Bio

The Tartans’ only three-time NCAA Champion in men’s swimming, Chris Pearson earned 12 individual All-America honors and 14 All-America honors as part of a relay during his four-year career from 2001 to 2005. Pearson was a two-time College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American including being named CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in the Men’s At-Large College Division in 2005. He then became the first Carnegie Mellon student-athlete to win a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Pearson led the men’s swimming and diving program to its four best finishes in NCAA history. In his senior season, Pearson won two of his national championships (200-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle) to lead the Tartans to a sixth-place finish at the 2005 NCAA Division III Championships. His first national title came in 2004 in the 200-yard freestyle when the Tartans finished third nationally as a team, the highest in program history. Among his 26 All-America honors were 15 top-three finishes on the national stage. Additionally, Pearson was a two-time University Athletic Association (UAA) Athlete of the Year, UAA Rookie of the Year and won 17 UAA titles (individual and relays), including the 200- and 500-yard freestyles all four years. Fifteen years later, Pearson continues to hold the school records in both freestyle events.