Brandon Valley’s Mikah Peters has been named the 2025-26 Gatorade South Dakota boys cross-country runner of the year. 

The award recognizes Peters as South Dakota’s best high school boys cross-country athlete. The 6-foot, 135-pound senior won the Class AA state meet this past season with a time of 14:54.09, breaking the tape 7.94 seconds ahead of his next-closest competitor and leading the Lynx to a third-place finish as a team. 

Peters also earned Second Team All-American honors by placing 20th at the Brooks Cross Country Championships in 15:56.4. He concluded the season as the nation’s No. 25 competitor in the MileSplit50 rankings. A peer leader within his school’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Peters is a member of the Brandon Valley High School student council and has volunteered locally with Best Buddies and the Special Olympics. 

Peters has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and ranks No. 1 in his class. He’s signed a written letter of athletic aid to run at Iowa State University this fall.