Redshirt sophomore Kearsten Peoples finished fourth at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., in the shot put, one spot short of qualifying for the London 2012 Summer Olympics. It marked an impressive start to her Missouri career.
But the way it all began might be even more impressive.
Peoples, who grew up in Ottawa, Kan., began playing sports in seventh grade but didn’t have immediate success.
“At first I thought, ‘Maybe I don’t want to do this,” she said. “But my coach told me to stick with it. Looking back, I can’t imagine where I would be if I didn’t do track.”
Peoples’ life was challenging off the track, too. She grew up with a single mother and, as the eldest, was often responsible for taking care of her four siblings. Peoples moved out of her mom’s house when she was 17 because the two did not get along.
“Being in that situation made me grow up faster than other people my age,” she said. “Some parents try to hold their kids down while they’re supposed to be living. If I had a parent to tell me what to do now, I don’t know if I’d be able to handle it because I know how to be responsible and take care of myself.”
Peoples said she has moved on from her past and doesn’t want to be treated differently.
“A lot of people could have that built up inside and want that to push them, but there’s nothing now that can be done to change that,” she said. “I’ve found a way to say, ‘Yeah, it happened, and I’ve had the support to bring me back up, so why look back on it?'”
But it still isn’t an easy road. Earlier in the season, she fouled out at the Big 12 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
“I’ve done the same thing in the same meet, and it’s so tough to come back the next day and compete,” director of team operations Krishna Lee said. “She came back and threw amazingly. That’s a true testament to her competitive spirit, especially being so young.”
Peoples’ resiliency comes from within, Lee said.
“Some people just have it,” Lee said. “You can tell people as much as you want to refocus but if they don’t believe it themselves, there’s not a lot you can do. She believes it herself.”
Peoples said she’s also driven to be a role model.
“People that come from my background, they feel like they can’t make it to the top,” she said. “I want to prove that wrong. It doesn’t matter where you come from; if you’re rich or poor, big or small; it doesn’t matter. It’s just how hard you try.”
Though Peoples remains focused, her teammates said she likes to have fun too.
“She’s funny and very loud,” said sophomore javelin thrower Hailey Twietmeyer. “She kind of embarrasses me a bit every now and then, but she’s fun and very outgoing.”
Peoples said she brings that laid-back attitude to competition.
“I’m probably the only person on our team who isn’t stuck to what they do before meets,” she said. “There are people who will watch all these motivational videos and eat all the proper foods. I don’t, because what happens if you can’t follow your routine? You just have to go with the flow.”
Peoples’ resume suggests her method works. In her first season at Missouri, she won the Big 12 championship discus title and the Big 12 Outstanding Freshman Award and has earned first-team All-American honors in both discus and shot put.
Lee, then-assistant coach, recalled Peoples’ initial visit to MU.
“The first time I saw her I told (head coach Brett Halter), “She’s built just like Jessica Pressley,'” she said. “‘We have to get her here.”
Pressley is the defending national champion in shot put. Others have also compared Peoples to former Missouri thrower Christian Cantwell, who recently qualified for the U.S. Olympic team.
But Peoples said she has set her bar higher.
“I want to be better,” she said. “I want to be the best in the world.”
_Correction from the editor: Kearsten Peoples was referred to as a “sophomore” originally in this article when she is in fact a redshirt sophomore. It was also stated that she had finished her first season in Columbia, which is not true due to her redshirt designation. The Maneater regrets the editing errors._
