Aviana Goode learned to high jump not on a track, but in her living room. Her mother, who first encouraged her to try running competitively, stood by her side as her coach.

Goode had started hurdling and long jumping in third grade but needed to high jump to participate in a combined event at nationals, the only one she felt she could qualify for. And so Goode ended up repeatedly taking off from her living room floor and landing on her brother’s mattress in preparation.

Now, Goode is among the best high jumpers in the ACC. She collected points and medaled with a sixth-place finish in the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 23. She’s also shined in the long jump, with a first-place finish at both the Crimson Elite on Feb. 2 and the Cornell Deneault Memorial on Feb. 17. In the 60-meter hurdles, her best finish was second in the Cornell Upstate Challenge on Jan. 20.

Goode said she hasn’t felt pressured, despite being the only woman jumper. While much of SU’s points come from sprinters and distance runners, Goode is one of the few who adds to the tally in field events.

“I knew I had to pull weight in long jump and high jump since I am the only jumper here, so I wasn’t too nervous about it,” she said. “I trained hard over the summer so I knew if I trained hard, I’d get good results.”

Goode hopes to continue her success as the track season shifts from indoor to outdoor. Her coach, assistant Dave Hegland, said outdoor season is different in terms of logistics. He noted the main difference is being on the road for the month of April and having to fly the team to better weather in states like Florida and California. Still, Hegland said he believes most teams, no matter where they are located, have a transition period to work through as the seasons shift.

“But we got a nice, robust schedule and plenty of meets before the championships,” he said. “Historically, those guys and girls have come out pretty ready to go on that first meet, even though it’s probably their first time outside since October.”

Goode also noted that now outdoors, the runway for long jump will be flat instead of raised, and the number of hurdles goes from five to 10.

“That one is always kind of frightening, especially for the first meet,” she said. “But after that you get your jitters out.”

Goode, who’s from Bay Shore, New York, is no stranger to success outdoors. She said her favorite track memory came outdoors in Syracuse her sophomore year of high school, when she become a state champion. She hoped to parallel that success with a breakout year as a sophomore in college. And by medaling in the ACC Indoor Championships, she believes she has.

Her teammate, senior Tia Thevenin, agrees. Thevenin highlighted Goode’s willingness to buy into the program and what the upperclassmen had to say when Goode arrived as freshman as reasons for her success.

“She was kind of a perfect freshman in the sense that she’s so intuitive and so adaptive and whatever you tell her she’s going to do,” Thevenin said. “When you tell her ways to improve, she’s going to use it and she’s going to do it. I think it paid off, and it’s about time it showed.”

Each of Goode’s three events require different approaches in terms of technique. But ultimately, she says, it all comes down to one mental exercise: visualization. No matter the event, Goode has to see herself clearing the hurdle, bar or leaping the proper distance.

“For long jump, I just try to remember to bring my knees to my chest and keep my feet up in the air,” she said. “And for high jump I just try (the) same thing: lift my knees and just clear the bar.”

Despite her high school championship win in Syracuse, Goode never seriously considered running for the university until the recruitment process. But ultimately, she found herself right where she belongs.

“I never thought I would go to college in New York, I thought I was going to go outside,” she said. “But then once I came on campus, I was like, ‘Nah, this is the right place for me.’”

As a versatile runner who can help the Orange in multiple areas, both inside and outdoors, she has proven it.

Published on March 20, 2018 at 11:19 pm

Contact Eric: estorms@syr.edu