Bio

Peyton Shelton is in his third year with Spartanburg Methodist. Shelton will oversaw the addition of a championship track and field program as well as the transition from the NJCAA to the NAIA.

This fall, in 2024, Shelton directed the men’s cross country team to third place conference finish and women’s team to a second-place team finish in the Continental Athletic Conference. The women’s team was led by four all-conference individual finishes including the 2024 Women’s CAC Runner of the Year – Sophia Outhous. The women had three qualify for the NAIA Cross Country Championships in their first year of NAIA participation. Outhous went on to set a school record in the 6k at the NAIA Cross Country Champinoships and SMC alsp posted a pair of top-10 times in school history in 5k.

In 2023-24, he coached the Pioneers to 49 different top 10 times in school history between indoor and outdoor track and field. The Pioneers set new school records in the women’s 60 meter hurdles, women’s 100 meter hurdles, indoor 600 meters, men’s and women’s outdoor mile, and women’s 400 meter hurdles. During cross country, Shelton was named the 2023 Region 10 Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year. Shelton and the Pioneers were the men's and women's NJCAA Division 1 Region Champions. The men’s team saw all of its top five earn all-region honors while the women’s program posted four all-region selections. The men’s cross country team would go on to finish the year ranked No.28 in the country and the women’s program No. 24.

Shelton joined the coaching staff at Spartanburg Methodist in 2022 as an assistant, where the program won the 2022 NJCAA Region 10 Cross Country Championships. Prior to SMC, Shelton coached at Liberty High School where he worked with the sprints and jumps event groups.

He ran collegiately at Southern Wesleyan University from 2018-22 where he was a two-time all-conference award winner. Shelton set six school records at Southern Wesleyan during his career between the indoor 3000 meters and 10,000 meter run.