Williamsburg’s Nate Goodin talks becoming a state champion long jumper, plus his expectations for the 2023 football season

Of all the stellar performances by coverage area track and field athletes at this year’s Kentucky High School Athletic Association state championships, one stood out above the rest. Williamsburg’s Nate Goodin, who has just completed his sophomore year, was the only local competitor to secure a state title, jumping into first place in the long jump event with a distance of 21 feet, four inches.

“Last year, I placed runner-up in the high jump,” Goodin said of his previous performance at the Class A state meet. “I didn’t do long jump then, but this year I was asked to try it out. I had been consistently jumping 20-21 feet, somewhere in there, but my main focus was really still on the high jump.”

Goodin managed to once again finish as runner-up in the high jump event this year, jumping a height of six feet, four inches. This was just under state champion Isaiah Ballard’s (Bethlehem HS) height of six feet, six inches.

“I underestimated him,” Goodin said of Ballard. “But, when I wasn’t able to win the high jump, I just used that as fuel to go and win the long jump.”

Goodin admitted that he wasn’t expecting to do as well as he did in the long jump, but he credits his coach, Cory Fleenor, with helping him keep things in perspective while he was competing.

“Coach Fleenor didn’t care if I placed first or last, as long as I was out there doing my best,” Goodin said. “I really love that about him. He is an overall good coach.”

Once it was all said and done, and Goodin knew that he would be bringing home a first place medal, he said that the feeling was “amazing.”

In addition to the added motivation that came from coming up just short in the high jump, Goodin said that he also wanted to make sure that the Jackets came home with at least one state title, considering his former teammate, Bronson Bates, accomplished that feat one year ago in the shot put.

Goodin is happy to know that he has done his part to ensure that Williamsburg’s record of top-tier performances at the Class A state meet has remained intact for another year, but he must now shift his focus to the job ahead. As he readies himself to enter into his junior year at WHS, he will be taking on the task of replacing outgoing senior Sydney Bowen as the quarterback for the Yellow Jackets football team.

“We have a lot of young players, but I think we are going to do well,” Goodin said of his expectations for the upcoming high school football season. “We have good team chemistry, and I feel like we have been communicating well.”

Goodin is moving under center from his wideout position, where he led the team in receiving yards as a sophomore. He said that he knows it will be a big adjustment, but he is up for the task.

As for track and field, Goodin said that he plans on continuing to train in both the long jump and high jump in hopes of returning to the state meet next spring to defend his title. In the meantime, he encourages everyone to come out and support the Yellow Jacket football team when they take the field this fall.