Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Athlete 1992 - 1996
Missy (Hayward) Goode, class of 1996, left an unforgettable, and so far indelible, mark on Linfield distance running.
She was a Northwest Conference champion in the 1,500- and 3,000-meter runs as well as conference runner-up in the 5,000-meter run in 1996.
She earned NAIA All-American in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs on the track and excelled in cross country as well where she competed at the national meet several times. She was named Academic All-American twice in cross country and twice in track and field.
Hayward was chosen Outstanding Female Athlete of the 1996 Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships.
Her 5,000-meter time of 17 minutes, 16.08 seconds in 1996 has remained as the best woman's mark in Linfield history for over a decade.
Only one other Wildcat has bettered Hayward's 1,500 time of 4:37.45, also recorded in 1996.
She finished fourth in the 1994 conference cross country championship race and seventh in 1995.
Hayward came to Linfield from Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Wash., and contributed immediately, running on the Wildcat team that finished eighth at the NAIA nationals in 1992.
For all of her individual achievements, Hayward says her fondest memory from Linfield was when the Wildcats won both the Northwest Conference men's and women's championships for the only time in school history in her senior year. "The camaraderie was great," she said.
Hayward, running as Melissa Goode, continues to excel. She recently won the Long Beach Marathon, leading from start to finish.
She also won the Santa Barbara Mile last year and won the women's division of the 15-kilometer, 52nd annual Semana Nautica run there in July.
Hayward Goode resides in Santa Barbara and is the mother of two boys, Jackson, 3, and Evan, 1.
