Luke Syverson is entering his third season as assistant track & field and cross country coach at Lipscomb.

Syverson’s areas of responsibility include the jumpers and throwers along with serving as the recruiting coordinator for men’s and women’s track & field and men’s distance events. 

During the 2012 campaign, Syverson was responsible for the throws and jumps event areas.  Syverson coached freshman Houston Ward to all-conference honors in the men’s shot put at the 2012 A-Sun Indoor Championships while fellow freshman April Terry added four school records in the women’s throws.  Lipscomb throwers and jumpers accounted for 12 top-eight finishes at the 2012 A-Sun Outdoor Championships including junior Taylor Mason, who earned all-conference honors in the women’s javelin.

In his first season at Lipscomb, Syverson’s athletes accounted for 14 new school records in the sprints and throws including all of the outdoor sprint and relay records on the women’s side.  Other highlights included freshman Tucker Peabody earning all-conference honors in the 200m, breaking a 35-year old Lipscomb school record, and qualifying for the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships in both the 100m and 200m.

During his athletic career, Syverson competed in the long jump and triple jump for Washington State University of the Pac-12. He finished his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University in physical education in 1998.

Syverson began his coaching career at Pullman High School where he was responsible for the horizontal jumpers.  During his two years at Pullman, he coached five state qualifiers in the jumps including the fifth-farthest long jump in Washington state history.

From 1996-2002, Syverson served as the assistant coach at Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash. coaching the long, triple, and high Jumps.  While at Whitworth, Syverson coached numerous conference and national qualifiers in the jumps at the NAIA and NCAA Div. III level. 

At the 2001 Northwest Conference Championships, Whitworth’s men’s triple jumpers took five of the top eight spots, scoring 26 points to help secure Whitworth’s first conference championship in 30 years.

After a brief break from coaching due to a career in retail management with Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), Syverson became the Athletic Director and Dean of Students at Mount Rainier Lutheran High School in Tacoma, Wash. in 2005.  Syverson was charged with creating the first athletic program at the new school and became the school’s first cross-country and track & field coach.  In the first five years, Syverson’s teams captured three state track & field championships, sweeping the boy’s and girl’s titles in 2010.  It was the first time a school in their classification had swept both titles in state history.  His cross country teams placed in the top eight at the state championships three times.  His teams earned six district and six league championships and his track & field athletes qualified for the state championships 47 times while his cross-country runners qualified for the state championships 38 times. Syverson was named Sea-Tac League Coach of the Year six times.

Syverson also served as the horizontal jumps coach at the Washington State University Track & Field camp 12 times.  He has coached all event areas and has been a presenter and speaker at several coaching clinics and schools.  He is a USATF level 2 certified coach in the sprints/hurdles/relays and still competes occasionally at the Master’s level.  He was the 2008 USATF Master’s National Champion in the Triple Jump and Javelin in his age group.

Luke and his wife, Sarah, reside in Franklin with their four children.  He enjoys all sports and outdoor recreation including mountain bike and cyclocross racing, hiking, and skiing.