Cross Country
- Title:
- Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
- Email:
- clpearso@ncsu.edu
- Phone:
- (919) 515-1113
Chad Pearson joined the Wolfpack at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. He serves as both an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator for the track & field and cross country programs. Pearson joined the Wolfpack from UNCG, where he served as the head coach for eight seasons (2013-2021).
In 2020, Pearson led the UNCG men’s and women’s cross country programs to a fourth-place finish each at the SoCon Cross Country Championships. Three Spartan men and three women placed in the top 25 in their respective races, helping the men’s squad earn 114 points while the women’s team compiled 140 points.
The 2019 cross country season saw UNCG’s women place third at the SoCon Cross Country Championships (91) while the men placed fifth. The meet was highlighted by three Second Team All-SoCon honors, two on the men’s side and one on the women’s.
Pearson’s squad posted a successful 2018-19 track season with members of the team combining for 11 SoCon All-Freshman honors between the indoor and outdoor seasons, and four of those accolades came in the indoor 5,000m. The cross country team additionally placed two men on the All-SoCon freshman team in the 2018 season.
The 2016-17 year included two All-SoCon selections for the Spartan women in addition to a SoCon All-Freshman Team honoree.
In the 2015-16 season, both the men's and women's programs saw growth under Pearson. He guided then-freshman Kathleen Mansure to a competition slot at the 2016 Pan American Cross Country Meet, making her the first member of the UNCG program to tab a spot at the meet.
The women's cross country team placed third at the SoCon Championships in 2015, an accomplishment that was highlighted by then-freshman Kathleen Mansure’s fourth-place finish. Under Pearson’s guidance that season, Mansure garnered SoCon Freshman of the Year laurels. Overall, the Spartans garnered three All-SoCon accolades for the 2015 cross country season alongside an All-Freshman honor.
Pearson was named interim head coach of the Spartans program for the 2013-14 season, and his stint as head coach kicked off with Spartan standout Paul Chelimo’s third-straight individual cross country title. The men’s program finished fourth in the 2013 SoCon Cross Country Championships. A pair of Spartan men, including Chelimo, competed at the NCAA Southeast Regional and moved on to run at the NCAA Championships. The Spartan women placed third at the SoCon Championship with three top-10 finishes.
On the track in 2014, Shaina Sumney won a SoCon Individual Championship with a win in the indoor 5,000m. Sumney and her sister, Chelsea Sumney, placed second at the SoCon Outdoor Championships that year.
Pearson began as an assistant coach at UNCG in 2012, helping the program win three SoCon individual titles and garner two All-America honors. He assisted with a pair of runner-up performances at the 2013 outdoor track & field national championships in addition to Chelimo’s second individual SoCon cross country title.
Pearson additionally worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Charlotte (2012) and North Carolina State (2010-11). He returned to NC State as a graduate assistant from 2004-2006, working with both the cross country and track and field programs.
A graduate of NC State, Pearson garnered three All-American distinctions in cross country and track & field. He was a part of back-to-back ACC cross country team championships for the Wolfpack men and garnered two All-ACC cross country honors over the course of his career. Pearson remains the school record-holder in the outdoor 10,000m with a time of 28:37.95.
