Triton's Pierce Petersohn balances life, academics as a three-sport athlete
DODGE CENTER — A high school quarterback takes on great responsibility on and off the field. It's a balance of fostering positive locker room morale while making key decisions to lead the team during a game.
Triton junior quarterback and safety Pierce Petersohn does this and then some.
When football season ends, Petersohn isn't done with sports.
Instead, he shifts into basketball mode, playing point guard for the Cobras. In the spring, he pivots again to the track and field team where he has developed into one of the best high jumpers in the country.
Right now, Petersohn is focused on football and his role on the offense, and he's having a solid season.
"Quarterback definitely has a lot of leadership on the offensive side," Petersohn said. "You have to remember everyone's routes, plays, what everyone's doing."
Triton is 3-0 going into tonight's game at La Crescent-Hokah, with wins against Maple River, Blue Earth and Dover-Eyota. Petersohn has thrown for 460 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. He's also added 60 rushing yards on 15 carries. On defense, he's recorded 15 tackles and one interception in three games.
"We did pretty good the first two games and then ... our third game, we played a team from our district," Petersohn said. "Obviously, anyone in Section 1 is really good at football. ... (Last week,) no one had scored the whole fourth quarter and so we weren't used to that, because we put up big points in the first two games. So it just felt a little different."
On top of being a three-sport athlete, Petersohn boasts a 4.0 GPA. He said study hall helps him keep up with his academics which includes a concurrent college class through Rochester Community and Technical College. His favorite class at the moment is History Through Sports.
Triton head coach Brandon Neseth has worked with Petersohn throughout the past three years both in the classroom and on the football field. Neseth is a 10th-grade history teacher in addition to his coaching duties and had Petersohn as a student last year.
"I think everything (he does) has to be done at a high level, from his schoolwork to just out here on the practice field," Neseth said. "You see it in basketball as well as track. He just really holds himself to a higher standard and doesn't want just success for himself, but he wants success for his teammates, and he'll do anything possible for them to have that."
When Petersohn soared 6 feet, 10 inches in the high jump during the 2024 track and field season, colleges started to notice.
Petersohn has recently had unofficial recruiting visits with the South Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota football teams. He is visiting the Golden Gophers again for the Iowa game on Saturday, Sept. 21.
"It's super cool. I had lot of fun at Minnesota this past weekend," Petersohn said. "The coaches are so good there."
Neseth said it's encouraging for other players in the program to see Petersohn getting recruited.
"It couldn't happen to a better kid," Neseth said. "The hard work that he's put in in the off-season; the type of kid he is. He's one of the first to always celebrate the guy that scores the touchdown. And you can just see him do that the last three years."
When it comes time to decide on a college, Petersohn said he'd prefer to be near his family.
"I think staying close is really big because I kind of get a little bit homesick," he said. "And then it's also just nice having your parents in close distances."
Even though Petersohn said he's always liked basketball the most he tries not to play favorites.
"Right now, I'm pretty much liking whatever sport I'm in (that) season," Petersohn said. "So if I'm in football season, that's my favorite sport at the time."
Spring is the busiest time of year for Petersohn with AAU basketball and track and field seasons overlapping.
"Sometimes I have to leave track practice early to go straight to AAU, which was in Burnsville this past year, so it was like an hour away," Petersohn said. "AAU practice is usually twice a week, and then there's tournaments every weekend."
Managing the schedule of a multi-sport athlete isn't for everyone, but Petersohn said it helps prevent getting burnt out on one sport.
"When you come to the next sport, it just helps you attack that season a lot better than other ones," Petersohn said. "And then also, you just get more strength endurance and stuff like that, just for all the sports to work together."
Neseth said the football coaches encourage their players to play multiple sports during the school year to make the transition into football easier. He added sticking to a year-round athletic schedule creates a more attractive candidate for college recruits.
"You can see the athletes that don't play a spring sport, that don't play a winter sport — It takes a a couple weeks just to get acclimated to football," Neseth said. "Where I feel like Pierce and our other two and three sport athletes, they're much quicker to adjust and be ready to go once football does start."
The extra effort Petersohn dedicates to his sports outside of competition translates to his success.
"I just put in a little bit more work after practice with the wide receivers, just throwing and stuff like that for football," Petersohn said. "And then basketball, I do a little bit of AAU. So that's more (time spent) than any other sport that I play. And then track is kind of just in practice."
When he's not on the football field, basketball court or track, Petersohn said he likes to spend time with his friends and family and play golf.
"I live right by the golf course in town, and it's fun just to get out there and just get off screens and stuff like that, and just go outside into nature," Petersohn said.
