Meet the Coaches
Dan Dziubski
FOUNDER & HEAD COACH
Walter Payton Co-Head Boys Cross Country Coach
Walter Payton Head Boys Track & Field Coach
Chicago Firefighter / EMT
Coach Dziubski ran high school Cross Country and Track at York High School in Elmhurst and was part of 3 state championship teams in xc and track. Continued to run middle distance at the University of Iowa where he earned his BA in Health Promotion. Earned a Masters in Physical Education from North Park in 2020. 19 years experience coaching high school cross country, including 4 years at York High school as part of multiple state championship teams and one national championship team. He enters his 6th year as head coach at Payton following a string of record setting years. Coached the 2024 2A Team Cross Country State Champions, and back to back 4x800 State championships. The 2024 4x800 team broke the State Record and earned Outdoor All-American status finishing 5th in the nation. Coached 13x All-State Performances in track and xc, 9x City Champion performances, 2x track Sectional Team Championships, 2x XC Regional Team Championships, a Cross Country Sectional Championship, and a City Team Championship in 2024 for the first time in school history. Named 2024 ITCCCA 2A Cross Country Coach of the Year along side Coach Adam Palumbo.
Adam Palumbo
HEAD COACH
Walter Payton Co-Head Boys Cross Country Coach
Walter Payton Assistant Boys Track & Field Coach
Network Process Manager AT&T
Coach Palumbo ran high school Cross Country and Track at York High School, was a multiple time all-state athlete in xc and track. He was part of the 1999 York team which is ranked the #1 high school cross country team in Illinois history and ranked the #2 team in US history. He ran 14:34 at Detweiller and owns a mile PR 4:05. Adam went on to run at The University of Illinois were he was team captain. Adam coached cross country at Whitney Young for 3 seasons. He holds a marathon PR of 2:38. He enters his third season at Walter Payton and was an instrumental part of Payton's record breaking cross country season in 2021. Coached the 2024 2A Team Cross Country State Champions, and back to back 4x800 State championships. The 2024 4x800 team broke the State Record and earned Outdoor All-American status finishing 5th in the nation. Named 2024 ITCCCA 2A Cross Country Coach of the Year along side Coach Dan Dziubski.