Paul Deaton  |
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| Ford Gym | |
| 706-290-2147 | |
| P.O. Box 495015 | |
| Faculty Load | |
Paul Deaton began coaching at Berry as an assistant women's running coach in the fall of 1991, working with Dr. Bob Pearson. He was named the head coach of the men's cross country and track teams in the fall of 1992, and head coach of the women's running teams in the fall of 1996. Since he has been a head coach at Berry, Deaton has had 11 runners earn 23 athletic All-American honors and ten runners earn 27 academic All-American awards. He has coached eight men's teams that have qualified for the NAIA National Cross Country Championships, with the 1993 Vikings finishing 11th in the country. He has also led six women's teams to the NAIA National Cross Country Championships, with the Lady Vikings taking back-to-back fifth place finishes in 1996 and 1997. The women's team placed 23rd at the national championships last year, while the men finished 23rd at the 2000 NAIA Championships.
Deaton has been named Conference Coach of the Year six times, State Coach of the Year four times, Regional Coach of the Year four times, and District Coach of the Year once. A four-year letter winner as a runner at Berry, Deaton earned All-America honors in the men's marathon at the 1991 NAIA Outdoor Track National Championships. He continues to compete in races, placing 126th at the 100th running of the Boston Marathon in 1996. He won the 1997 Tybee Island Marathon, the 1997, 1998, and 2000 Atlanta Marathon, and the 1999 Humpy's Classic Marathon in Alaska.
Deaton earned his bachelor of science degree in accounting from Berry, and his master's degree in exercise science from Georgia State University. He is married to the former Jody Carey of Lexington, Ga., and they have a five-year-old son, Jared, and an 18-month-old son, John Prosser.