Campbell University

Orville Nelson Peterson, a former track and field standout, was inducted into the Campbell University Sports Hall of Fame in October 2004.
 
A native of Vera Beach, Florida, Orville Peterson arrived at Campbell in 1981, bringing junior college All-American honors with him from Miami Dade North College.
 
Peterson will forever hold the distinction as Campbell University’s first student-athlete to earn NCAA Division I All-America status.  In addition, Peterson was a four-time NAIA track All-American and the 1983 NAIA indoor high jump national champion, when participating in both championships was permitted. 
 
Additionally, he won the 1983 Penn Relays decathlon before finishing second in the decathlon at the 1983 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
While participating in the 1984 U.S. Olympic Decathlon Trials, Peterson but did not make the team after suffering an injury in competition.  He did, however, leave a memory with those in attendance and those watching on television when he completed the final event – the grueling 1,500 meter run – despite his painful hamstring injury.
 
Despite missing his Olympic goal, Peterson did set a new American record in the Pentathlon in 1984, and won the 1985 National Sports Festival decathlon.
 
Now a resident of Forest, Va., Peterson was inducted into the Florida Track & Field Hall of Fame in January 2013.