In just four seasons at the helm, Cassandra Goodson has given the FGCU men’s and women’s cross country programs new life.

Under Goodson's direction the women’s teams have established all of the top five school records in the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes, and two of five (1st and 5th place) on the senior list. The success is also evident on the men’s side as Goodson has guided them to the top 10 all-time marks for 5K, 4-mile and 8K, as well as, the top five 8K times for freshmen, sophomores and seniors and three of the top 5 for juniors (1st, 3rd, and 5th).

During the 2011 campaign Goodson led the men’s team to three top five finishes, including a season-opening first place finish at the FGCU Invitational, and top 10 finishes in all six competitions. The women’s team saw equal success under her guidance, with top 10 finishes in every meet and three top five finishes. Four women’s runners established new personal-best 5K times, while nine men’s runners set new personal-bests in 8K events this season. Supplying top finishes for the Eagles all season, sophomore Argeo Cruz and junior Barrie Cohen each earned the programs’ first-ever Atlantic Sun Runner of Week awards after their performances at the Walt Disney World Classic, running to season-best times at the event. At the A-Sun Conference Championship the Green and Blue ran to a seventh place finish in the women’s 5K while the men took eighth overall in the 8K race. Additionally, Goodson coached a pair of men’s and women’s runners at the NCAA South Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala. in the Eagles’ first year of eligibility.

In 2010, Goodson coached the women’s team to a program-best sixth-place finish at the Atlantic Sun Championship, while the men’s program finished eighth. Under her tutelage, then-freshman Cruz and then-sophomore Cohen continually broke the school record in their respective events. Cruz and Cohen hold the top times in school history. Additionally, Cruz and classmate Kelly Perzanowski were named to the A-Sun All-Freshmen teams for their performance at the conference meet. Cruz became the first runner on the men’s side to garner the honor, while Perzanowski was the second.

The 2009 season was the most successful in the history of the FGCU cross country program under Goodson's watch. In addition to Megan Thies breaking the school record at the A-Sun Championship, the women won the Miami Greentree Invitational, their first team win since September 2007. The men won two meets, the Flrunners.com Invitational and the inaugural FGCU Invitational, the first two wins in the history of the program.

In her first year as the Eagles' head coach, Thies broke her own school record set the year before and Kyle Brunette improved his personal record by almost two minutes. Joshua Brooks also made his mark at the conference championship, setting a personal record with a 27:05.74, a time that stands as the sixth-fastest in school history.

Goodson came to FGCU after serving with the Southern Miss track and field and cross country program as the head cross country coach and an assistant coach for track and field for two years.

Prior to coming to Southern Miss, Goodson competed professionally throughout the United States in sanctioned USA Track and Field road races. Goodson was a two-year letterwinner with the cross country and track & field programs for the Golden Eagles. She owns two school indoor records in the running events - the 3,000 meter with a time of 10:16.55 and the 5,000 meter with a time of 17:52.65. She also holds the school record in the outdoor 5,000 meters with a time of 17:31.81 and the 10,000 meters with a time of 37:01.65.

Goodson helped the Southern Miss team to a second-place finish in 2005 with two fourth-place finishes in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

Goodson competed in track and field and cross country for two seasons at Diablo Valley College in Concord, Calif., where she was the most valuable member of her cross country team. She was the NorCal 10,000-meter champion and finished fifth in the state in the same event. She was a four-year letterwinner at Chaminade College Prep, where she was an All-Conference selection for four years.

The Chatsworth, Calif., native received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Southern Miss in 2005 and is the daughter of James and of the late Marina Goodson.