Paul Benedict is the director of Buckeye Sports Camps at Ohio State. Prior to joining the Ohio State staff, he worked as the head track and field/cross country coach at Ohio Dominican University. He has also spent time working at an accounting firm in Columbus.
Benedict completed eight seasons as Ohio Dominican’s track and field coach and 10 seasons as the head men’s and women’s cross country coach at the school. He spearheaded the addition of track and field to the ODU Department of Athletics in 2011-2012.
The 2008 Midlands/Independent Conference Coach of the Year, he coached two national qualifiers and his student-athletes met 18 NCAA Division II national provisional marks. Since joining the GLIAC in 2010-11, the cross country and track and field programs received numerous conference honors. Cross country totaled 78 GLIAC Academic Excellence awards for posting a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 or higher, while the program has also received 29 GLIAC All-Academic honors for cumulative GPAs of 3.00-3.49.The track and field program garnered 55 GLIAC Academic Excellence awards and a total of 41 individuals received GLIAC All-Academic honors as well.
A Columbus area native, Benedict graduated from Westerville South High School in 2001 and has stayed active in the local running community as an OHSAA and NCAA cross country and track official. He received his bachelor of arts degree in business at Muskingum College in 2005 and earned his master of science degree in sport management from Ohio Dominican in 2015.
Benedict, who has completed the Ironman and qualified to run in the 2011 Boston Marathon, and his wife Bethany have two children, Ruby and Ellis, and live in Pataskala, Ohio.