Maia Peterson's journey from hesitant runner to NCAA Division II track and field championships
Mar. 10—ROCHESTER — Until her sophomore year of high school, Maia Peterson was convinced basketball was her future.
"I wanted to play in the WNBA since I was in kindergarten," she said.
Instead, the Augustana sophomore and Stewartville native is headed to Virginia Beach as part of the distance medley relay team that qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 10 and 11, 2023.
Her younger self "would be so proud," Peterson said. "I would also be very confused. Like, what do you mean you're not at UConn playing basketball?"
Choosing track over basketball has paid off for Peterson. She's getting her first taste of the championships this season, albeit not in an event she ran this season, which included the 400-meter run, the 600 and 4x400 relay. Instead, Peterson is one of five women Augustana picked to form the distance medley relay team at nationals. (The relay is the 1200m, 400m, 800m and 1600m run, in that order.)
It's a tricky event for coaches to prepare for because it's only run at a handful of meets throughout the season.
"I think they have run the DMR twice, and it was in the last three weeks," Peterson said. Peterson would be the second leg of the relay, running the 400, a familiar distance.
The excitement around competing at nationals is even more emotional because Peterson was unable to finish last season. This will be her first full season, after a car slid on the icy Sioux Falls roads last year and rear ended Peterson and her friend at a stoplight, forcing Peterson to miss the NSIC Championships and nationals.
She's more in control and prepared with one year under her belt. Her first year of college was filled with learning and uncertainty about training and scheduling. Now, Peterson knows how to juggle her school work with track.
That balance is one of the reasons why she chose Augustana; her education was the priority, and running track was a bonus.
"When you're younger, you think sports are going to be forever," Peterson said, "then you grow up and you're like, 'OK, so I'm probably not going to be a pro.'"
Much of Peterson's focus is on the school work for her double major of education and psychology, which she's using to prepare her for a future career at the Carmen B. Pingree Autism Center of Learning in Salt Lake City, Utah.
It's a specific career path, and one that Peterson fell into last spring break while on a trip to Utah with her mom. She knew she wanted to work with children, but was unsure about an exact career.
Augustana has a program called "Augie Access" that integrates students with cognitive, intellectual and physical disabilities into all classrooms so they can go through college.
"It's very inclusive," Peterson said. "But when we went to Utah, I was like, 'Oh my gosh. This is perfect.' Kids can get their specific needs met."
And this summer, she nannied a little boy with autism, which was "the best experience of my life," she said. That solidified her future career.
Peterson is happy with where she's at. She has the best of both worlds, getting an education to prepare her for her dream job and running Division II track.
Still, having the opportunity to compete at nationals isn't something a younger Peterson would ever anticipate.
"Regardless of the outcome, this is a super fun experience," she said. "Just trying to show that this little DII private school in South Dakota can do something."
