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Swimming was a no-brainer for St. Petersburg's Peyton Palsha

 
Peyton Palsha, back, will face tough competition, including from defending state champion Morgan Tankersley of Plant.
Peyton Palsha, back, will face tough competition, including from defending state champion Morgan Tankersley of Plant.
Published Sept. 28, 2016

You dread bringing it up. You know she must have heard it about a thousand times. But it is hard not to ask about the origin of her first name.

Peyton Palsha knows the question is coming. The St. Petersburg High senior practically interrupts to answer the question. Yes, she is named after a certain Super Bowl-winning quarterback who retired this year.

"My mom was watching Peyton Manning play one day and thought it would be a neat name for a child," Palsha said. "It's funny because I don't really watch football."

Palsha's sport is swimming. She is good at it, too. Last week, she committed to the University of Arkansas.

Swimming was a natural choice. Her father, Doug, swam at LSU. Her mother, Kristy, was a synchronized swimmer growing up.

"I'm in Florida. We're surrounded by water. Might as well swim, right?" Palsha said.

Palsha tried other sports but said she was never good at them. She could not run in soccer. She could not catch in softball. And she was not patient enough for gymnastics.

"Swimming was what I was good at, so I just stuck with that," Palsha said.

It did not take long for Palsha to come home with a bag full of medals. At the club level, she was dominant in her age groups, routinely ranking among the top 10 nationally in her events.

Palsha figured she would continue winning once she reached high school. That did not happen. She still was among the top eight at nearly every meet, but she was no longer leaving everyone in her wake.

Trouble was, her events were stacked with some of the best swimmers in the state. Palsha had the misfortune of swimming against East Lake's Michelle Turek (Auburn) and Hunter Aitchison (Duke) and Sarasota Riverview's Spence Atkins (UCLA) the past three years.

"It was tough," Palsha said. "I couldn't figure it out. I used to win, now I was coming in sixth at meets even though I was setting personal records. But the coaches helped me realize I was swimming against older girls, and that it was only going to make me better."

Her intensity burned like chlorine. Day after day, lap after lap, she swam the freestyle with the intent on lowering her times. She practices six days a week. She also does plenty of strength training.

The results showed. Palsha has gone from a sixth place at state in the 200 free three years ago to third-place finishes in both the 200 and 500 free at last year's state meet.

She is favored to place among the top two in the 500 free this year. But she still has strong competition with defending state champion Morgan Tankersley of Plant returning.

Distance events are Palsha's specialty. But she is trying to make herself more versatile. Last week, she swam at the 200 individual medley at the Pinellas County Athletic Conference meet and took second behind Tarpon Springs' Mackenzie Stumpf.

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This summer, Palsha also qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle.

She said the goal this season is to continue to lower her times — and aim for new Olympic Trial cuts in different events.

Oh, and win titles, just like the quarterback she is named after.