He wasn’t the the county’s first dual champion, but he did break new ground this year
It’s been a few years since a Whatcom County swimmer won a pair of individual state titles in the same year.
Sehome’s Cole Avery was the last to do it in 2012, when he won titles in the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley, following in the footsteps of the Mariners Austin Fish, who accomplished the same feat in 2010 and ’11.
Add Bellingham’s Brisen Pearson to that list, as he won Class 2A titles in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly in February.
“It was a dream for me, but I knew it was a dream I could accomplish if I set my mind to it, “ Pearson said after the state championships.
Not surpringly, Pearson has been selected The Bellingham Herald’s All-Whatcom County Boys’ Swimmer of the Year, becoming the first Red Raider to earn the honor.
After out touching Highline’s Tyler Goodspeed for the fastest state preliminary time in the 50 freestyle by just six hundredths of a second, Pearson, a senior, stretched it out to win by nearly a third of a second in the championships with his time of 21.19 seconds, saying he knew “I had it at my turn.”
It was a dream for me, but I knew it was a dream I could accomplish if I set my mind to it.
Bellingham swimmer Brisen Pearson
Two events later, Pearson once again went head-to-head with Goodspeed after bettering him by six hundredths of a second in the 100 fly prelims. This time he left no doubt with a title-time of 50.41 seconds – more than a second ahead of Goodspeed.
Pearson also set the Class 2A Bi-District Championship record in the 50 freestyle a week earlier with his winning time of 21.54 seconds and the meet and Anacortes pool records in the 100 butterfly with a time of 51.52 seconds in the preliminaries before just missing his own mark by five hundredths of a second a day later in winning the event.
Pearson, who will swim for Southwest Oregon Community College in Coos Bay next year, was a first-team All-Northwest Conference pick in both events.
All-Whatcom County Boys Swimmers of the Year
2005-06: Colin Flynn, Sehome
2006-07: Colin Flynn, Sehome
2007-08: Colin Flynn, Sehome
2008-09: Austin Fish, Sehome
2009-10: Austin Fish, Sehome
2010-11: Austin Fish, Sehome
2011-12: Cole Avery, Sehome
2012-13: Patrick Gregory, Sehome
2013-14: Isaiah Grambo, Sehome
2014-15: Isaiah Grambo, Sehome
2015-16: Jonathan Hegeberg, Squalicum
2016-17: Brisen Pearson, Bellingham
All-Whatcom County Boys Swimming first team
Swimmer | Event | School | Yr. |
Franz Allendorfer | 100 backstroke | Squalicum | Jr. |
Finished 21st in the 100 backstroke preliminaries at the Class 3A State Championships in 57.29 seconds ... Also finished 14th in the 100 butterfly at state in 54.72 seconds ... Selected second-team All-NWC in the 100 backstroke and third-team in the 400 freestyle relay. | |||
Rudi Berry | 100 freestyle | Sehome | Jr. |
Finished 15th in the 100 freestyle at the Class 2A State Championships in 51.83 seconds ... Swam legs on the Mariners’ fourth-place 200 freestyle relay and sixth-place 400 freestyle relay ... Selected second-team All-NWC in the 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay. | |||
Ean Chalfie | 200 freestyle | Sehome | Jr. |
Finished 16th in the 200 freestyle at the Class 2A State Championships in 1:57.04 ... Also finished 20th in the 100 freestyle preliminaries at state in 52.80 seconds ... Swam a leg on the Mariners’ sixth-place 400 freestyle relay at state ... Selected second-team All-NWC in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay and third-team in the 100 freestyle. | |||
Wilson Dierdorff | Diving | Squalicum | Sr. |
Placed sixth in diving at the Class 3A State Championships with 341.00 points ... Selected first-team All-NWC in diving. | |||
Alexander Evans | Relays | Sehome | Jr. |
Swam a leg on Sehome’s fourth-place 200 freestyle relay at the Class 2A State Championships, which finished in 1:31.86 ... Selected second-team All-NWC in the 200 freestyle relay. | |||
Eli Hill | 100 breaststroke | Blaine | Sr. |
Finished 19th in the 100 breaststroke preliminaries at the Class 2A State Championships in 1:07.17 ... Selected third-team All-NWC in the 100 breaststroke. | |||
Payton Johnson | 500 freestyle | Sehome | Jr. |
Finished 11th in the 500 freestyle at the Class 2A State Championships in 5:03.94 ... Also finished 15th in the 200 freestyle at state in 1:55.34 ... Selected first-team All-NWC in the 500 freestyle and 200 freestyle. | |||
Dean Kim | 200 individual medley | Sehome | So. |
Finished 11th in the 200 IM at the Class 2A Bi-District Championships in 2:16.36 ... Swam a leg on the Mariner’s 11th-place 200 medley relay at state ... Selected second-team All-NWC in the 200 medley relay. | |||
David Leung | 100 butterfly | Sehome | Sr. |
Finished 11th in the 100 butterfly at the Class 2A State Championships in 54.16 seconds ... Swam legs on the Mariners’ fourth-place 200 freestyle relay, sixth-place 400 freestyle relay and 11th-place 200 medley relay at state ... Selected second-team All-NWC in all three relays. | |||
Christopher Lo | Relays | Sehome | Sr. |
Swam a leg on Sehome’s 11th-place 200 medley relay at the Class 2A State Championships, which finished in 1:46.27 ... Selected second-team All-NWC in the 200 medley relay. | |||
Brian Whitney | 50 freestyle | Sehome | Sr. |
Placed fifth in the 50 freestyle at the Class 2A State Championships in 22.43 seconds ... Swam legs on the Mariners’ fourth-place 200 freestyle relay, sixth-place 400 freestyle relay and 11th-place 200 medley relay at state ... Selected third-team All-NWC in the 50 freestyle and second-team in all three relays. | |||
This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "He wasn’t the the county’s first dual champion, but he did break new ground this year."