Montclair State University Athletics

In his first collegiate meet, Mark Arnold was a “triple-winner” helping Montclair State to a victory over rival Trenton State. By the team he swam his last collegiate meet, he would be one of the most decorated swimmers in the history of the program. A four-year member of the Red Hawks, Arnold was a five-time NCAA Division III All-American and set the school records in both the 100 and 200backstrokes. In his freshman campaign of 1992-93 he was a Metropolitan Conference finalist in the 200 and 400 medley relays and was third in the backstroke qualifying for the NCAA Championships where he would earn the first of his All-America honors. The following year, Arnold won the 200 backstroke at the Metropolitan Championships and qualified for both the 100 and 200 backstroke events at the NCAAs in Atlanta, GA where placed 15th in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:56.47. In his junior season, Arnold successfully defended his 100 backstroke title at the Metropolitan Championships and added the 200 backstroke to his resume qualifying for the NCAA Championships where he placed 13th in both events. A team captain for his final season Arnold closed out his career in fine style winning the 100 and 200 backstroke events at the Metropolitan Championships and helped two more relays to the finals as he was named the Most Valuable Swimmer of the 1996 championships. Competing in his final NCAA meet, Arnold made it four consecutive years with All-American honors as he placed sixth in the 100 backstroke with a school-record time of 52.39 seconds.