Luke Syverson enters his second season as Assistant Track & Field/Cross-country coach at Lipscomb.

Coach 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.

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 Atlantic Sun 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.

Syverson competed in the long jump and triple jump for Washington State University of the Pac-10 and 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 5 state qualifiers in the jumps including the fifth-farthest long jumper in Washington state history.

From 1996-2002, Syverson served as the assistant coach at Whitworth University in Spokane, WA, 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 5 of the top 8 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, WA 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 3 State Track & Field Championships, becoming the first school to ever sweep the boy’s and girl’s title, in 2010. His Cross-Country teams placed in the top 8 at the State Championships 3 times. His teams earned 6 district and 6 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 6 times.

Syverson has 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 three children. He enjoys all sports and outdoor recreation including mountain bike and cyclocross racing, hiking, and skiing.