Jason Zarb-Cousin Joins CSUN Track & Field/Cross Country Coaching Staff
8/21/2024 10:34:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - CSUN Track & Field head coach Justin Johnson has announced the hiring of Jason Zarb-Cousin as an assistant coach on Matadors' cross country and track & field staff. He will work primarily with the CSUN cross country team in the fall while also serving on the track & field staff where he will work closely with the team's distance runners.Â
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"I am excited to announce that Jason Zarb-Cousin will be joining the CSUN track and field/cross country team," said Johnson. "Coach Zarb brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position. He is here to elevate our distance/cross country program and I am looking forward to working with him."
Zarb-Cousin comes to CSUN after spending the 2023 season at UC Santa Barbara. He worked closely with the Gauchos' distance runners last season, producing a top-29 West Region finisher. Also in his one season at UCSB, Zarb-Cousin helped the Gaucho men to a second-place finish at the Big West Cross Country Championship while Ethan Godsey finished third individually.
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Zarb-Cousin spent the previous seven years (2016-23) at Loyola Marymount, serving as head coach of the Lions' men's cross country and track & field programs from 2021-23. He would lead the LMU cross country team to one of its best seasons ever, helping his runners make a seven-second improvement on the team's best 8,000-meter time and a 66-second improvement in the 10,000 meters.
Working with middle and long-distance runners on the track, Zarb-Cousin helped his student-athletes set school records in the 800-meter run and the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Two Lion steeplechasers achieved national recognition under his guidance, with one taking home second-team All-America honors and another finishing fifth at the USA Track & Field Under-20 meet.
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Prior to his appointment as head coach at LMU, Zarb-Cousin spent five years as an assistant coach with both the Lions' men's and women's cross country and track & field teams. Under his tutelage, the Lions achieved their highest-ever finish at the NCAA Cross Country West Regional. Zarb-Cousin's stint at LMU was his second with the Lions, having begun his collegiate coaching career in Los Angeles as a volunteer assistant at LMU from 2005-2009. Between his two stints with the Lions, he served as a volunteer assistant coach at New Mexico from 2013-15 and was a men's and women's assistant coach as well as the director of operations at the Air Force Academy from 2009-10.
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A 1999 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Zarb-Cousin is a retired Air Force Officer, having served for two decades. The Colorado Springs native earned his master of arts in physical education (social psychology of sport & physical activity concentration) from the University of Northern Colorado in 2003. He holds multiple USA Track & Field Level II Certifications.
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"I am excited to announce that Jason Zarb-Cousin will be joining the CSUN track and field/cross country team," said Johnson. "Coach Zarb brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position. He is here to elevate our distance/cross country program and I am looking forward to working with him."
Zarb-Cousin comes to CSUN after spending the 2023 season at UC Santa Barbara. He worked closely with the Gauchos' distance runners last season, producing a top-29 West Region finisher. Also in his one season at UCSB, Zarb-Cousin helped the Gaucho men to a second-place finish at the Big West Cross Country Championship while Ethan Godsey finished third individually.
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Zarb-Cousin spent the previous seven years (2016-23) at Loyola Marymount, serving as head coach of the Lions' men's cross country and track & field programs from 2021-23. He would lead the LMU cross country team to one of its best seasons ever, helping his runners make a seven-second improvement on the team's best 8,000-meter time and a 66-second improvement in the 10,000 meters.
Working with middle and long-distance runners on the track, Zarb-Cousin helped his student-athletes set school records in the 800-meter run and the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Two Lion steeplechasers achieved national recognition under his guidance, with one taking home second-team All-America honors and another finishing fifth at the USA Track & Field Under-20 meet.
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Prior to his appointment as head coach at LMU, Zarb-Cousin spent five years as an assistant coach with both the Lions' men's and women's cross country and track & field teams. Under his tutelage, the Lions achieved their highest-ever finish at the NCAA Cross Country West Regional. Zarb-Cousin's stint at LMU was his second with the Lions, having begun his collegiate coaching career in Los Angeles as a volunteer assistant at LMU from 2005-2009. Between his two stints with the Lions, he served as a volunteer assistant coach at New Mexico from 2013-15 and was a men's and women's assistant coach as well as the director of operations at the Air Force Academy from 2009-10.
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A 1999 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Zarb-Cousin is a retired Air Force Officer, having served for two decades. The Colorado Springs native earned his master of arts in physical education (social psychology of sport & physical activity concentration) from the University of Northern Colorado in 2003. He holds multiple USA Track & Field Level II Certifications.
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