A JBU Running Legacy

BY CHERISSA ROEBUCK ’01

For the past four decades, one family name has become synonymous with excellence in the JBU track and field program. The Pearsons have been setting records and winning national titles in Golden Eagle track and field since 1983.

From Matt Pearson ’85, who earned John Brown University’s second-ever individual national championship in 1983, to his daughter, Allika, who became the first athlete in JBU program history to earn three All-America first team distinctions, the Pearsons have built a four-decade running legacy at JBU.

When Matt Pearson came to JBU as a freshman in 1981, he was no stranger to John Brown University. His dad, Jim Pearson, was an engineering professor who would go on to teach 42 years at JBU.

“I grew up as a JBU ‘faculty brat,’ so campus was home to me,” Pearson said. “As a young boy, I came to know Jesus in the basement of the cathedral when JBU still held Sunday school and church services on campus.”

By the time Matt graduated from Siloam Springs High School in 1981, he had made a name for himself as a track and field star, running the 800-yard, one-mile, two-mile and twomile relay. He was the 3A state champion in the two-mile and held the state record for his time in the two-mile his senior year. Today, more than 40 years later, he still holds the Siloam Springs High School program record for the two-mile event.

Although he had garnered some interest from larger college track programs like the University of Kansas and the University of Mississippi, Matt chose to stay close to home at JBU.

In Matt’s freshman year in 1981, JBU had just reinstated their cross country and track and field teams. Matt worked hard to help build the program. By his senior year, JBU was able to field a full team in cross country and finished fifth at the National Christian College Athletic Association’s national meet.

“Ed Renfrow was a great coach,” Pearson said. “He taught us about the intricacies of training and how to be wellprepared for competition. He was also a pilot, so we flew to meets in Wisconsin, Michigan and central Arkansas.”

During his four years at JBU, Pearson racked up an impressive list of athletic accolades. He was a three-time NCCAA cross country All-American and two-time national champion in cross country in 1982-1984, NCCAA AllAmerican and national champion in track in 1985, and NAIA All-American between cross country in 1984. He was named JBU Athlete of the Year in both 1984 and 1985

before graduating from JBU with his degree in building construction. In 2014, Pearson was inducted into the JBU Golden Eagle Hall of Fame.

Although Matt continued his running career after college, he said that his years at JBU impacted his life outside of athletics.

“My experience at JBU gave me confidence, determination, patience and a drive for achievement, all within the sphere of God’s sovereign hand,” he said. “It also fostered friendships and a sense of community that has lasted to this day, such a valuable gift to have as life intensifies.”

Even as Matt pursued his architecture career, married his wife Kirsten and began to build their family, Matt stayed connected with JBU athletics. He coached the JBU cross country team from 2010-2012, which gave him a new perspective on the sport and the importance of building a team.

One of Pearson’s favorite places to be is in the stands, where he and Kirsten love cheering on their children, Elliott and Allika, who have carried on the Pearson running legacy.

Elliott Pearson ’20 was an all-state cross country and track and field runner for Siloam Springs High School, running primarily the twomile and one-mile events. He earned two individual state championships in his senior year of high school.

He came to JBU in the fall of 2016, eager to continue his running career as a Golden Eagle. He ran his freshman season of cross country at JBU and had started the track season in the spring when a back injury cut his collegiate running career short. The news came as a huge disappointment to the JBU freshman.

Even though his injuries kept him from running, Elliott continued to be a close and active member of the team throughout his years at JBU. By the time he graduated in 2020 with a graphic design degree, his coach and teammates had left an indelible mark on his life.

“My entire perspective on running, and more importantly, life, has been set on a different course because of JBU’s cross country program,” Elliott said. “JBU laid the foundation for meeting my wife, for having the tools to start a business, and for discovering and exploring the world that God has put before us.” In 2018, another Pearson donned the Golden Eagle singlet — Allika Pearson. In the last four years, she has accumulated an extensive list of athletic accolades. Allika was an all-state runner at Siloam Springs High School, where she holds the school record in the 1600-meter, before joining the Golden Eagles cross country and track and field teams. She has set JBU program records in a slew of events, including the mile, 3000-meter and the 5000-meter in indoor track, and the 1500-meter, 5000-meter and the 10,000-meter in outdoor track. Allika won back-to-back Sooner Athletic Conference individual cross country championships in 2020 and 2021. She also owns the cross country program record and eight

“My experience at JBU gave me of the program’s top fastest times ever. confidence, determination, patience Allika holds two Alland a drive for achievement all within America distinctions in cross country from 2020 and the sphere of God’s sovereign hand 2021. In March, she became the first JBU student-athlete .... It also fostered friendships and a to earn All-America honors in indoor track and field. In sense of community that has lasted to late May, she has a chance to garner a fourth All-America this day, such a valuable gift to have title which would make her one of only three athletes to as life intensifies.” do so in JBU history. Graduating with a degree in kinesiology in May and planning to attend grad school to study sports nutrition, Allika credits her teammates and head coach Scott Schochler with helping her to truly learn to love her sport and to reach her full potential as an athlete. Just like her dad and her brother, Allika firmly believes that her training as a Golden Eagle has impacted her life in ways that go far deeper than athletic competition. “I have practiced in literally all weather conditions and have pushed my body close to its physical limits. My teammates and I have gained a significant amount of grit and that’s going to get us through a lot of tough stuff,” Allika said. “As running is an endurance sport, we’re in the training for the long haul, but we endure because we are working toward a goal. Life is a long haul. It’s hard, it takes patience, it takes enjoyment of the process, it has moments where you will shine and moments when you will fall, but you do it because you have a goal … to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”