Fresno State alumna Chantea McIntyre is now a triple crown pageant winner after being crowned Ms. World America in Miami in late August. 

McIntyre has previously held the titles of Mrs. California, Miss Fresno County and Miss Tulare County.

Her latest accolade, Ms. World America, promotes tourism, philanthropy and personal growth. 

“It’s about a well rounded woman, it’s not just about who is the prettiest or who has the most expensive dress,” McIntyre said. “You have to be able to communicate, have a decent physique, be able to be passionate about something and explain it clearly.”

She competed for four days in events that consisted of beauty, interview, fashion, career and philanthropy. 

This specific pageant was unique because there were 56 contestants in total, but they varied in age with contestants ranging anywhere from 20 to 50 years old. 

“I wanted to see if I could compete against a 20-year-old and look like I belong.” McIntyre said. “Again, I’m really competitive.” 

Her competitiveness stems from her athletic nature and upbringing. She grew up in San Bernardino, a suburb community located in Southern California’s Inland Empire located an hour away from Los Angeles. 

As McIntyre’s skills progressed, she received all kinds of offers from schools but decided to commit to Fresno State.

As a student athlete at Fresno State, her schedule was packed full of practices, conditioning, games, study halls and classes. Still, McIntyre managed to find time to participate in some traditional Fresno State events. 

“Football games were so much fun,” McIntyre said. “I remember going in the incredible heat of August and September and then freezing our butts off in November and October.”  

Another event McIntyre always looked forward to was Vintage Days. 

“I remember going after the season, dragging my sore knees or sore back from the basketball court to Vintage Days and getting cotton candy,” McIntyre said. 

However, a sore back and sore knees were the least of her worries as she had multiple injuries throughout her basketball career such as tearing her ACL and breaking her shin. 

McIntyre had been a starter on the Fresno State Women’s Basketball Team since her freshman year and had worked her way up to team captain as a senior.

“Sweat. Bleed. Bulldog. Basketball,” McIntyre said.

During her senior year, injuries forced her to sit on the bench for most of the season. As the season progressed, she realized that pursuing basketball as a career post-college was not going to be an option.

“It was a very humbling journey. I felt like my identity [before] was solely a basketball player but at Fresno State I realized there was more to me than just this sport,” McIntyre said. 

Through this realization, she found something else that wasn’t so hard on her body but would give her the kind of competition she craved. 

“That’s when I entered my first pageant and I won,” McIntyre said. 

McIntyre won Miss Fresno County in 2004 after learning a song on the harp and performing it in the talent section. 

The following year she had another win, this time as Miss Tulare County. Her talent for this pageant was choreographed and included a basketball medley with some added transitions.

“Pageantry is a different animal, there are mental aspects and preparation,” McIntyre said, “and you can still workout and see the benefit of working out.”

Her most challenging title to win was Mrs. California. She competed and lost in Mrs. California her first go around. 

“It was a different rhythm,” McIntyre said. “I was embarrassed about how terribly I did, so I treated it like a basketball game.” 

She ended up hiring coaches, working with film and continuously asking herself how she could be good at this specific competition. 

McIntyre said she felt better about her performance in her second attempt, and ended up winning first place and became the 2014 title holder. During the championship, she faced personal struggles with infertility.

On that same night, she finalized the adoption for her son, but fate had some unexpected plans to throw her way. 

As she moved up to the Mrs. United States pageant, she found out she was pregnant with her third child and ended up ranking 4th runner up while in her first trimester. 

As her life progressed and with the help of a bachelor’s degree in business entrepreneurship, and a master’s in education, she became an administrator for Fresno Unified School District. 

She worked at Fresno Unified School District for 15 years before deciding to quit to pursue her passion for pageantry full time, as well as being a mother of four. 

With her husband and college sweetheart, Micheal McIntyre, and her four children, McIntyre was ready to start her trek to Ms. World America.

However, after she quit, COVID-19 struck, and the competition was canceled until further notice. That didn’t stop McIntyre, and as a mother she was able to stay busy until the time came to compete again. 

That time came in August, and after four days of competition in Miami, she won once again. 

This time, she became a three crown winner, which meant she won at least once in Miss pageants where you can’t be married; Mrs. pageants where you have to be married,; and now Ms. pageants. 

McIntyre described her pageant experiences in a few words: unorthodox, purposeful and both fun and competitive.

It was unorthodox because “I came straight from the basketball court to pageantry,” McIntyre said. 

Purposeful, because she always had a cause to champion, such as advocacy for others who have or are struggling with infertility through her own experiences.

As for fun and competitive?

“Those for me are synonymous,” McIntyre said. 

With her devotion to competition, McIntyre plans on continuing down the path of pageantry, her next stop being Ms. World International. 

Since the Ms. World America and Ms. World International competition happened at the same time this year, McIntyre was able to see the kind of women she will be pitted against. 

“Seeing the international side … I’m excited to compete,” McIntyre said.