#MizzouMadeMonday: Kearsten Peoples
2/8/2019 9:31:00 AM | General
One of Mizzou's most decorated athletes is now giving back to her alma mater
All athletic careers are benchmarked by the athlete's most notable accomplishments, but for Mizzou Track and Field Athlete Kearsten Peoples, a major new accomplishment seemed to be an everyday occurrence. By the end of her colligate career, Peoples held the Mizzou school records in weight throw, indoor shot put, outdoor shot put and the discus. She also tilled the NCAA's seventh-best mark in the weight those - ever. Between the indoor and outdoor track & field Seasons, Peoples was a five-time NCAA All-American in the shot put from 2012 to 2014. She also earned outdoor All-America honors in the discus in 2012 and indoor All-America in weight throw in 2014, making for seven All- American honors in her distinguished Mizzou career.
Accomplishments, titles, and honors are not uncommon to Peoples, but she considers her proudest accomplishment to be placing fourth at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in the shot put. She did so while wearing Mizzou proudly across her chest.
"Everyone strives to be an Olympian at some point if that's possible in your sport. Just being able to wear the Mizzou uniform while also trying to reach that next goal was really important to me," Peoples said.
The Olympic trials were not the only time Peoples represented Mizzou amongst some of the nation's best athletes. She wore the Mizzou uniform while taking home the title at several championship meets. Peoples was the 2012 Outdoor Big 12 Champion in the discus, the 2013 Outdoor SEC Champion in the shot put, and the 2014 Indoor SEC Champion in the shot put. In 2015, Peoples was the NCAA Indoor National Champion in the weight throw. Winning that title was a memorable moment in Peoples' noteworthy career.
"Going to the national championships, or anytime you made it there was a big accomplishment," Peoples said. "Experiencing that with my teammates and coaches was a memory that I will never forget."
Along with the significance of her athletic feats, Peoples saw the importance of the connections that student-athletes have, and the opportunity to create memories with teammates and coaches. The people who athletes surround themselves with can contribute to success on and off the field. One of the people who influenced Peoples, even outside of her athletic career, was Mizzou Track & Field Head Coach Brett Halter. From the early stages of her time with the team, Halter always told her that how she represented herself was just as important as what she was going through in your career.
"It's really powerful when you have a coach who is in charge of coaching hundreds of athletes, and still takes the time to boost you up and motivate you to continue taking risks," Peoples said.
Halter's encouragement is one of the key reasons why Peoples believes she is in the positons that she is in today. He was always the person to recommend her for things he thought she could fit in with, such as Mizzou's student-athlete development office. That is where Peoples now works, helping to empower current Mizzou athletes by using the experiences she learned during her Mizzou career to do so. It is important for her to be a contact and a resource for student-athletes to turn to when their athletic careers inevitably come to a close. While athletic careers may end, the success of student athletes transitions far into whatever is next.
"Being Mizzou Made is having a sense of self worth and understanding that you can compete and you are worthy of whatever you are going to take up after you are an athlete," Peoples said. "Who we are during our time at Mizzou shapes us into who we are going to become once we leave Mizzou."
