Cam Peel Bringing New Level of Speed, Leadership to Michigan Wolverines

Photo Courtesy: Dan D'Addona

Michigan’s Cam Peel comes from a pretty strong swimming pedigree.

His father Rob Peel was an NCAA Division III champion at Hope College and finished sixth at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in the 50 freestyle at the age of 30.

His older sister Meg Peel was an NCAA Division III runnerup at Hope before transferring to Alabama, where she became a top-10 performer all-time with the Tide in the 200 backstroke.

Now a senior at Michigan, Cam Peel is starting to reach a new level of speed, building off of what he accomplished at the NCAA Championships last year. Peel finished in the top-16 in the 50 freestyle in 2021 and was a key relay swimmer for the Wolverines the past two seasons. He is hoping to finish his career with an extra burst of speed.

“I want to be proud of our team and where we are at the end of the year, and defend Canham,” Cam Peel told Swimming World.

Defending Canham refers to Michigan’s Canham Natatorium, where the Big Ten Championships will take place this season.

That goal set shows his leadership with Michigan, a school that prides itself on “The team, the team, the team.” Peel was selected as a captain this season.

“For the leadership aspect, I think Michigan really developed that with the old guard (when I was an underclassman),” he said.

Michigan coach Mike Bottom has been pleased with Peel’s growth, especially on the mental side of things.

“Cam is one of our captains. We are really proud of him,” Bottom said. “He is learning that everything is not perfect. It is a matter of change, and working through that change to be a champion.”

Peel said that growth started in high school. He was a Michigan state champion and Division 3 state record-holder at Spring Lake High School and reached new heights when he joined Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics, a powerhouse club that has trained NCAA Division I All-Americans Chris DeJong, Courtney Bartholomew, Derek Maas, Taylor Garcia, Emily Bos, Eric Solis and Tabahn Afrik, as well as Division II national champions Skyler Cook-Weeks and Parker Cook-Weeks.

“A lot of hard swimming (has gotten me to where I am now),” Cam Peel said. “It sounds cheesy, but when I think about my swim career, I think about when I started at Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics in high school. That set the absolute base from where I am now. I came in to MLA and looked up to Ian Miskelley, Skyler Cook-Weeks, Spencer Carl. They were so fun to watch and set the tone for how hard I worked every day.”

That has led Cam Peel to be a captain of the Wolverines and a shot at finishing his career as an All-American sprinter.

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