PARKERSBURG - For 12 straight years, from 2001 to 2012, a runner from Warren High School won the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Two Mile Race.
After a two-year break, Warren graduate Sam Goodman brought the title back to Warrior Nation.
Goodman, who is an incoming freshman runner at Kent State, ran the race in 10 minutes and 6 1/2 seconds Saturday morning, posted a 20-second margin of victory over runner-up Kody Wolfe. Wolfe, a runner at Ohio University and a graduate of Southern High School, won the race last year. The year before, Matthew Bradford, of Charleston, W.Va., placed first, breaking the 12-year streak of Warren winners set by Jason Linton (2001-2006) and Tyler Cantley (2007-2012).
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Photo by Jeff Baughan
Sam Goodman prepares to break the tape to claim the men’s title in the Two Mile Race Saturday.
"To bring that back is a really big deal to me," Goodman said. "I'm really excited to bring it back to Warren."
It was a bit of redemption for Goodman, who was unable to race last year with an injury.
"I was going to run it last year but I got shin splints which kept me out of it," Goodman said. "I was really excited to run it this year with a shot to win."
Goodman started the race chasing last year's winner Wolfe, but caught up to him around the halfway mark.
"Kody Wolfe at the beginning was pretty far ahead of us," Goodman explained. "He started to die off like three-quarters of the way through the first mile. I passed him at about the mile and just kind of took off from there. I wanted to separate as much as I could so if they had a kick they couldn't get me."
Wolfe came in at 10:25.9, edging Parkersburg native Evan Wooten by one-tenth of a second for second place.
Scott Barker, of Davisville, W.Va., and Hunter Deem, of Pennsboro, W.Va., came in at 10:43 and 10:46, respectively, to round out the top five.
While Goodman rekindled the tradition of Warren success in the race, he did break one trend - he became just the second non-OU Bobcat to win the race in the last 15 years.
"It's going really well," Goodman said of the Kent State experience. "It's weird not being at the front of the pack with the team like I'm used too, but I'm really looking forward to being a part of the team and competing against top-level competition."
Goodman also said training with the Golden Flashes "helped me get into shape and prepare me for this race." The training has paid off, as he said he felt good upon completing the run.
"Obviously I was a little tired," Goodman admitted, "but I was just so excited to cross the finish line and break the tape."
There was more than one Goodman in the race, as Sam's younger brother, Benjamin, also ran and placed 55th (13:01.2). Benjamin was the 10th best finisher in the 10-14 age division.
"It was fun," Sam Goodman said. "I didn't really see him much during the race but it was fun to see how excited he was to get to actually race for once. He's used to watching me and my other brother run and now he gets to run so he's really excited about that."