Pearland’s Peters a proven winner
There are some people who just don’t like to run.
In fact, there’s a well-worn axiom referencing that school of thought: “If you see me running, it’s because somebody’s chasing me.”
That certainly doesn’t apply to Pearland’s Madison Peters, whose gold medal collection is overflowing.
The Chronicle’s All-Greater Houston girls cross country runner of the year for 2023 often turns off the competitive juices, though.
In fact, the soft-spoken Peters has been in situations where a casual jog turned into a bit more than a relaxing jaunt.
“I was on my visit to Texas A&M, and a nice dog started running with us,” Peters said.
“He ran with us for a long time, and then all of a sudden, a mean one came out of nowhere.”
If you ever need to improve your closing kick, an ill-tempered canine can provide that nudge.
Coming to the rescue for Maddie was her father, Demetrius, who also serves as the head cross country coach at Pearland.
“The nice dog ran with us for about six or seven miles,” Demetrius said, “and then two vicious dogs came after us, and they meant business. We just stopped, and they went away. It’s hilarious now, but it wasn’t then.”
Similar to those trailing dogs, Maddie Peters has been running away from the competition for a while.
In her four years on the varsity squad, she’s won almost 20 races, and combined with her efforts in track and field, she’s nearing the 50-gold medal milestone.
Just a few weeks ago, Peters finished third at the UIL Class 6A state cross country meet, a considerable improvement from her ninth-place finish in 2022.
“At the end of the race, it was tough because my legs were dead,” Peters said, “but I was very happy with the race I ran, and I was excited to get on the medal stand.”
Maddie’s high school running career hasn’t been one big bed of roses. She twice lost consciousness on the course at the Region III-6A meet because of undiagnosed diabetes issues.
After numerous tests and physician visits, that health concern is now under control, and Peters can enjoy worry-free racing.
Her dominance on a 5K course is the result of much hard work and natural ability, and having her father as a head coach has provided a monumental boost.
“It’s different having your dad as a coach because sometimes you fight a little bit,” Maddie said.
“We get along better now than early on because I’ve become more mature and understanding of what he wants me to do. The dynamic has definitely improved, and I’m going to miss him being my coach.”
Dad says he’s the one to blame for any problems which might have existed between the two.
“I’m harder on Maddie than the other kids,” Demetrius said.
“I know her abilities, and I know my expectations of her. When it’s your own kid, it’s a little bit different. You can get away with a little more in coaching them. Maddie’s never disappointed me. She always runs until she can’t run anymore. I’ve always been proud of her.”
Maddie’s whole life, though, isn’t consumed by running.
Don’t let her doctors know, but she has a sweet tooth.
“I like to bake, and I usually make regular chocolate chip cookies,” she said, “but my favorite is white chocolate macadamia nut. It doesn’t go well with my diet, but I don’t eat sweets during the season. For my (recent) birthday, I sneaked a cake pop in.”
When she’s relaxing, Maddie enjoys listening to Christian rap music.
“I’m a big Christian music fan, and there’s a singer named KB who has a lot of songs that I like,” she said. “I really don’t listen to any other kind of music.”
Another calming experience for Maddie is that she’s a ping-pong enthusiast.
“We have a ping pong table at my house, and me and my dad and my brother get pretty competitive with it,” the Texas A&M commit said. “I beat them both pretty easily. We don’t keep score that much because we just get way too competitive. But when we do keep score, I win.”
Maddie’s ability to one-up her dad and brother in ping pong might derive from the energy she gets from her favorite meal.
“I love hibachi fried rice,” she said. “I get it with chicken and scallops at the place we go to. And I put yum-yum sauce on it as well. I could eat it every day.”
Demetrius knows his daughter is remarkable, if for nothing more than opting to continue her running career after two scary health incidents which resulted in ambulance calls and hospitalization both times.
“What amazes me about Maddie is the resiliency and grit to keep running even though she had so many issues with her medical condition,” Demetrius said. “I think I’m most proud that she didn’t quit. It would have been so easy to quit when things got hard.
“She had that moment telling her that this is so dangerous. In the end she made the decision to continue to run because God blessed her with the ability, and she was just determined to do it.”