LANCASTER, Pa. – Gettysburg College swimmer and recent graduate Oliver Pickering (Millburn, N.J./Millburn) took home the honor of Centennial Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the first Gettysburg student-athlete to ever earn the distinction.
 
The Centennial recognizes a Scholar-Athlete of the Year in each of its 24 championship sports to a junior or senior member of the All-Conference team with the highest cumulative grade point average. The overall Scholar-Athletes of the Year are presented to the student with the highest GPA among the 12 men and 12 women's winners.
 
He is the first student-athlete from Gettysburg College named the overall Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the men or women.
 
Pickering topped the list of men's winners with a GPA north of 4.0 over the course of his four years as a biochemistry and molecular biology major. Just last week, he became the first member of the men's swimming program to earn Academic All-District First Team recognition from College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and he's eligible for the Academic All-America team, which will be announced in mid-June.
 
Academically, Pickering was among Gettysburg's elite and received a number of awards during the recent Commencement for the Class of 2022. In addition to receiving departmental honors in his major, he was named Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude. He received the Charles W. Beachem Athletic Award and the Margaret E. Fisher Memorial Award. The Beachem Award goes to a male senior on the basis of character, scholarship, and athletic achievement, while the Fisher Award is awarded to a male student who excels in one or more varsity sports and who achieves the highest academic average among winners of varsity letters.
 
Pickering's scholarly exploits as a Gettysburg student included publishing work in evolutionary biology after working with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama as part of a research lab managed by biology Prof. Alex Trillo in 2019. Following his time as a research lab assistant alongside chemistry Prof. Katherine Buettner, he presented his thesis work in bioinorganic chemistry at the American Chemical Society during the 2022 Symposium in San Diego. Pickering was also nominated as the 2022 General Chemistry Peer Learning Assistant of the Year. He was a PLA in biology, chemistry and genetics and was named the 2021 Teaching Assistant of the Year in organic chemistry in 2021.
 
Pickering ended his pool career on a high note by earning a silver medal in the 200-yard butterfly for the second time in his career at the 2022 CC Championship. He also made the conference finals in the 200 IM and 400 IM and helped the 800 freestyle relay grab bronze with a third-place showing. He was named All-CC Honorable Mention for the second time in his career thanks to his runner-up performance in the 200 fly.
 
A team co-captain this season, Pickering's versatility in the water landed him in the program's top 10 in six different events, including records in both the 200 fly (1:51.86) and 400 IM (4:05.05). He also ranks among the program's all-time leaders in the 1,000 free (7th, 10:02.49), 1,650 free (9th, 16:36.69), 200 IM (4th, 1:53.61), and 100 fly (6th, 51.08).
 
Out of the pool and classroom, Pickering was involved in a number of extracurricular activities on campus and in the local community. He was a radio show host on the college radio station, treasurer for the Skeptical Chemist club, a volunteer swim instructor for casa de la cultura, and a volunteer EMT with Adams County EMS.
 
Pickering intends to work as a clinical research coordinator before applying to medical school.