Cross Country Staff

Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach

Email: shawn.marek@salem.edu

Office Phone: 336-917-5365 

Shawn Marek is Salem College’s Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach. After his first year at the helm, Marek coached his cross country athletes to a 2nd place finish in the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) Championships, with all Salem athletes racing to their personal best times. He also coached two student-athletes to the All-Conference Team and one to the All-Freshman Team.

In the 2009 NCAA Division III South/Southeast Regional Championships, Salem avenged its conference loss to Huntingdon College and finished as the top GSAC team in the meet and the top team from the state of North Carolina. The 2009 cross country team will also be named as 2009 NCAA Division III U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Women’s All-Academic Team, with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.618.

Marek attended Saint Bonaventure University, in Olean, New York, majored in Physical Education, and ran four years as an NCAA Division I athlete in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Since his college career, Marek has completed four marathons, three times qualifying for the Boston Marathon in the fastest time bracket. Marek recently won the 2010 North Carolina Half Marathon in High Point and finished the 2010 Boston Marathon in the top 1.8%. He continues to race competitively throughout the year.

Currently, Marek teaches Physical Education at Latham Elementary in downtown Winston-Salem, and has been a teacher for over ten years. Marek also has his Masters Degree in Sport Administration, and is a USA Track and Field Certified Coach and a USA Weightlifting Sport Performance Certified Coach.

Prior to Salem College, Marek was the Assistant Coach for the Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field teams at Cheektowaga Central in Buffalo, NY. During his tenure, he coached various athletes to extensive personal improvements in order to qualify for Section 6 and even New York State Championships. He also coached Varsity Outdoor Track and Field in the Manchester-Shortsville Central School District, in Manchester, New York. Marek has excelled in running from a very young age, running Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field in seventh grade at Franklin Academy, a high school that was consistently ranked as a top running high school in New York State; and competed in the New York State Cross Country Championships freshman through senior year.

Marek lives in Winston-Salem with his wife, Janele, their boxer, Maggie, and cat, Millie.

Education: Master of Science in Sport Administration, Canisius College

Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, Saint Bonaventure University

Coaching Experience: Cheektowaga Central High School, Manchester-Shortsville Central School District

Coaching Certification: USA Track and Field Level I Certified Coach

USA Weightlifting Sport Performance Certified Coach

Janele Marek

Assistant Cross Country and Track & Field

Coach Janele Marek is Assistant Cross Country and Track & Field Coach for Salem College.

Marek has been involved as an athlete in Cross Country and Track and Field for over 20 years. While at Kutztown University, a NCAA Division II institution in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, Marek competed for four years on the Varsity Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field teams, in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. She was a school record holder on the Indoor 4x800 and Distance Medley relay teams, an All-ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) performer in the 4x800, and a member of the 1997 and 2000 PSAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship Teams.

Marek’s primary event in Outdoor Track & Field in college was 400 intermediate hurdles, where she finished in the top-eight for multiple years in the Conference. Marek was also a PSAC Scholar-Athlete (1996-2000) and a member of KU’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Academic All-American Cross Country Teams (1996, 1998, 1999) and Outdoor Track and Field Team (1998). The 1996 Outdoor Track & Field Team was also named as one of Kutztown University’s “Top Teams of the Century”. Following her collegiate career, she moved to Lake Placid, New York, to work as the Marketing Assistant with the USA Luge team and slid skeleton. Marek currently works as an Account Director at Woodbine, a brand revitalization agency in downtown Winston-Salem. Marek was honored in 2010 by The Triad Business Journal as one of the "40 Leaders Under Forty" for her business and volunteer achievements.

She lives in Winston-Salem, with her husband, Shawn, their boxer, Maggie, and cat, Millie.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Marketing, Kutztown University

Professional Groups: Member of USA Track & Field