The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Track & Field / Cross Country
- Title:
- Assistant Coach (Throws)
Zeb Sion, who was the 2018 USTFCCCA NCAA Divion I Outdoor Track and Field Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year, has spent the past two seasons as the throws coach at The University of Texas.
In the 2018-19 school year – Sion’s first season in Austin - he helped develop Texas’ throwers and oversaw some of the top marks in school history. Most notably, Sion helped guide sophomore Tripp Piperi to a shot put national title at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Piperi was the second Longhorns in a six-year stretch to win the NCAA outdoor shot put title, joining 2014 champion Ryan Crouser. Sion’s coaching help Piperi become the second-best shot-putter in school history (21.11m/69-3.25).
Piperi continued to flourish under Sion’s watch in 2020, winning the Big 12 Indoor title for a third-straight year with a personal-best 20.98m/68-10 effort. Piperi’s effort placed him alongside Dana LeDuc (1974-76) and Ryan Crouser (2012, 2014-16) to win the indoor conference shot put title on at least three occasions. Sion’s coaching also helped senior Elena Bruckner win the women’s shot put at the Big 12 Indoor Championships behind a 16.82m/55-2.25 – a personal-best mark and the longest throw by a Big 12 competitor all season. Bruckner’s effort made her the first UT woman to win the Big 12 shot put title indoors or outdoors since three-time Olympian Michelle Carter did so in 2007. Piperi and Bruckner’s combined effort in Ames marked Texas’ first indoor conference shot put sweep since 1991, and helped both Longhorns secure qualification for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Sion also worked with successful student-athletes such as Trevor Danielson, who captured the 2019 Big 12 outdoor title in the javelin with a facility-record mark (74.48m/244-4). The Texas throws coach’s translated to the women’s side as well, where Elena Bruckner set a school record in the discus (57.4m/188-4) and finished second at the 2019 Texas Relays in both the discus and shot put.
Internationally, Sion helped coach Texas volunteer assistant coach Valarie Allman to a seventh-place finish at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in the discus (61.82m). Allman also won the national title at the 2019 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships with a 64.34/211-1 mark in July.
Sion came to Austin after two very successful seasons coaching the throwers at Stanford. He coached 11 All-Americans in two seasons and helped the Cardinal's women throwers to 31 points at 2018 NCAA Championships. All four of Sion's women throwers, who would have finished ninth as a team alone, earned first-team All-America honors and podium finishes in Eugene. No team in NCAA women's championship meet history had scored as many points across all four throwing events in the last 20 years. Those 31 points from the throws group, alone, helped Stanford to 51 total points and a third-place team finish at 2018 NCAA Outdoors.
In her two seasons under Sion at Stanford, Valarie Allman, mentioned earlier, excelled, breaking the school record in the discus and qualifying for the World Championships last season. Allman earned two first-team All-America certificates at 2018 NCAA Outdoors as well as one first-team All-America certificate at the Indoor Championships, becoming Stanford's first scorer in the 20-pound weight throw. Allman later became Sion's first U.S. Champion when she won the discus at the 2018 USATF Outdoor Championships. In 2017, Allman became the first Stanford athlete with eligibility left to make a U.S. Olympic or World Championship team in 12 years when she qualified for World Championships in London.
Several other athletes had standout seasons under Sion's mentorship for the Cardinal. Mackenzie Little won her third consecutive Pac-12 title in the javelin throw and also set a school-record of 60.36m/198-0 to become the NCAA Champion as well as the fourth best collegiate of all-time. Jenna Gray took home second in the event, giving Stanford the top two podium spots and becoming the first program to do this in the women's javelin in NCAA history.
Lena Giger finished third at NCAA Outdoors in the shot put after placing sixth at the Indoor Championships and setting the indoor school record in the process. Trevor Danielson set the school record in the men's javelin at NCAA Outdoors to earn a podium spot and a first-team All-America certificate from the USTFCCCA.
Sion spent five seasons at Wake Forest prior to his time at Stanford, where he directed student-athletes to one American junior record (6kg shot put), three Atlantic Coast Conference titles, four All-America performances, six school records, 14 NCAA East prelims appearances and 19 All-ACC honors. Prior to arriving at Stanford, he had athletes compete at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Trials, as well as the 2013-15 USATF Outdoor Championships. He has also coached two USATF Junior Outdoor champions.
Internationally, Sion coached athletes at 2014 World Junior Championships, 2015 Pan Am Junior Championships (Gold/Shot Put), 2016 NACAC Under-23 Championships (Bronze/Javelin), and at the 2017 World Championships.
Sion has earned the highest certification from the IAAF and USATF in coaching education, achieving IAAF Level V and USATF Level III. In addition, Sion is recognized as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach.
Prior to his time at Wake Forest, Sion served as assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach at the University of Chicago. Sion, the 2010 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year, developed Chicago's throws group into a force on both the conference and Division III national level, accounting for 11 All-America accolades, 23 conference titles and 52 all-conference performances in four years. His athletes also broke five school and conference records on multiple occasions during his tenure.
Before coaching at Chicago, Sion served a one-year stint as a graduate assistant coach at Idaho State in 2007, where he coached one Big Sky Conference champion, and two NCAA West Prelims qualifiers. The ISU throwers broke three school records including the men's indoor and women's outdoor shot put marks. The men's outdoor shot put record, formerly held by Sion himself, was also broken during the season. In addition, 10 athletes -- including his brother Jed -- earned All-Big Sky Conference accolades in the throws or multi-events.
A native of Pocatello, Idaho, Sion competed in the shot put and discus for Georgia Tech from 2001-05 and served as the team's captain in 2005. He attended graduate school at Idaho State where he completed his athletic eligibility. Sion was a two-time NCAA Championships qualifier and two-time all-region shot putter, once at Georgia Tech and once at Idaho State.
He won the ACC shot put championship and was named Georgia Tech's Field MVP in 2004. At one point, Sion held the Georgia Tech indoor, Georgia Tech outdoor, and Idaho State University outdoor records in the shot put.
In the spring of 2005, Sion was recognized as the recipient of Georgia Tech's prestigious Robert Cup, given annually to Tech's top senior student-athlete. Upon graduation, Sion was one of Georgia Tech's recipients of the ACC Postgraduate Scholarship. Sion graduated with highest honors from Georgia Tech in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Management before going on to earn Masters of Physical Education in Athletic Administration from Idaho State in 2007.
Sion lives in Austin, Texas with his two sons. Ezekiel and Zachariah.
