstanding Female Performer of Year honor. Following the 2023 season Ibrahim Kedir became the only Explorer in history to earn the all-conference honor five times. The men's squad finished the 10K in fourth-place overall at the NCAA Regionals marking the highest finish for the Explorers in the race since 2009. Additionally, four Explorers qualified for the NCAA Championships with six Explorers ending the season earning USTFCCCA All-Region honors.
The 2021-22 season saw some normalcy once again with Taonga Mbambo, Ibrahim Kedir, Luke Jaciw-Zurakowsky, Ryan James and James Ptack leading the way for the Explorers at the Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships securing the squad's 11th conference title in program history. Additionally, Mbambo, Kedir, Jaciw-Zurakowsky and James all placed in the top 15 to earn all-conference honors. Thanks to the Explorers standout performance, Peterson earned the Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year Award. The Mancini trio was the standout on the women's side with all three earning all-conference honors and pacing the women to a sixth-place finish. Three runners were named to the league's all-academic team while both Andres Hernandez and Ptack earned spots on the all-rookie team. The success didn't slow during the indoor track season with six Explorers claiming individual titles at the conference championships. The momentum continued into the outdoor season highlighted by El Mancini who brought home gold and set a meet record in the 10K at the conference championships. Sister Liz Mancini followed suit also claiming an individual title for the Explorers followed by the men's 4x800 relay team who were also declared champions. Five Explorers punched their tickets to the NCAA East Preliminaries for their performances with Liz Mancini moving on to qualify for the NCAA Championships. She was named All-America Honorable Mention and was nominated for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Three Explorers earned the all-academic nod following the season while Ptack landed on yet another all-rookie list.
Despite the challenges of a shortened 2020-21 season due to COVID-19, Peterson's squads still produced. Luke Jaciw-Zurakowsky became the first Explorer to win the Atlantic 10 individual cross country championship and Most Outstanding Performer award since 2013, and was the first men's runner to qualify for the the NCAA XC Championships since 2006. Six cross country runners earned all-conference honors, three were chosen as Academic All-Conference selections and one landed all-rookie accolades. On the track, Grace Mancini and Dennis Manyeah both qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, earning USTFCCCA All-America honors. Three Explorers competed at NCAA regionals, two won individual Atlantic 10 outdoor titles, four earned all-academic recognition and two claimed all-rookie status. Meanwhile, Peterson's teams were recognized with USTFCCCA team academic awards, too.
Peterson was named Atlantic 10 Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2019 after leading the Explorers to a sweep of the team titles at the A-10 Championships. The Explorer men and women had a total of six all-conference honorees and swept the A-10 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer awards during the cross country season. The titles continued during the indoor track season as Nathan Gillis and Darian Alston won gold in the 1,000m and triple jump for the second straight year. Additionally, the Explorers had four All-Rookie team members in 19-20 and won five major awards at the Athletic Department's year-end awards celebration. Academically, Peterson had two Academic All-Conference members in Gillis and Luke Jaciw-Zurakowsky, while the cross country and track & field teams all earned USTFCCCA All-Academic recognition.
Peterson earned the President's Medal as the La Salle Department of Athletics Coach of the Year for 2018-19 as his teams enjoyed tremendous success across the board in cross country and track & field. The men's cross country team placed second at the A-10 Championships, finishing just three points out of first, while the women finished fourth. Ibrahim Kedir, Ryan James, Grace Mancini and Liz Mancini each earned all-conference honors, and La Salle swept the Most Outstanding Rookie Performer awards with Kedir and Liz Mancini taking the accolades. Grace went on to finish second at regionals and competed at the NCAA National Championships. In track & field, the Explorers broke nine school records - five on the women's side and four for the men. La Salle won six individual titles at the A-10 Indoor Championships and captured three more at the outdoor meet. Grace Mancini, Anthony Hawthorne and Dennis Manyeah all qualified and competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In the classroom, Peterson had two academic all-conference members as well as USTFCCCA all-academic individual and team honors.
During the 2017-18 cross country and track seasons, Peterson's teams had 12 all-conference selections and five all-rookie honorees. In cross country, Grace Mancini earned women's all-conference honors and Ryan James was tabbed Men's Most Outstanding Rookie Performer. Meanwhile, Peterson had three A-10 Champions in track & field, all coming during the outdoor season (Anthony Hawthorne - 800m, Jessica Bryant - Long Jump, Men's 4x800 Relay), and eight school records were broken. Peterson also mentored two NCAA qualifiers in Hawthorne and Mancini during the outdoor track & field season. Hawthorne was a semifinalist at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in the 800 meters, and during the indoor season, he won the 800 title at the IC4A Championships. Academically, both the men's and women's track & field teams received All-Academic honors from the USTFCCCA.
