Broken ankle leads to state diving title
Less than two years ago, Rachael Peterson's right ankle was shattered and her foot was immobilized in a cast for five months. Injured in a club gymnastics competition at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Wellesley teen considered her days as an athlete over.
"My doctor said I would not be able to compete as a gymnast again," recalled Peterson.
Diving, fortunately, was an alternative, offering low impact on her tender foot. And a number of the aerial moves were easily transferable from the mat to the pool
This past June, at the suggestion of a friend, she tried diving for the first time.
Last Sunday, on the same campus in which she suffered her most painful moment in athletics, the Wellesley High junior captured the Division 2 state diving title at MIT's Aquatic Center. Peterson racked up 393.55 points on her 11 dives to easily outdistance the runner-up.
"I was just happy to be going to the state meet, and being able to participate," said Peterson. "I had no idea at all that I had a shot at a state title. I was pretty nervous, but after my first couple of dives, I started to gain confidence."
She didn't realize she had won the title until two other competitors came over to offer their congratulations.
Hugs from Wellesley diving coach Kelly Tonole , along with Peterson's family, soon followed. Her parents, Jeff and Maggie , filmed the meet and her two younger sisters, Hannah and Sophie , had made signs to spur her on.
"It was an incredible experience," said Peterson. "I didn't even know I was going to dive until last summer."
The friend who steered her toward the pool was Milford's Danielle Parretti, a club gymnastics teammate who was also a two-time Division 2 state diving champion the past two years for the Scarlet Hawks.
Parretti, now a freshman all-around gymnast at George Washington University, took Peterson to Boston Area Diving at the Brandeis pool.
"The hardest thing is the bounce off the board, and letting the board bounce you," said Peterson. "That's really the only transition. While others are trying to learn the dives, I felt that I had an advantage, because I had done the flips in gymnastics."
She lost just twice during the dual meet season and then finished second at the Bay State Conference meet. The following week, however, she won the South Sectional title at Harvard.
"That prepared me well for the state meet," said Peterson, who beat out 22 competitors for the sectional title.
"I guess it was a good thing that I broke my ankle."