"People are asking me, 'Are you done after this year?' No, I'm not done. Brooke swam for six years and now Mallory has matched it, wrapping up her final year this season. She said she coached 18 years before Brooke was on the team. "And hopefully that (invitational) inspires them to want to push to come back and swim at the state meet there."Ĭoach Peters has guided the team since 1994, beginning her tenure as a 22-year-old. "How awesome would it be to get my girls there, have them swim there, have them see it, feel it?" Coach Peters said of the state site. Watertown will participate in the Lady Yeti swimming Invitational on Sept. The state meet is scheduled for the Webster Aquatic Center in suburban Rochester. The Cyclones are hoping to turn that trio into a foursome again this year. Watertown returns to Class B for the season after a year in Class A and will focus on the top-flight schools in the class, Jamesville-DeWitt, New Hartford and Syracuse CBA. "I think it's a good booster for upcoming swimmers." "I know about the state goal, I want it for us," said Lillian Johnson, a dedicated 100 butterfly swimmer who is always finding new elements to work on in her event. The Cyclones are beginning to work on qualifying a 200 freestyle relay to states, which is a team-wide goal for even those who aren't candidates for the relay. We see it every day with these girls, and we know all the potential that they have." "When we have seniors that graduate, I love how our team has depth and you can move anybody around to fill in those spots, and that's really important to us. "Even with modified kids who come up you don't realize how talented they are and how much they help us, even with the seniors who left," Mallory Peters said. ![]() Versatility also contributes to the deep roster for the Cyclones, who like to see each swimmer as an equal, whether they are 12 or 18. One of the running jokes is that 'Coach Peters will put everybody in the 500 at least once.'" We'll have meets where I rotate girls and put them in different disciplines. "The dynamics change with what seniors graduated and what events they were in and now I have to fill the gaps with those," coach Peters said. Jasmine Ferguson shines in the 100 butterfly and is gearing for a state spot in the race, but she can slip into a sprinting event with ease. Mallory Peters dedicates herself to the 50- and 100-yard freestyle sprints, and the 200 freestyle "has my heart," she said. It serves more as a reminder than an instruction because many of the swimmers are prepared to take on a race that isn't their typical one. It said: "Growth happens when you leave your comfort zone." On Tuesday, the team's "quote of the day" hung on the wall at one end of the pool. They'll have to work harder than what they have in the past." And honestly, they work hard, and, yes, they're gifted but that only goes so far. So I think coming from a household where the family was invested in a sport that you could do together helps. ![]() ![]() And same thing for Molly and her sister (freshman) Marra, and her older brother, M.J., was a swimmer on the boys team. "Lily, her older sister Eloise Johnson, swam, too. "I think probably because they have been swimming since such a young age," said Coach Peters of the eighth-grade pair's impact. ![]() They each are entering their second year on varsity and are reliable players on a 24-person squad. Senior Lillian Johnson is in her fifth year as is senior Olivia Urf, whose older sister Julia was once a captain for Watertown.Īt the opposite spectrum, but also with ability to spare, are eighth graders Molly Dickinson and Lily Johnson. Senior Jasmine Ferguson is also in her sixth season. Mallory Peters is entering her sixth season on varsity, the same number of years her older sister, Brooke, swam for Watertown. "Let's say if you're not able to go or you have a bad race, it takes stress off you because you know you have your teammates there to help you, because everybody matters in the event." "It helps a lot when you know you have people behind you," said senior Mallory Peters, the coach's daughter. The Cyclones, whose league meet streak is now 128 straight wins, display another diverse squad with multiple swimmers who can be slotted into a variety of races, depending on the competition, the other swimmers on the team, or even how the swimmer is feeling that day. Watertown, with its experience and its depth - always its depth - is a significant favorite in the league as it starts competition today with a home match against South Jefferson. You could say Watertown is in familiar waters and maybe even get a chuckle. Then there is the coach, Lori Peters, who begins today her 30th season of Frontier League competition with the Cyclones.
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