As famed U.S. hockey coach Herb Brooks once said, “Great moments are born from great opportunity.” Grand Valley State University cross-country runner Alan Peterson would like to have a word with Brooks.

Peterson, a junior from Ironwood, Mich., started competitively running in sixth grade. It didn’t take long for him to find his stride, racing to the top of a quality collegiate team just eight years later.

His secret? Carpe Diem.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t make the most of opportunities when they get them,” Peterson said. “Even when there aren’t clear opportunities, I like approaching every day trying to get better.”

And get better he has. Quickly. After being pinned with a redshirt his freshman year, Peterson made the GLIAC All-Academic team in his first year of competition in 2011. In the same year, he finished 38th at the Spartan Invite while posting a time of 25 minutes, 30 seconds in the 8K—a personal best at the time.

In just two years time, Peterson has managed to bring his record 8K time down by more than a minute to a blistering 24:28, along with setting and resetting multiple personal records each year. However, great improvement cannot come without great effort.

“All of our runners know that to succeed, they have to work very, very hard,” head coach Jerry Baltes said. “Alan is blue-collar and business-like. He goes about his business and does little things right.”

Taking care of the miniscule details—core training, stretching, icing muscles—has played a big role in transforming Peterson from a relatively unknown recruit to an impact runner for the Lakers. Being from the Upper Peninsula, Peterson was not as highly touted a recruit as he would have been if he was from downstate. Nevertheless, Polk conjectures that Peterson is the best runner from the Upper Peninsula that GVSU has ever had and possibly one of the best the state has ever seen.

“The seriousness that he takes in running is what puts him to the next level,” Polk said. “He understands it and it’s his job. He’s always ready to work hard and put everything he has into the sport.”

An exercise science major, Peterson excels away from the course as well as on it. As an encore to being named to the GLIAC All-Academic team in 2011, Peterson repeated the feat in 2012 and will look to make it a trifecta in 2013. The sincerity and dedication he shows in the classroom is apparent in his sport, as well.

Peterson has been described as businesslike when he takes to the course, and teammates are starting to emulate his methods. Rather than being flashy, as so many successful athletes are, Peterson simply leads by example, setting the pace for the Lakers and encouraging his teammates every step of the way. As he moves forward in his career, Peterson said he wants to continue to focus on making his team as successful as possible. The GVSU men finished seventh at nationals last year, but Peterson said he believes a first or second place finish is within the realm of possibility this year.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome of the 2013 Laker cross-country crew, Peterson will be back next year, just looking for an opportunity to grasp.