Cassandra Goodson begins her first season 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.

Prior to coming to Southern Miss, Goodson spent the past year competing professionally throughout the U.S. in sanctioned USA Track and Field road races.

Goodson was a two-year letterwinner with the cross country and track and field programs at Southern Miss. She owns two school indoor records in the running events - the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:16:55 and the 5,000 meters 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 fifth-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 Marina Goodson.