Freeport's Tristan Peterson primed to show again he is one of the best divers in Illinois
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — Local high school swimmers and divers are gearing up for IHSA sectional competition this Saturday. Freeport junior Tristan Peterson is the heavy favorite in the diving at the Jefferson Sectional. He's one of the very best divers in Illinois.You don't have to know a lot about diving to be able to appreciate that Peterson is very good at it. He landed several outstanding ones at the recent NIC-10 championships. He also set a new pool record at Boylan that day.'It was a good meet,' said Peterson. 'I definitely put my list together, and I felt really happy with how I did.'His final dive was an impressive front one-and-a-half two twist.'It's my dive. I love that. I'm really good at twisters in my opinion. It's my high-scoring dive.''His back dive is probably the most unique,' said Freeport diving coach Scott Piehn. He's the only one that does it that way, and there's maybe two or three other divers that even do it. His back twisters are the most unique.'Peterson first started diving when he was five years old.'I remember I was at my community pool, and I saw divers. I was like, 'Oh, I want to do this. I really need to do this.' I just took off and then I loved it.'When he is on the board, Peterson is focused on his form and his takeoff. He constantly does drills on having great form and good body control. Then there's the mental aspect of diving.'The hardest part about diving is definitely your mental side of the sport. What I do is I just put my trust in my coaches. They tell me to do something, I'm going to do it.'Peterson travels almost every day after school up to Madison for training, and sometimes he'll go to Chicago.'It's tough with school going on right now, because sometimes I'm going back home at like 10 p.m. or 10:30.'Piehn is impressed with Peterson's drive to be the best diver he can be. 'He is committed to it year-round. It's almost an obsession for him since he's been in high school.'Last summer, Peterson competed at the AAU Nationals in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He placed in the top 12 in all three events, the one-meter board, the three-meter board and on the tower. His next goal is to win the Sectional on Saturday then return to the IHSA State Meet and top the seventh- place finish he had last year as a sophomore. He won't be the favorite to win, but he should crack the top five.'There's a few kids that I just can't beat yet, and they're seniors. I'm not going in for a state championship. I'm going there to have a good time. It's my junior year. I'm just relaxed.'
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