Leigh commits to University of Miami
Peyton Leigh just couldn’t say no to the University of Miami.
The 17-year-old, Grade 11 student at Holy Cross Secondary School recently committed to the Division 1 school for the fall of 2026.
Leigh, who was recruited for the swim team, is still considering her major.
“Ultimately, it kind of came down to where I felt most at home,” the Niagara-on-the-Lake resident said.
Leigh said the school’s relatively small women’s swim team was a bonus.
“The roster is very small compared to other schools and some of the rosters were like 70, compared to 22. There’s three coaches, so the ratio, it’s really nice. There’s a lot of one-on-one technique with the swimmers and coaches. They have a lot of resources that are just for swimming and the campus is amazing. It was almost like resort-like. In fact, that’s how I best explain it.”
The school’s campus is located in Coral Gables, about eight kilometres from Miami.
“It’s a mix of both beach and city,” Leigh said.
Leigh also talked to several other high profile schools such as Penn State, Northwestern, Alabama and Texas A & M after registering on a recruiting website in September.
“I got into the recruiting thing a little bit later while they were already doing all the recruiting trips and visits,” Leigh said. “So everything kind of came in slowly, but once it started coming in it just kept going so it was a lot. I want to say every other night I was on a call.
“I had some other schools reach out but I wasn’t interested. I’m really glad that I can finally make a decision,”
Leigh began swimming at just five months and quickly took to the water.
“I liked swimming, went into a club when I was five years old and I really liked it,” she said.
Leigh moved into competitive swimming around age 10 and then really saw her career take off when she began working with coach David Ling at Brock Aquatics.
“Things from there just started to skyrocket,” she said.
Leigh made her first national cut in Grade 9 and two years ago made her first Olympic trials cut.
“I made the B final in the 400 freestyle and then I swam the 200 fly,” she said. “I didn’t (make the finals) but I was so, so young.”
Last year Leigh once again participated in the Olympic trials in Toronto, this time swimming her specialty, the 1,500, where she placed third in the open category and second in the junior category.
Leigh’s success has not come without sacrifice.
She is in the water eight times as week, with practices ranging from two to two-and-a-half hours, as well as working out in the gym three times a week.
“I love the sport. I love going to practice every day and it’s nice having teammates,” she said. “Just being there, we all want to do the same thing. We all want to get better.
“It’s a sport where there’s a lot of training involved and you can’t slack off. You can’t be missing practices all the time. You show up, you’re dedicated. It’s you and the clock.”
Short term, Leigh’s goal is the make the Canadian junior team.
“In order to do that, I’d have to come second or first in the junior category at the Olympic Trials and then make a time cut. Last year I came second, but I missed the cut by a second-and-a-half. I have the time right now, but I just have to do it again.”
Long range, she feels a shot at the 2028 or 2032 Olympics is realistic.
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