Just like he did during his illustrious running career, Trevor Dunbar has continued to climb to new heights, this time in the world of coaching.

Following the recent departure of the legendary Vin Lananna, Dunbar was named interim head coach of the University of Virginia track and field and cross country programs.

The 35-year-old has accomplished a significant amount throughout his career, achieving immense success at all levels of sport.

Dunbar was a seven-time prep state champion and junior national champion while competing for Kodiak High, helping the Bears to three straight cross country titles from 2006-08. He spent two seasons at the University of Portland and later became an eight-time NCAA All-American at the University of Oregon, where he helped the Ducks win both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field titles in 2014.

He enjoyed a few years as a professional athlete, first for Nike (2014-17) and later representing the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) in 2018. Dunbar also represented Team USA both in cross country and in track and field and became the first Alaskan to break the 4-minute mile in 2013. He remains the fastest in Alaska history at 3,000 (7:43.33) and 5,000 (13:26.27) meters.

Dunbar dipped his toe into the coaching world during his professional career, first as a volunteer coach for the Ducks from 2014-16 with his former head coach, Lananna. He was also a volunteer coach at Boston University for a year, spent two seasons as an operations assistant at Florida State with the distance program and worked as an assistant coach at Cal-Berkeley in 2020, where he coached the distance program.

He reunited with Lananna in the spring of 2021, joining the Virginia coaching staff as an assistant coach for the distance program and was later promoted to Associate Head Coach in September of 2025.

Since his arrival, Dunbar has assisted the Cavalier men’s distance program to 68 All-ACC honors, 29 All-America performances and was part of the Virginia men’s historic 2024 outdoor season that won the first men’s ACC Outdoor Championship team title outright in program history. In October of 2025, he helped coach the men’s cross country team to its first ACC Cross Country title in nearly two decades.

Lananna resigned after being named Chief Executive Officer of the USA Track and Field Foundation.

“I would like to thank Vin Lananna for the mentorship he has provided me throughout my career, and I’m looking forward to his continued guidance,” said Dunbar in a press release. “He has prepared me over the past five years to carry the baton into this next chapter.

“I am excited to continue building positive relationships with our student-athletes, our staff and the Charlottesville community. We will be relentless in our pursuit of championship titles and an enriching student-athlete experience.”