Pepperdine University Athletics

Karoly Varga served as an assistant coach for the Pepperdine cross country team during fall 2018.

Varga recently worked during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons as an assistant coach at San Diego State.

Among Varga’s highlights at San Diego State were three victories during the 2015 cross country season. He coached one runner to a school record in the 800 meters and a spot in the 2016 NCAA West Regional, and another to fourth place on the school’s steeplechase list.

He previously spent four seasons (2011-12 through 2014-15) as an assistant coach at Louisiana-Monroe. He was named the Louisiana Cross Country Coach of the Year after guiding the men’s team to its first regional ranking in program history.

Varga also had coaching stints at FH Club in Iceland from 2008-10 (volunteer track coach), Western State in 2006 (volunteer cross country coach), Louisiana Tech in 2005-06 (volunteer cross country and track coach) and Cedar Creek High School in 2005-06 (assistant distance coach).

He attended Louisiana Tech, and graduated with degrees in business management in 2005 and accounting in 2006. He was a standout runner for the Bulldogs, taking second place in the 1,500 meters at the 2004 Western Athletic Conference Championship and being a finalist in the event in 2003 and 2005. He also competed at multiple NCAA Regional Cross Country Championships.

A native of Hungary, Varga was ranked second among Hungarian 1,500-meter runners in 2007, and he took third place in the indoor 3,000 meters at the 2007 Hungarian National Championships. He was also part of a Hungarian high school record-setting 4x1500-meter relay team.