Coach Cash has been head coach of men’s and women’s track and field at Southwestern Oregon beginning the 2018 school year, adding Cross Country for 2021 & 2022. A faculty member in Health and Physical Education, he brings over 25 years collegiate coaching and teaching experience to Coos Bay. Coaching accolades include 6 school record holders: Carrie Boyum 400m at University of Portland, Rashad Toussaint & Chanel James Triple Jump at Community Colleges of Spokane, Bryan Terry Shot Put & Skotlyn Hill 100m/400m Hurdles at Southwestern Oregon, 94 junior college All-Americans, and 35 Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) champions.
In his inaugural season with the Lakers, Coach Cash led the men’s team to a 7th place NWAC Championships finish highlighted by sophomore Bryan Terry’s 1st place finishes in the Shot Put (Southwestern record 51’ 11”) and Discus Throw, and a very close (8 inches) 2nd in the Hammer Throw. Bryan was the high-point winner for the meet and selected as NWAC Male Track & Field Athlete of the Year, a first for a Southwestern Oregon athlete. The women’s team also placed 7th and was led by freshman Aayzia Dumas who led the 400m during the regular season. She won the 400m conference title in a lifetime personal best (57.94) and ran on both relays.
The 2021 season was highlighted at the Southern Region Championships where four Lakers won individual titles: Will Hennum (10,000 meters), Logan Tittle (High Jump), Isabelle Hightower (100 meters), and Evy Ethington (400 meter hurdles). Logan and Isabelle also concluded the Covid-restricted year as the conference leaders in their respective events, earning junior college all-America honors. The Laker men finished the meet only three points out of second place behind Clackamas. Joining the winners on the awards podium that day were Gusatvo Villalvazo (3rd 10,000m), Brad Beaver (2nd 3,000m Steeplechase), Paxson Berry (400m), and Chase Howerton (2nd Pole Vault). along with a strong showing in the relays: Paxson Berry, Tanner Lauby, Chase Howerton, and Marqus Rookwood (3rd place 400m Relay, and only five thousandths of a second out of 2nd place!), and Berry, Duncan Blackmon, Lauby, and Howerton running a season best for 2nd place in the final event, 1600m Relay. The women’s team finished third. Along with the event winners, Hightower also finished third in the 200m, Alana Henderson (3rd 400m), and Valerie Osborne (3rd Shot Put) stood on the podium. Relays were also an emphasis for the women, with Coral Berry, Henderson, Alison Cecil, and Hightower running a close second to Lane in the 400m Relay, and a season best and 2nd place in the 1600m Relay with Berry, Henderson, Daniela Vimbela, and Ethington.
2022 was a breakout year for the Lakers Track & Field teams. Since 2018, the team goal was to reach the top 5 in the NWAC Championship meet at season’s end. In 2022, both the men’s and women’s teams accomplished that goal, with the men earning that coveted 5th place position, and the women tying for 4th. Laker men’s highlights included Hemon Joseph’s 2nd place in the Decathlon, along with placing in the Javelin (4th), Long Jump (5th), 100m (7th), and 110m Hurdles (8th); JJ Thomas’ incredible performance in the High Jump to place 4th; Duncan Blackmon’s huge PR in the 800m final for 5th, only one second out of third place; Kaleb Scott’s 6th place 400m; Tahzmere Givens 110m Hurdles 6th; Jacob Dalrymple with a PR to gain 4th in the 3,000m Steeplechase as teammate Will Hennum ran for 6th in the same day he also placed 6th in the 10,000m! The relays went well for the men, finishing 5th in the 4 x 100m (Givens, Joseph, Connor Spanos, Marqus Rookwood) and 6th in the 4 x 400m (Givens, Blackmon, Spanos, Scott). Hemon Joseph earned All-American accolades for his Decathlon performance. For the women, freshman Skotlyn Hill stood out among all others in the conference with wins in the Heptathlon, 100m and 400m Hurdles, and while doing that also placed 2nd in the 400m and High Jump! With an incredible 48 points, Hill claimed the NWAC Women’s Track & Field Athlete of the Year, the first for a Southwestern Oregon athlete. To help Hill toward that 4th place finish were Alana Henderson in the 400m (8th), Evy Ethington in the High Jump (6th) and 400m Hurdles (8th), Alison Cecil in Javelin (7th), Lala Corrales and Leah Nastri in the Triple Jump (7th and 8th), and 5th place finishes in both relays (400mR: Cecil, Henderson, Corrales, Hill; 1600mR: Ethington, Henderson, Giaan Langford, Macee Wacholz)
Prior to arriving in Coos Bay, Coach Cash was the head coach for the Community Colleges of Spokane Sasquatch from 2011-2018, taking the NWAC men’s and women’s team championships in his first year. The Spokane women won four team titles between 2015-2018 under his leadership and the men finished 2nd from 2013-2018. In 2013, the Spokane men’s team included five of the top 10 scorers in the conference championship meet. He was honored as NWAC Coach of the Year six times in his 7 seasons as the Sasquatch head coach. From 2002 to 2011, Coach Cash was the lead assistant coach under Larry Beatty, primarily as the CCS jumps coach, also assisting with multi-events and sprints. In those 9 seasons, the Sasquatch won an unprecedented 16 championships for men’s and women’s track and field. Spokane boasted 29 NWAC champions and 83 junior college All-Americans in the jumps and multi-events during Jason’s sixteen seasons. Ten men made the Top 20 list at Spokane in the jump events during his tenure including the triple jump record by Rashad Toussaint (51’ 6¼”—2006), and eight men in Decathlon. Sixteen women jumped onto the Top 20 list in jumps, including Chanel James’ triple jump record (39’ 7¾”—2010), and thirteen in the Heptathlon.
From 2000 to 2002, Coach Cash was a graduate assistant at NCAA Division III Gustavus Adolphus College, in St. Peter, MN, where he coached the sprints, jumps, and hurdles while working on a master’s degree in sport management. At the 2002 Minnesota Intercollegiate Indoor Championships (MIAC) his female high jumpers placed first and second. That spring, his indoor champion, Lindsey Weis, won the outdoor championship as well. Jason also coached the 2002 Gustavus men’s 4 x 100m relay team to a 3rd place finish at the NCAA Division III National Championships.
Prior to his move to Minnesota, Coach Cash was the sprints, jumps, and hurdles coach at the University of Portland from 1995 to 2000 where Carrie Boyum set the 400 meter school record (55.57—1998), which she holds to this day.
During his college days, Coach Cash competed in the sprints and high jump. He earned a varsity letter award as a freshman at the University of Portland. That next year Jason transferred to Western Oregon State College (WOU) and was a two-time NAIA All-American in the 4 x 100 meter relay with a 4th place 1993 finish and 6th place 1994 finish at the NAIA National Championships. The 1993 team set the school record of 41.40 at University of Puget Sound where it continues to stand as the stadium record.
Coach Cash is an Oregon native, growing up in Salem (McNary High School), and competing in football, basketball, wrestling, and track & field.
