LIVE OAK — Peyton Slaughter had his mind made up.
The Suwannee senior was going to qualify for state. That no SHS swimmer had ever qualified for the state meet before didn’t matter. That was the goal in front of Slaughter.
“He always pushes himself and challenges himself,” SHS coach Doug Morgan said of Slaughter, who is the Lake City Reporter’s Boys Swimmer of the Year.
But at the Region 1-2A meet, Slaughter wasn’t sharp in the 50 freestyle. After winning the District 3-2A title in the event with a new school record of 22.39 — breaking his own mark — Slaughter swam just 22.51 to place fourth at regionals.
Suddenly, that goal seemed further away.
“He was pretty down on himself,” SHS assistant coach TJ Vickers said. “It just speaks to his determination and his ability to lock it in, because he wasn’t happy with where he was at. He didn’t like his time.”
The “self-motivated” and “self-driven” Slaughter then delivered with a 58.68 in the 100 backstroke — his best time by more than a second — to finish sixth in the region and put himself in good position for state.
He admitted to expecting to make it in just one event, but when the Florida High School Athletic Association released the state qualifiers, Slaughter had advanced in both.
“It was crazy,” he said. “I was just extremely happy.”
At the state meet in Stuart, Slaughter placed 24th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.84 and 22nd in the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.94.
It was the culmination to an incredible year and career for Slaughter. The school record holder in five events — the 200 individual medley, the 50 and 100 freestyle, the 100 backstroke and the 100 butterfly — Slaughter set four of those records this season.
The 100 butterfly lasted until the end of the regular season before he could finally topple the time set by Vickers.
It’s a record Vickers said was easy to tell that Slaughter wanted. Having Vickers around every day may have had something to do with that.
“Maybe part of it was me being there, telling him all the time that he couldn’t do it,” Vickers said, laughing, adding he motivated Slaughter by telling him the things that got him pumped up as an athlete himself. “You could tell he was really focused on getting that last record.”
To Slaughter, the record he wanted most was the 50 free.
“I wanted to keep breaking the 50 free time,” he said. “That was my best event. That’s the one I worked on the most.”
But once one record fell, Slaughter admitted, it pushed him to keep striving for the next.
“I was just like, ‘Well, if I can break this one, why don’t I go for the next one?’ he said. “And I just kept going after that.
“I kind of wanted to try to get all of them, as much as I could.”
Morgan said those record times were a result of the hard work and dedication that Slaughter put in while at the pool. The senior pushed not just himself, but the entire SHS team to get better.
That dedication in the pool was never more evident then as the year was winding down.
Vickers said in the final weeks of practice, the Bulldogs were pushed to swim in T-shirts to provide additional resistance, additional drag. It would force the swimmers to hone in on their technique if they wanted to hit their times.
Most, Vickers said, donned crop tops or tank tops, just enough to meet the requirement of wearing a shirt.
Not Slaughter. Rather, he wore an extra swimsuit and also hit the pool in a long sleeve shirt.
“His armpits were red, raw from where he was doing the strokes and the T-shirt was rubbing up against it,” Vickers said. “That didn’t deter him at all from trying to change what he was doing.
“He was very dedicated.”
The dedication began before the season began, too. Morgan said during the offseason his star swimmer dedicated himself in the weight room, which made a noticeable difference.
“You could just see the change,” Morgan said. “It’s like this was serious.”
Slaughter was serious. The carrot of becoming a state qualifier had dangled in front of him for years.
And there wasn’t going to be another chance to do it.
“It was mainly just because it was my last year,” he said. “I just wanted to do as much as I could for myself. I just worked extra hard at it and I just did my thing.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
Peyton Slaughter
Suwannee, senior
The LCR’s Boys Swimmer of the Year won the District 2-3A title in the 50 freestyle (22.39) and placed fifth in the 100 backstroke (59.88) to qualify for regionals. He then placed fourth in the 50 freestyle (22.51) and sixth in the 100 backstroke at the Region 1-2A Meet to become the first swimmer in program history to advance on to state. At the Class 2A State Meet, Slaughter placed 24th in the 50 freestyle (22.84) and 22nd in the 100 backstroke (58.94). He finishes his career as the school record holder in the 200 individual medley, the 50 and 100 freestyle, the 100 backstroke and the 100 butterfly.
Ian Disosway
Columbia, freshman
Placed third in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.22) and fifth in the 200 IM (2:18.12) at the District 2-3A Meet to qualify for regionals in both events. He placed 17th in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.17) and 22nd in the 200 IM (2:19.41) at the Region 1-3 Meet.
Jayden Drew
Columbia, senior
Placed sixth in the 100 freestyle (51.55) to qualify for regionals. He placed 22nd (52.70) at the Region 1-3A Meet.
Shawn Rost
Coach of the Year, Columbia
Guided the boys and girls to regionals in several events, with four swimmers qualifying individually in six events. For the boys, Ian Disosway made it in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM, while Jayden Drew advanced on in the 100 freestyle. For the girls, Casey Fair qualified in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, and Kaydence Clark punched her ticket in the 100 butterfly. Rost also saw his girls 200 medley relay team and 200 freestyle relay team qualify for regionals.