Meet Derek Peterson, Rhody's rising track star

By: Brandon Gearing

Posted: 6/13/09

Summer 2009 - When Derek Peterson was a sophomore in high school, he wasn't on the school's track and field team. In fact, he only joined the team to stay in shape for basketball season.

Some of Peterson's friends already on the team begged their bulky classmate to join and, after considering the benefits, Peterson accepted.

By his junior year, Peterson was standing out from all of the other throwers in the area and catching some attention.

Peterson saw significant success under the guidance of his throwing coach at Coe-Brown Academy in Northwood, N.H..

His most notable high school achievement was competing in the New England Regional high school tournament, where he launched a discus 170 feet, eight inches to earn second place.

"I have a ridiculously long wingspan," Peterson said when asked about the secret to his success.

The Rhode Island junior is listed as 6-foot, 2 inches, and Peterson says his wingspan measures an incredible 6-foot, 8 inches, six inches greater than his height.

After taking a year off between high school and college, Peterson was considered attending the University of New Hampshire. But his high school coach came to him with another offer.

"It turned out that my high school coach's son-in-law was the coach here at [the University of Rhode Island]," Peterson said.

After a visit to the school, Peterson said he was sold and decided he would spend his college years here in Rhode Island.

His impact was immediately felt in his freshman season, when he won the men's discus competition at the Atlantic 10 tournament and also added fourth place finishes in the hammer throw and shot put.

"It's been a bit of a roller coaster here," Peterson said. "We've had some good seasons and bad seasons, but I really like it."

Just last year, Rhody took the A-10 tournament crown to the surprise of many, and then went on to capture the New England championship as well. URI has taken seven of the last eight A-10 championships.

Peterson was named A-10 rookie of the year in 2007 and seems to have not let up since.

Last week, Peterson was named gorhody.com Athlete of the Week for his performance at the URI Invitational after he posted a personal-best 59-2.25 in the weight throw. The throw qualified him for both the New England and IC4A Championships.

While he still has another year to go in Kingston, Peterson said after college he would like to continue competing in track and field if at all possible.

He is currently an entrepreneurial management major, and although he isn't sure what exactly he wants to do, he said he is confident things will fall into place.

When not competing, Peterson is an avid sports fan and roots strictly for Boston teams.

"Kevin Garnett, Tom Brady, Randy Moss, David Ortiz and Josh Beckett are my favorite athletes," he said.

Peterson said his favorite movie is "Gladiator" and also that he likens himself to the movie's star, Russell Crow.

"He's kind of a badass," Peterson said of Crow.