Bio

Zilles in a Kitchener, ON native and was hired on as the Cross-Country Head Coach in late April of 2025. 

He competed for the University of Windsor Cross-Country as well as the Track and Field programs for six seasons while attaining an Honours level Bachelor of Human Kinetics degree before earning a Master of Science in Kinesiology and Health.  He was named the Cross-Country Team MVP following the 2021 season which included an 11^th Place finish at the OUA Provincial Championships capped by an 18^th Place result at the U SPORTS National Championships.  Zilles was recognized three times as an Academic All-Canadian for his efforts in the classroom and represented Canada while running in the International University Sports Federation (FISU) games in 2019. 

For the last two years Zilles was the Assistant Distance Coach for the University of Windsor after serving as Intern with their program analyzing key performance indicators in collaboration with their Centre for Human Performance and Health that created evidence-based improvements for their athletes.  He has also been an Exercise Performance Consultant for Pro-Active Fitness Analytics since 2023 giving direction for improving the physiologic processes that limits sports performance for their clients.  In addition, Zilles has been working as a Running Distance Coach for StrideWise Running based out of Toronto for the past year which provides services to runners and endurance athletes of all levels.