Guthrie High School cross country and track athlete Peyton Read made her college pledge official on Wednesday by signing her national letter of intent to Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Read was joined at the GHS library by family, friends, coaches and other school officials. Both head cross country coach Bryce Balenseifen and head track and field coach Becky Graham sang Read’s praises before she put pen to paper and signed with the Rangers.
A three-sport athlete for the Bluejays, Read will run both cross country and track at NWOSU, joining GHS teammate and best friend Rayley Hooper. She has competed in both sports since middle school and has been on varsity all four years of high school, earning a top 10 ranking in Oklahoma for the open 800-meter in track.
“She’s not the biggest girl, not the strongest girl, but she’s got really good foot speed and is a lot tougher than you think she is,” said coach Bryce Balenseifen. “She was on a lot of our really good cross country teams that got third place, second place and fifth place the last three years, and she’s been top 10 in the state for the open 800 her last two years.”
Read has served as the anchor of Guthrie track and field’s 4x400-meter relay team that took seventh place at the Class 5A state championships in 2023 and fourth place in 2024. She also ran on the 4x800 relay team that placed fourth in 2023 and sixth in 2024. As a sophomore, Read came in 10th place at state for the 800-meter race.
The athletic senior has finished inside the top 50 in her last two 5A cross country state meet appearances, earning 46th in 2024 and 43rd on the Bluejays’ state runner-up 2023 squad.
Read is also currently a starter on the Lady Bluejays’ varsity basketball team this season and has been with the team since her sophomore year.
“She’s just been really consistently good,” Balenseifen continued. “She’s durable, she hasn’t had any major injuries. You would love to have 10 of her. You’d be in really good shape if you had 10 Peytons.”