Michael Good has put together a great middle-distance running career at Chico State, and he has done so relatively under the radar. The senior from San Diego is the 2017 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) 800-meter champion, a three All-Conference award winner, and at the very top of his resume is the Second Team All-America honor he earned in the 800 meters at last year's NCAA Championships.
Over the next three days, the Wildcat of the Week hopes to add to, or even replace, that top line.
Good is one of eight Chico State athletes competing at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Kingsville, Texas, this week. He is in the first of three 800-meter preliminary heats Friday at 4:20 p.m., Pacific. The top two athletes from each 7- or 8-man heats will automatically advance to Saturday's 5:05 p.m. final, and be joined by the athletes with the next two fastest times.
The eight who advance will be First Team All-Americans. The next four fastest times will earn Second Team All-America status.
Good has competed somewhat in the shadows over the course of his career. Two of the Wildcats' other middle-distance athletes, Kyle Medina and Derek Morton, have received many of the headlines. Meanwhile, Good has been, well, very good, since slipping on that Chico State uniform. In fact, his personal-record run of 1:50.54 ranks ninth in Chico State 800-meter history.
Friday, for the first time in a conference or national championship event, he'll compete for an 800-meter title without one of his teammates in the same heat or final. This time the headline will belong to him alone. And he certainly deserves it.
