Kristen Pritchett, a 14-time All-American swimmer,
enters her second season as an assistant coach with the Wyoming swimming
program in 2017-18.
Prior to Wyoming, Pritchett spent three years as an
assistant coach at the University of Missouri. During her tenure there,
Pritchett was part of the most successful seasons Mizzou Swimming &
Diving’s had seen up to that point. During Pritchett’s time at Missouri, the
men’s and women’s teams recorded their highest ever NCAA finishes and greatest
number of individual qualifiers in program history. In her last
year with the Tigers, both programs notched program-best NCAA finishes as the
men placed eighth and the women 11th at the 2016 NCAA Championships. Fabian
Schwingenschlogl won Mizzou’s first-ever individual NCAA title as he claimed
top honors in the 100 breaststroke. Additionally, six total swimmers claimed
first team All-America honors at the 2016 NCAA Championships. In
addition, over the course of 2015 and 2016, three Tiger swimmers were selected
to the US National Team.
A backstroke and freestyle specialist, Pritchett attended
Texas A&M and claimed 14 All-America honors in her swimming career. As a
junior at the NCAA Championships, she placed third in both the 200 back and 500
free at the NCAA Championships and helped the Aggies to a fourth-place team
finish. As a senior in 2010, Pritchett took sixth in both the 200 back and 500
free at the NCAA Championships. She was named the Big 12 Conference
Swimmer of the Year as a sophomore in 2007 and won five individual conference
crowns, three in the 200 back (2007, 2008 and 2010) and two in the 500 free
(2007 and 2010).
Pritchett placed 5th at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in
the 200 backstroke and took first in the 200 free and second in both the 400
free and 200 back at the 2008 U.S. Open.
On an international level, Pritchett was a member of the
U.S. National Swimming Team from Sept. 2008 - Sept. 2010 and was the captain of
the 2009 World University Games team. At the 2009 World University Games, she
earned silver medals in the 200 back and 400 free, a bronze medal in the 200
free and was the anchor for the gold medal-winning 800 free relay team.
Pritchett earned a Master of Positive Psychology and
Coaching from the University of Missouri in 2016, a Master of Real Estate
Finance in 2010 from Texas A&M, and a bachelor's in finance from Texas
A&M in 2009. The former Kristen Heiss, she married Christian Pritchett in
August 2014.