Stacey Peterson; All Around Athlete
Stacey teaches Science and English in seventh grade at
Southwest Middle School. She has taught there for the past 11 years,
and she coaches the high jumpers and long jumpers. Her coaching partner
is Gary Miller, who coaches distance runners at Southwest. She has also
coached volleyball at Stevens High School.
Stacey, originally from Sturgis, lettered in all four high
school girls' sports offered at that time: basketball, volleyball, gymnastics
and golf. She initially enrolled at Chadron State College where she played
varsity volleyball. She earned her B.S. Degree in Elementary Education at the
University of Wyoming and has some work toward a Master's degree in Education.
Next to her dog Jag, Tim Raben is her favorite running partner and trainer.
Tim has been training with Stacey on the Mickelson Trail, preparing her
for the Trail marathon. This will be her first marathon on the Mickelson
Trail. However, some years ago she ran Mt. Rushmore. “I thought
I would never run another marathon. I wondered why a person would put
themselves through something like that,” she stated.
She has run for the last ten years and keeps a log. She tries to get
in at least 100 miles a month. Her favorite runs include the Mystic-Rochford
section of the Mickelson Trail. She has run 5Ks in Hill City and annually
makes the Doug Miller Memorial Run in Sturgis. Stacey said, “Doug
was a very good friend, and I graduated with him.”
In addition to her full time teaching position, during the summer, she
sells fireworks for two weeks with her brother in Sturgis. Her father
used to run “Bob's Firestand” annually. “He died a
few years ago, and my brother and I took it over.”
Despite being teasingly harassed by fellow coach Gary Miller, Stacey
remains one of the nicest members of the Club. Many of us look forward
to her running with Jag and occasionally Tim, too, on the Mickelson Trail.