Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Paul Zavala

Phone: 312-935-4551

Email: pzavala@robertmorris.edu

When Jim Fuller retired after last season--his 27th in coaching--he turned the reins of the Robert Morris Cross Country program over to one of his own products, Paul Zavala.

Coach Zavala was promoted to the Eagle Harrier helm after a great career in the Maroon & Gold.  As a freshman he garnered the Newcomer of the Year award before twice earning Most Valuable Player honors.  He also won the prestigious Eagle Award, given each year to the student-athlete who best personifies the ideals of intercollegiate athletics and the University.

He was a four-time All-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference honoree, a three-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-Region runner, and the CCAC Freshman of the Year.  He also qualified for the NAIA National Meet.

While pursuing his Master of Business Administration, he was Coach Fuller's graduate assistant and then served two seasons as the program's number-one assistant.

Besides his RMU experience, Coach Zavala has worked as an assistant at Morton College (IL) and at his prep alma mater, Argo Community High School in Summit, IL.

"Our goal is see every athlete earn his or her degree while competing at the highest possible level as a runner," says Coach Zavala.  "Our first recruiting class is outstanding, and it really gives a basis to move the program forward."

Contact Coach Zavala at 312-935-4551 or via email at pzavala@robertmorris.edu.

Assistant Coach: Arturs Bareikis

Arturs Bareikis is beginning his debut season as an assistant for the Men's and Women’s Cross Country teams. A native of Latvia who currently resides in Oak Forest, IL, graduated in 2007 from Robert Morris University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.

Bareikis has a wide range of experience in college running career. He started his stellar career by running for Saint Xavier University and assisted his team to qualify to NAIA Nationals for first time in school history. Bareikis then competed for Robert Morris for two years, where he earned All-American academic status as an athlete. Last year he completed his collegiate running career at Chicago State University and competed well at the NCAA Division 1 level.

In High School Bareikis set Tinley Park school record in the two mile with a time of 9:36 which broke 40 year old record set in 1965. He was a 2-time conference champion in both cross country and track and field.

Bareikis also coaches at Tinley Park High School where he has been the girls distance coach for 4 years. Bareikis brings great running experience and passion for the sport which will assist us to become a top-notch cross country program for years to come. Bareikis is also a Level 1 USA Track and Field coach. He is excited for this season as he believes this is a special group of athletes that have dedicated themselves tremendously and bring the right attitude to practice every day.  “You must realize one thing," he says. "In every little village in the world there are great potential champions who only need motivation, development and good exercise evaluation."