On the rare occasion that Bearden students wake up and leave home by 6 a.m., they don’t expect to see any of their classmates.

But chances are, they’ll probably drive past Dalton Peters running down Ebenezer.

While most students are getting an extra hour of sleep, Peters is getting a workout in – his first of the day. The countless workouts, runs, and regimens have paid off.

Peters will be continuing his athletic and academic career at Williams College on the rowing team. Williams – in western Massachusetts near Albany, New York – is a top 20 rowing program with rigorous academics, making it right up Peters’s alley.

Being a rower is a birthright in the Peters family. Peters’s late grandfather rowed for Purdue, and his sister Lauren is a world champion coxswain for Team USA.

Peters’s rigorous routine and drive is not unnoticed by his teammates.

“From middle school to now, I’ve always seen Dalton as a very amicable guy,” Bearden senior and teammate Reece Wood said. “He is a dedicated and disciplined athlete. 

“Dalton deserves [his roster spot] because of his dedication and hard work. He not only works hard, but [he] is also an all-around great character, as stated before. I know the coach will not regret his decision giving Dalton this opportunity.”

As the Future Business Leaders of America President, a Virtual Enterprise member, and a student in many AP classes, Peters has demanding commitments. With rowing on top of school activities, he acknowledges how time-consuming it is, but the benefits outweigh the sacrifices.

“Rowing takes up a lot of my time and is very strenuous, but it is definitely a worthwhile sacrifice,” Peters said. “Besides, rowing has wonderful benefits like releasing mood-boosting chemicals and getting you in the best shape of your life.”

Peters’s peers admire his competitiveness and drive.

“When I first met Dalton, I went to an introductory rowing camp with a couple of my friends,” junior Kyler Misenheimer said. “The entire time we were there, I saw him doing some crazy rowing workouts with rowing machines and absolutely blowing past our boats while he was practicing and we were racing.”

Now that high school rowing is almost over, Peters is already anticipating his collegiate career.

“I think that at Williams I will be able to help the team continue to dominate the NESCAC and be extremely competitive among all crews,” Peters said.