PEKIN -- Pekin grad Adam Peterson survived a turbulent season last year with the Western Illinois men's swimming and diving team.

Two coaches were fired. A graduate assistant ran the team on two occasions.

Peterson stayed focused through the upheaval, setting school records in the 50 freestyle (:20.08) and 100 freestyle (:44.57) in February at the Summit League championships in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The sophomore earned All-Summit honors in the 50 freestyle and 200 medley relay, finishing in third place in both events at the league championships.

After getting assurances from Western Illinois administrators a few months ago that a new coach would be hired, the student-athletes on the mens swimming team were informed late last month that the program was suspended for the upcoming season.

"The decision to suspend was due to challenges related to COVID-19, which impacted the search for a coach, recruitment, and the (athletic) department's budget," read a news release from the school.

As for the future of the mens swimming team, "The decision will be re-evaluated within the next year," according to the news release.

The suspension stunned Peterson, not just because he wouldn't be able to swim this coming season for the Leathernecks.

He has a dream to be a firefighter, he said, and Western Illinois is one of the few colleges in the country that offers a Division I swimming program and a fire science degree.

"I had a choice after I learned about the suspension. I could sit back and be sad, or go to work and find something better for me," Peterson said.

He's certain he's found something better.

Just eight days after Western Illinois' suspension announcement, Peterson announced he will be resuming his swimming career this coming season as a junior at IUPUI, a Division I program.

Here's the translation for that long acronym: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

IUPUI was one of about 50 schools that Peterson contacted after the Western Illinois suspension. He seriously considered a commitment to about 10-15 of those schools.

"IUPUI was on my radar when I was looking into colleges coming out of high school," Peterson said. "I wouldn't say I was on their radar, though.

"IUPUI has an amazing swimming facility. I saw it twice last season when we (Western Illinois) had meets there. Also, the swimming program there is well-funded."

The Indiana University Natatorium, which seats 4,700 in its eight-lane, 50-meter competition pool and has an instructional pool, is indeed an amazing swimming facility.

With room for additional seating of 1,500 on deck, it's the largest indoor pool in the U.S.

It has hosted Division I men's and women's swimming and diving championships, USA Swimming, USA Diving and USA Synchronized Swimming championships, and 11 Olympic trials in swimming, diving and synchronized swimming.

World records have been broken there.

Peterson will major in public health management at his new school. While that's not fire science, it will allow him to stay on course to become a firefighter.

Former standout Western Illinois swimmer (1996-2000) and ex-Peoria resident Damion Dennis is IUPUI's men's swimming coach.

He got the Jaguars job in 2019 after an 11-year stint at West Virginia, where he was associate men's swimming coach.

Breaststroke also is a Peterson specialty. He holds the Pekin school record in the 100 breaststroke (:59.06).

His brother, Ryan Maas, is a former Pekin basketball player who played for Western Illinois.

Steve Stein can be reached at (248) 224-2616 or stevestein21@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpartanSteve.

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Pekins Peterson moves to IUPUI - Pekin Daily Times