Jason Fast has transformed the Lawrence University cross country and track and field programs.
Fast has won four Midwest Conference championships and earned four Coach of the Year honors from the league since he started at Lawrence in 2009.
Lawrence athletes have earned 263 All-Midwest Conference honors spread among 88 individual student-athletes. The Vikings have won 40 individual conference titles during Fast's tenure with 14 different individual champions. Lawrence has broken 66 school records during Fast's tenure.
Fast's student-athletes have earned two NCAA Division III All-America honors, and Lawrence has had seven NCAA Championships qualifiers during his tenure. Five Lawrence student-athletes have also earned NCAA all-region honors as well.
In only his third season as head coach of the Vikings, Lawrence captured the 2011 MIdwest Conference men’s championship and had the individual winner. Fast, who also serves as Lawrence's head track and field coach and assistant director of athletics, earned conference Coach of the Year honors in 2011.
For the first time in Lawrence history, the Vikings swept the team titles in cross country at the 2021 Midwest Conference Championships. Lawrence also had the individual women's winner, and Fast and his staff earned Coach of the Year honors for both the men and women.
Fast, a native of Menasha, Wis., came to Lawrence in July 2009 from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, where he served as an assistant cross country and track coach from January 2006-July 2009.
A 2004 graduate of UW-Oshkosh with a bachelor’s degree in public administration, Fast brought to Lawrence a history of both athletic success as a runner and as a coach.
Fast, who has a Master’s degree in exercise and sport science/sport administration from UW-La Crosse, competed in cross country and track and field for the Titans and won conference, regional, and national honors. A team captain in cross country, Fast earned All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and All-Midwest Region honors. Fast ran on the 2002 NCAA Division III championship team and is one of only four UW-Oshkosh runners to be a part of three WIAC championship teams.
In track and field, Fast was a four-time All-WIAC honoree in the 5,000 meters, 3,000 meters, and 3,000 steeplechase. Fast also was a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championships in the 5,000 meters indoors and the 3,000 steeplechase.
As an assistant coach at UW-Oshkosh, Fast was part of the coaching staff that helped the Titan men’s track team win the 2009 indoor and outdoor NCAA Division III championships. During his time at UW-Oshkosh, the Titan men finished third at the NCAA indoor championships for three consecutive years (2006-08), and had two top-10 finishes outdoors. Fast assisted in coaching 15 national qualifiers, eight All-Americans, and one national champion at UW-Oshkosh. Fast also helped coach the UW-Oshkosh men’s cross country teams to two top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships.
Fast and his wife, Kristy, have two children, Max and Maya, and live in Menasha.
