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BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech athletic department and Dave Cianelli, the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, have announced the hiring of new assistant coach and technical director Paul Zalewski. After spending the last eight years at East Carolina University, Zalewski joins the Hokies.

“I’m very excited about adding coach Zalewski to our staff here at Virginia Tech,” said Cianelli. “He brings great enthusiasm and is extremely versatile as a coach. He had great success at East Carolina University and will bring that level of accomplishment here to our program.”

During his tenure at ECU, Zalewski coached sprints, hurdles, jumps, and multi-events. He was also responsible for the coordination and implementation of all event-specific and condition training for multi-event athletes. Zalewski has coached one All-America selection and seven individual conference champions.

After earning his Master’s in Exercise and Sports Science/Biomechanics from ECU, Zalewski joined the school’s Department of Kinesiology where he served as Degree Director for the B.S. in Sports Studies and taught classes in sport management, sport sociology and coaching theories, while also continuing to coach track & field.

Prior to his time at East Carolina, Zalewski was a standout athlete for the State University of New York College at Cortland. While there, Zalewski was a four-time SUNY Athletic Conference Champion, twice in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles and twice in the 4x400-meter relay. He was also a seven-time All-Eastern College Athletic Conference selection.

“I want to thank coach Cianelli, Jim Weaver and Chris Helms for giving me such an amazing opportunity. I love this sport and to have a chance to coach full time is a dream come true,” explained Zalewski. “Virginia Tech is one of the premier track & field programs in the nation and I am humbled and honored to be apart of it. I look forward to the opportunity to help this program continue to grow and thrive not only in the ACC, but nationally.”

For updates on Virginia Tech track & field, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Track).