MINNEAPOLIS -- Meghan Peyton, who served as interim head coach for the Augsburg College men's and women's cross country teams in 2014, will have the interim tag removed and continue on as head coach, the college announced on Monday.

Peyton, who has been a part of the Augsburg cross country and track and field coaching staff since 2010, will also serve as an assistant coach for the track and field teams, coaching the distance runners.
 
"I look forward to working with Meghan Peyton in the years ahead, as we strive for success in the men's and women's cross country programs here at Augsburg. In Meghan's body of work here, she has proven herself as a coach who knows how to guide her student-athletes to perform and compete at high levels," said Augsburg Athletic Director Jeff Swenson.
 
In 2014, Peyton led the Auggie cross country teams to their best finishes in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA regional competition in several years. The Auggie women finished eighth at the 2014 MIAC Championships and 17th at the NCAA Central Regional, both finishes the best for the squad since 2004, and the Auggie men finished ninth in the MIAC Championships and 14th in the NCAA Central Regional, both finishes their best since 2009.
 
She has also guided distance runners to continued improvement in track and field.  The Auggies had two top-10 finishes in indoor distance events at the 2015 MIAC indoor championships, and six top-10 finishes in outdoor distance events and relays at the 2015 MIAC outdoor championships.
 
"I'm extremely excited to continue to serve here at Augsburg College as the head men's and women's cross country coach and assistant track and field coach," Peyton said. "In the 2014-2015 season, the team made a lot of progress, and I am ecstatic that I get the opportunity to continue to work with these talented young men and women. This team has a bright future, and I am so honored to lead the way as the team continues to progress up the ranks at the MIAC Championships and beyond."
 
In her coaching roles at Augsburg, she will also be in charge of recruiting top student-athletes to the college for both cross country and track and field distance events, Swenson noted.
 
"She has already demonstrated her skills as a recruiter, and we anticipate that she will be able to bring high-quality student-athletes to Augsburg in the future," Swenson said.

Peyton is an accomplished professional runner as a member of Team USA Minnesota, a post-collegiate distance training center based in Minneapolis, continuing her training to compete for a spot in the 2016 Olympics. This year, she placed eighth at the U.S. Marathon Championships. She has placed in the top 10 in 19 different national championship distance events since 2009, including the national title at the 2013 USA 20K Championships.

A native of Portland, Ore., Peyton (nee Armstrong) competed in track and field and cross country at the University of Iowa, earning Division I All-America honors four times. She won the Big Ten titles in the indoor 3,000-meter run and outdoor 10,000-meter run in 2008, while finishing sixth in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 NCAA Division I outdoor championships.
 
Peyton served as an assistant coach for both the cross country and track and field teams from 2010 to 2014 under former head coach Dennis Barker, then took over the cross country teams as interim head coach this past season.

Peyton earned her bachelor's degree in integrative psychology from Iowa in 2008, and her master's degree in leadership from Augsburg in 2014.