When the Mingus Union High School swimming team and track and field team start up next school year, they’ll both face a tall task in replacing Class of 2020 graduate Andrew Peterson.
As a sophomore, Peterson was a part of the 200 freestyle relay team that won a state championship. While that was his only state championship, he became a fixture at the event. Peterson not only qualified for state in each of his four years swimming for the Marauders but did so in a total of 16 events.
As a freshman, he reached state in the 200 freestyle relay. In addition to being a part of the state championship team the following year, Peterson also reached state in the 400 freestyle and 200 medley relays as well as the 100 backstroke. He returned in all four events plus the 50 freestyle as a junior. As a senior, Peterson reached state in the same five events as the previous year with the addition of the 100 freestyle.
He also leaves the Mingus swimming team with three school records, as well as one he set with the state championship 200 freestyle relay team. While the Marauders didn’t repeat as state champs in that event in Peterson’s junior year, they did break the school record. Peterson was also a part of the school record setting 400 freestyle relay team the same year and set an individual school record in the 50 freestyle at state as a senior.
“My favorite memories in swimming are winning state and breaking the record my sophomore year in the 200 free relay and breaking the 50 free record in my last race ever,” Peterson said. “In addition to those, state weekend was always a great time hanging out with my closest friends.”
Peterson also made a nice home for himself at the track and field state meet. He qualified for state in the high jump in his sophomore and junior years. While COVID-19 shut the state meet down in his senior year, he had already posted a state qualifying distance high jump in 2020’s abbreviated season.
In addition to his high jump prowess, Peterson had already registered a state qualifying height in the pole vault as a senior at 13 feet, 6 inches — an achievement Peterson was especially satisfied with.
“I am very proud of my rapid progression in the pole vault my senior year,” he said. “My top memories in track are high jumping with my teammate Jonathan Jung [Class of 2018] and any time I got to practice pole vault this last year.”
Peterson made a big impression at Mingus outside of sports, as well. As a senior, he was named Homecoming King while swimming teammate Emma Warner was the Homecoming Queen.
The next step for Peterson is Grand Canyon University, where he’ll study marketing and business. Long term, he hopes to own a business.
In addition to growing physically, as is common in high school, knowing what he wants to do going forward is what Peterson sees as his biggest change from when he was a freshman four years ago.
“I changed drastically from freshman to senior year, as everyone does,” Peterson said. “Freshman year I was a short, skinny boy that was unsure of myself, where I wanted to go, and what I wanted to do. As a senior I am quite confident in myself and who I am. I’ve realized that I get to choose who I want to become and I spend a huge percentage of my time focused and working toward that person.”
