Chris Peters is entering his fifth year as a coach and recruiting coordinator at Mizzou, and his first year as Associate Head Coach for the men's and women's swimming teams.
Peters is primarily responsible for the distance free, IM, and backstroke events for the Tigers. His coaching style has proved successful for the swimmers with whom he has worked. Jill Granger, who Peters coached in the 500, 1000 and 1650 free, currently owns five school records in addition to qualifying for three events at the 2007 NCAA Championships and qualifying for the 2008 USA Swimming Olympic Team Trials. Peters has also worked with sophomores Spenser Lauver and Cameron Sellers, who placed second and third at the 2007 Big 12 Championships, respectively. Other current distance free athletes seeing success as a result of Peters' instruction include Colleen Gordon, who stands in the top-two all-time in 500 and 1650 free, and was a runner-up at the 2007 USA Open Water National Championships; Carly Sullivan, who owns top-five finishes in 1000 and 1650 free; and Lori Halvorson, who is third all-time in the 500 free, and was also a 2008 USA Swimming Olympic Team Trials qualifier.
There has been no lack of success with the backstroke swimmers Peters has coached. Since taking over in 2004, the record books have been completely re-written. Six of the top-10 fastest men's swimmers all-time in the 100 back were guided by Peters, along with five of the top-10 fastest women's swimmers of all-time. In the 200 back, five of both the top-10 men and women all-time swam under the tutelage of Peters. Peters also oversees the 800 freestyle relay teams, who have shattered records since the Tiger coach took over. For the men, seven of the top-10 all-time were coached by Peters, including the six fastest teams ever at Mizzou. As for the women, six of the top-ten were under Peters' instruction, including the top-three teams.
With regard to recruiting, Peters' efforts have paid dividends over the course of his first three years with the Tigers. In his first season as a coach with the Tigers, only three swimmers recorded NCAA "B" cut times. That number increased to 13 in 2005-06 and to 19 this past season. The number of school record-breaking performances has also grown since Peters returned to his alma mater. In 2004-05, only one record was set. A year later, 15 records were smashed during the course of the season and that number jumped to 26 in 2006-07. To top it off, Peters brought in top-25 recruiting classes for both the men and the women for the 2007-08 season.
Peters swam for Missouri from 1995-98 and graduated in 1999 with a degree in English. During his four-year stint at Mizzou, Peters set the school Q200 back (1:48.19). Peters was also an eight-time conference finalist in the 100 and 200 back as well as a 2000 Olympic Trials qualifier.
Upon graduation, the Eureka, Mo., native worked for ESPN before beginning his coaching career in Phoenix, Ariz. He was the head coach for the Country Day School, where he led several swimmers to the state finals. He also coached multiple Junior Nationals finalists while with the Arizona Marlins Club Team.
Peters and his wife, Marianne, have a daughter named Sydney, who turns two in September, and a son, Cole, who was born in June 2008. The family resides in Columbia with their two dogs, Goggle and Ozzie.
