On Jan. 29, Samantha Mitchell was selected as NCAC Athlete of the Week in track and field for sprinters/hurdlers. Mitchell is a junior from Solon, Ohio, which is close to Cleveland.
She is currently majoring in sociology with a concertation in criminology, in addition to a minor in political science. When she graduates in 2019 with a degree in criminology, she wants to become a U.S. Marshall. She got interested in being a U.S. Marshall after meeting one in high school.
Before Mitchell got involved in track and field, she previously played soccer and was participating in gymnastics. When she was playing soccer, all she would do is outrun her teammates and opponents to score a goal, but her coach wanted her to focus more on the skills instead of the end result. The coach introduced her to the sport of track and field and she fell in love with it.
Mitchell gives enormous credit to her teammates for helping her with a smooth transition from high school to college. She is also thankful for them because the track team has become her second family. If it was not for track, she would have not attended Wittenberg. Mitchell also acknowledges her coaches Paris Hilliard and Craig Penney for motivating her on and off the track.
She describes track as a love-hate relationship because she enjoys competing on weekends and making deeper and meaningful connections with teammates, but hates all the behind-the-scenes stuff which includes demanding and tedious workouts while trying to balance academics and athletics.
Her favorite event to run is the 4×200 relay because she enjoys the comradery of running together with her teammates, but stresses about swift exchanges between sprinters. From her perspective as a sprinter, she enjoys the challenge of racing against sprinters from Mount Union as their sprinters have incredible speed, but Wittenberg rarely competes against them.
Mitchell has won multiple championship events in indoor and outdoor track. As a freshman, she was a part of the NCAC 4×400 Meter Relay Champion team in indoor season and was recognized by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association. During the outdoor potion of the season, she was a member of the 4×400 Relay NCAC Champion and 4×100 meter relay teams.
Mitchell wants to continue striving for more success and accolades as a junior and upcoming senior.