Peterson guided two cross country runners to all-conference finishes in 2016 as Kaitlin Poiesz finished second for the women and Francis Ferruzzi finished sixth for the men at the A-10 Cross Country Championship in October. Ferruzzi also went on to earn All-Region honors at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals. The track & field season expanded the record book as Justin Guerre set new school records in the 60m and 300m events, while Stephen Lewandowski won the 1500m event at the A-10 Outdoor Championships in May. For the women, Jessica Bryant was named A-10 All-Rookie after setting new school records for the Indoor and Outdoor Triple Jump. Other school records that fell for the women were the Indoor 300m (Amber Jenkins), Indoor 60m Hurdles (Mone’t Gist), and the 4x100 Relay (Ariel Mitchell, Jessica Bryant, Desirae Osley and Amber Jenkins). On the academic side, the women’s cross country along with both the men’s and women’s track and field teams earned NCAA Academic Progress Rate Public Recognition Awards.
During the 2016 track season, Peterson coached men’s team standout Chris Sanders to a sixth place finish in the 800 meter at the NCAA Final and guided him to competition in the U.S Olympics trials for Rio in the 800 meter. Sanders captured a silver medal at the NACAC U23 Championships in El Salvador under Peterson to continue his remarkable season. Peterson coached the men’s team to a third place finish in the Atlantic 10, which was the highest finish in the program since 2008. Additionally, Peterson saw an A-10 gold in the men’s 4x800 relay, Benjamin De Venezia, Nick Smart, Sanders and Stephen Lewandowski, who defended their title for the seventh time. Peterson saw success in DeVenezia, who was honored as the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. On the women's side, Morgan Szekely defended her A-10 title in the 1500 meter and continued on to compete in the NCAA East Preliminary Championships. Szekley was named to the Academic All-Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track Team.
In his first year as head coach, Peterson led the women’s cross country team to a second place Atlantic 10 finish and coached the A-10 individual champion in freshman Morgan Szekely. Fellow freshman Megan Connell also earned a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference team thanks to her 12th place finish. Szekely went on to finish fifth at the Mid-Atlantic Regional and qualify for the NCAA Championships. Connell finished 11th at the 2015 USA Cross Country Championships to earn a spot on the USA team at the APA Pan American Cross Country Cup in Colombia. On the men’s side, Nico Greco finished sixth at the Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championship and earned Academic All-Conference honors. Katie Boligitz was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 First Team, while both the cross country teams and track and field teams were named USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams.
During the 2014-15 track season Peterson saw two individual conference champions and a relay championship. Chris Sanders defended his title as the Atlantic 10 Outdoor 800 meter champion and the 4x800 meter relay team win the crown for the sixth straight year. Szekely won the Atlantic 10 1500 meter crown. Four school records were set as Amber Jackson set the indoor long jump and triple jump school records while Szekely set the 800m time and the 4x800 women’s relay team set the indoor school record. Sanders and Szekely ended their seasons at the NCAA East Preliminary Round while Vince Perozze was named Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference during the indoor season.
As an assistant with the Explorers, Peterson helped guide the men’s and women’s cross country programs to three Atlantic 10 Championships. In addition to the team championships; Nico Greco and Alfredo Santana won the Atlantic 10 individual crowns in 2013 and 2011 respectively. On the women’s side Michelle Capozzi and Meghan McGlinchey qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2013 and 2012 respectively.
Before coming to La Salle, Peterson served as a volunteer assistant at the University of Wisconsin. He was a member of the coaching staff which enjoyed a 2009 Big 10 championship in cross country.
Prior to his time with the Badgers, Peterson served a two-year stint at Appalachian State University from 2007-09. At ASU, Peterson competed his first year as a graduate student, then was a graduate assistant coach the following year. As an assistant coach for both men's and women's middle distance and distance athletes, he helped the Mountaineer men to the Southern Conference cross country title in 2008. During his tenure, the Appalachian State men's track team also claimed the 2009 indoor conference championship while the women earned the 2009 outdoor conference title.
Peterson also ran collegiately at Iona College under current Wisconsin head coach Mick Byrne. While at Iona, Peterson earned All-MAAC conference honors in the 3000-meter steeplechase and won All-Southern conference honors in the same event while at Appalachian State. He was also an Iona College Academic Excellence Scholarship recipient in all four years.
A native of Centereach, N.Y., Peterson earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from Iona College in '07 and a Master of Science in exercise science from Appalachian State in '09. He is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
