PARKERSBURG - At the one-mile mark, Sam Goodman was confident he was going to win his second consecutive Parkersburg News and Sentinel Two Mile Race.
So over the next 5,280 feet, Goodman had another goal in mind.
"I looked back and I knew I had a sizable lead, so at that point I was running for a time," Goodman said. "I wanted to go under 10 minutes, but I came up a little short."
Article Photos
Photo by Jeff Baughan
Warren graduate Sam Goodman approaches the tape during Saturday’s Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon 2-Mile race. Goodman was the first overall finisher.
Goodman's 10:06.1 was slightly better than last year's 10:06.5 and also his best finish in the five times he has competed in this race. He crossed the finish line well ahead of the competition - the next closest runner was 42 seconds behind.
"It's always nice breaking the tape, but I was looking to have a good race before heading back to school on Tuesday," he said.
Goodman, a 2015 graduate of Warren High School, begins his second year at Kent State. He redshirted last year for both the cross country and track and field teams, but his time training with the Golden Flashes last year have helped him mature as a runner.
"Training with those guys and those coaches have really helped me grow," he said. "I'm not sure there was anything specific that I could point to, but I learned a lot about myself as a runner this past year."
Goodman was a three-time state qualifier and three-time league champion at Warren, heads back to Kent Tuesday and he hopes to be a bigger contributor.
"I love it at Kent. It has been a fantastic experience so far," he said. "My goal this year is be in the top five runners."
Parkersburg High School junior Ian Dominick enjoyed a strong showing on Saturday as the Big Red finished second with a time of 10:48.2.
"I'm really pleased with how I ran today," he said. "It was really cool to race against Sam. I went to a Nike Running Camp and I worked with him at that."
Domenick's performance is even more impressive when you consider he really hadn't trained for it, even though he runs for the Big Reds. Domenick also plays on the PHS soccer team and he's been practicing with them in preparation for the season opener at Bridgeport on Tuesday.
"The whole team worked this summer, but I also had soccer," he said. "I'm excited to start both the cross country and soccer season this week."
Parkersburg cross country opens Wednesday at a University High School meet in Morgantown.
Domenick was also impressed with how his hometown came out to support such a big event that takes over the downtown area for a few hours.
"This was actually my first time running in this and it was a great experience," he said. "It was awesome to see all of the people come out and make this a special event for the runners and walkers."
Finishing third was another PHS runner, William Lemaster of Walker, at 10:50.0. Rounding out the top 10 in the men's race was Joel Larson of Vienna (10:51.9), Evan Leist of Beaver, Ohio (10:58.8), Benjamin Lake of Parkersburg (11:21.7), Brayden Ray of Parkersburg (11:21.9), David Miller of Athens, Ohio (11:22.0), Landon Lawrentz of Parkersburg (11:34.1) and Hernan Garbini of Waynesboro, Va. (11:37.4).