Hampton grad Jason Goodman returning to Slippery Rock, eyes more PSAC gold

Hampton graduate Jason Goodman, the 2021 PSAC decathlon champion, already competes in the most physically demanding endeavor in track and field.

Next year he will be even busier.

Goodman, who earned his undergraduate degree last month, will return for his final year of eligibility at Slippery Rock while pursuing his master’s degree and shouldering additional duties as a graduate assistant for the track and field team.

“I didn’t decide until a few weeks ago,” he said. “I just wasn’t sure what my plans really were going forward. … I was going to take a year off and decide what I wanted to do. I talked to my coach and figured out that I do have two seasons of eligibility (indoor and outdoor track), and it just seemed like a good thing to do.

“I felt like I had a lot left in me.”

The 2017 Hampton graduate and former WPIAL triple jump champion gained an extra year of eligibility after the covid pandemic canceled his 2020 spring outdoor and 2020-21 winter indoor track seasons.

Goodman wasted no time hitting stride once the Rock returned to competition this spring. He won the decathlon at the Bill Lennox Invitational in mid-April and then earned the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference gold medal May 6-7 at Shippensburg, totaling a personal-best 6,325 points in the 10 events.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder achieved the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying standard, but his score missed the cut required to reach the NCAA track and field championships.

“I just wanted to hit the mark and do the best that I could,” he said. “So I was really happy how that went. That’s kind of been my goal all season. It was definitely a good way to finish up my last year of undergrad.”

At the PSAC decathlon finals, Goodman was first in the discus and shot put and placed second in five other events. The decathlon consists of the 100-meter dash, 110 hurdles, 400, 1,500, high jump, long jump, shot put, discus, javelin and pole vault.

“He had a great meet,” Slippery Rock assistant coach Bill Jordan said. “He did a fantastic job all the way around.”

Goodman, who holds the long jump record at Hampton at 22 feet, 3 1/2 inches, was strictly a jumper as a freshman at Slippery Rock. He took up the decathlon midway through his sophomore season and placed eighth in the 2019 PSAC championships in only his second lifetime try in the multi-event.

“He’s a fantastic overall athlete that has really developed well,” Jordan said. “The decathlon is a big learning curve. … He’s come a long way in a very short period of time.”

As a junior, Goodman won the 2020 PSAC heptathlon crown for indoor track less than two weeks before the covid shutdown. The seven-event heptathlon consists of the 60-meter sprint, 60 hurdles, 1,000, high jump, long jump, shot put and pole vault.

As a graduate assistant, Goodman will do a little bit of everything, kind of like an off-the-field decathlon. He will assist with office administrative work, supervise in the weight room and do “some odds and ends around the place,” Jordan said.

The Rock typically have two grad assistants on the team each season.

“I’ll be helping out my coach wherever he needs help,” said Goodman, who is pursuing his master’s degree in health informatics.

Jordan said Goodman has the drive and demeanor to excel in all of his roles.

“He’s one of the best kids you could ever meet,” Jordan said. “He’s got great grades. He sets a good example for kids on and off the track. He’s an all-around team leader. The younger kids in our program are really going to benefit from having him around another year.”