Fifth year senior Jill Peterson came to Cornerstone eager to strengthen her faith with no plans of playing any sports, but she ended up not only playing one, but two sports.

Peterson started playing softball when she was 6 years old and shortly after she joined a basketball team.

“My parents signed me up to play and I cried,” Peterson said. “That’s the only sport in my entire career that they’ve ever signed me up for or made me do.”

Playing two sports is not as busy of a schedule for Peterson compared to the four sports she played in high school: basketball, softball, volleyball and track.

“I went to two track practices in my entire career,” Peterson said. “The coaches were like, ‘just come to the meets,’ so I would practice softball for an hour and a half, run down high jump and long jump and do that other stuff ,and run back to softball practice. It worked.”

When faced with playing either softball or basketball at CU, Peterson was going to choose basketball until things worked out so she could play both. But during Peterson’s junior year, she blew out her knee, and playing two sports on an injured knee became impossible. But three months after the pain subsided, she was able to continue playing both.

“For a while, I gave up basketball. I wasn’t planning on playing this year,” Peterson said. “Over the summer I decided I’d just do softball because of that [knee surgery].”

Coach Jim Farrell is glad to have Peterson on the softball team. However, he is a little jealous of having to share Peterson.

“Jill is a very talented player,” Farrell said. “I’ve always had a little grudge with her love for basketball. She’s never been able to work with us in a preseason, and when the basketball team does well, like this year, they go to nationals. She misses out on our first 12 games in Arizona, and it’s a little disappointing.”

Being part of two teams has many disadvantages.

“Worst part about my college experience is having to split my time, more so than blowing out my knee,” Peterson said. “When my softball team leaves, I have to say goodbye, and it’s awful.”

Peterson was not planning on playing sports when she decided to attend Cornerstone.

“I just visited the school and liked it,” Peterson said. “My youth group leader’s son went here, so [the leader] spoke highly of the school, and I liked the environment. I liked that God can be the center of everything. In public school, it’s not that way. It’s not in the classroom. I went to public schools, so it was just with my group of friends. Whereas here, God is at the center of academics and athletics. He is just everywhere you go.”

Farrell has seen the things Peterson has contributed to the softball team, and said she is a valuable player. Her sophomore year she was All-Conference, and she also hit a homerun that helped beat Madonna in the regional finals. It also helped the team get to nationals.

“As a senior, she’s been through an awful lot with her knee injuries and surgeries,” Farrell said. “She’s matured a lot, and she sees things on a different level than most people do.”

Because of blowing out her knee, she’s learned to appreciate the talent and gift that she has.

“She understands the gift that it is to be able to play and compete,” Farrell said. “She plays with a passion that a lot of people don’t. A lot of people that have talent take it for granted that they’ll have it tomorrow and it’s no big deal. She takes it as though this could be the last day, and so every time she goes out, she plays with that kind of intensity.”