Former All-SOCON runner and Dalton native Dee Goodwin has been named Women's Track & Field/Cross Country coach at Dalton State.
"I look forward to developing young student-athletes and building on the success of the coaches that began cross country and track at Dalton State," Goodwin said in a statement.
"My goal is to bring quality athletes into the program and win conference championships."
A 1986 graduate of Northwest Whitfield High, Goodwin comes with an accomplished background. At UTC, she was a 4-time All-SOCON performer in cross country and won the 1987 10,000 meter SOCON Track Championship. Her school-record in the 10,000 meters stood for ten years.
Goodwin takes over for Margie Bruner, who resigned on February 1.
"It was an honor to be hired as the first Director of Cross Country at Dalton State," said Bruner. "I had a great experience and really enjoyed developing relationships with the student-athletes."
"Dalton state Interim Director of Athletics Jon Jaudon said of Bruner, "Our student-athletes have had the good fortune of being led by one of the most competitive, humble, graceful and kind human beings in coach Bruner. Her leadership will continue to influence those students she coached for a lifetime."
Jaudon continued, speaking about Goodwin saying, "Dee Goodwin is a well-known member of the Dalton-Whitfield running and education community. We are fortunate to have a decorated athlete with decades of coaching experience available and willing to step in and serve our department and student-athletes."
Bruner echoed the same sentiment saying, "I think Dee Goodwin will be an excellent coach for the women's teams. She has a wealth of experience and knowledge."
Upon graduating from UTC with honors as the Dayle May Athletic-Academic Award winner given to the senior with the highest GPA among all graduating student-athletes, Goodwin ran competitively for Adidas from 94-96. In 2003, she became the first female runner inducted into the UTC Hall of Fame. She is still an active runner in the Southeast and in November 2015 she competed in a 100-mile race.
Goodwin will get her first taste of collegiate coaching when the Roadrunners compete in the Emory Invitational in Atlanta, GA on March 17-18.