Watertown’s Abbi Peterson began high jumping in middle school, and her career competing in the event took her through Watertown High School and then to the NCAA Div. III level, where she competed against at nationals. This spring, she completed a bonus year, which she spent jumping at the top college level for Boston College.
Peterson excelled while at Watertown High School, placing fifth at the Indoor New Englands in 2019 as a senior, and she made it to the New Balance Outdoor Nationals that spring where she jumped 5-foot-3-inches. After graduation, she headed to Bridgewater State.
“I was in one of the classes that started college when COVID hit,” she said. “I was a freshman in college, and so eligibility-wise for athletics I had two extra years of competition left, which is why I was still able to compete for BC.”
While at Bridgewater, Peterson set the outdoor school record of 5 feet, 8 inches (1.71 meters) in 2023. She reached the NCAA Div. III Outdoor Championships in 2022 and 2023. Peterson finished 13th in 2023 with a jump of 5 foot 3.25 inches.
“After I graduated (from Bridgewater), I still had some gas in the tank, as I like to say, and I felt like I could do a little bit more,” Peterson said.
Bridgewater State Athletics High jumper Abbi Peterson made the NCAA Div. III Outdoor Championships twice while she was at Bridgewater State.
She took a year off and coached at Woburn High School, which she said was a great experience.
“That year of coaching and being really involved on the opposite side of competition, really just inspired me and made me want to pursue another level of competition,” she said. “And I also really just wanted to go back and further my education, more than anything. So I was really interested in the sports administration track for my educational goals.”
She looked around the area for colleges offering programs in that area and BC caught her eye.
“I got into the program, and I was really, really excited. So I reached out to the coaches,” Peterson said. “I basically asked if they had any availability for me to join the roster, and they said, ‘Absolutely.’ And, you know, it just started there. And it was cool. It was really an amazing experience.”
Being a member of a Div. I program was a different experience from Bridgewater. Peterson said at the Div. III level sports came second to academics, and she was able to have a variety of extracurricular activities.
“Division I is very, very competitive, I would say, in a good way,” she said. “I feel like I was pushed a little bit more to hit certain marks and excel, which I really, really enjoyed.”
At Boston College she also had access to special coaches to help her train, and sports medicine staff when she was recovering from injuries.
“I really, really enjoyed all of the Sports Med folks and the strength and training people. Those staff members were absolutely incredible when it came to needing anything throughout the year,” she said. “They were always there, specifically Sports Med. I suffered with a little bit of an ankle injury, and it felt like every step of the way they were by my side and helping me navigate it and figure it out. And so I really, really appreciated that.”
Most of the meets that Peterson competed in for BC were around New England. She noted that she traveled more with Bridgewater State. The Eagles had meets at UConn, at Harvard, and hosted some home meets at the Track at New Balance, in Brighton.
“So we had a couple of home meets there, which was really exciting, so family and friends could come and watch me compete and not travel too far,” she said.
Peterson said had hoped to reach greater heights during her encore season. She twice cleared 5 feet, 5 inches as an Eagle, once in the indoor season in December at the Track at New Balance, and once in the outdoor season at UConn.
“Personally, I don’t think that my season went exactly how I wanted it to. I wasn’t hitting the same marks that I was when I was at Bridgewater, but I just realized throughout the course of the year that while my marks matter and while my performance matters, at the end of the day it really just for me,” she said. “It was about the love of the sport, and it was a great experience to be able to continue competing.”
After completing a pair of summer courses, and an internship in the fall, Peterson will be getting her Masters of Science in Sports Administration.
“I’m making amazing connections with amazing professors and faculty, while also working with like-minded peers who understand what we want to do in the world of sport,” she said. “So for me, I’m really interested in the product line side of run specialty, whether that be shoes or apparel, I think that that’s one avenue that I’m really interested in exploring..”
Afterward, Peterson may look at working for one of the sports apparel companies in the Boston area, such as New Balance or Puma, but she has also taken an interest in track and field facilities, and has started looking into a company that makes high-end, Olympic-level tracks.
Charlie Breitrose
Abbi Peterson started jumping at Watertown Middle School and went on to be a member of the Watertown High School Track and Field team. Here she leaps during 2018 MIAA Div. 4 Outdoor Track Championships.
Peterson still remembers how her high-jumping career began as a seventh-grader at Watertown Middle School.
“I joined the track team because I needed something to keep myself busy after school, and I quickly realized that I wasn’t a huge fan of running, so I tried my hand at some field events,” she said. “I also quickly realized I wasn’t a big fan of throwing. And then I saw a bunch of kids over on the high jump oval. They were jumping and I was like, ‘I’m gonna go try that.’ I can’t really explain it, but it just clicked.”
She continued to jump in high school, and she credits the WHS coaches — Kimberly Usseglio and now-retired Tom Wittenhagen — for helping her improve.
“They really pushed me into being the best that I could be. And they really learned the event, and they coached it in a way that was just extremely enjoyable,” she said.
Peterson also has an eye for talent. One athlete that has inspired Peterson is Ukrainian high jumper.
“When I was in high school and undergrad at Bridgewater State, I followed really closely this Ukrainian high jumper named Yaroslava Mahuchikh,” she said, noting that the Ukrainian is the same age as herself. “And for the longest time, I remember talking to my teammates and saying, ‘She’s going to break the world record. She’s going to break the world record.'”
In 2024, Mahuchikh jumped 2.10 meters (6 feet, 10.67 inches), toppling one of the longest standing world records, set in 1987.
“It’s just been an amazing, amazing journey to watch her,” she said.