William Mitchell is a Sophomore on the Woodford County High School Track and Field team. This is his third year on the High School team and he plans to continue his career next season as well.
When asked why he decided to join the track team, Mitchell confidently answered, “Matthew, my brother. [I joined] to play a sport with him”. Mitchell went on to explain how he began competing in distance events, simply because his brother also ran distance. But he quickly learned that running laps and laps around the track at one time was not his forte and decided to switch to competing in sprints and jumps instead. That being said, Mitchell has competed in a wide variety of events over the past three years, but now focuses mainly on the 400 and high jump.
Mitchell enjoys these events, as they have allowed him to work and grow over time and become some of his most successful. He just reached a new personal record at the 2026 Regional Meet in high jump, clearing 5’6. Mitchell plans to continue his focus in high jump and the 400, but hopes to really hone in on perfecting his skill in the 400, as that is the event he feels more confident in and hopes to break a school record in before his track journey ends.
Currently, Mitchell works on perfecting his skills through practices and meets every week throughout the March-June season. The track team is hard at work every day except for Sunday and Wednesday, with practices every other day unless there is a meet, which typically falls on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Practices last about 1.5-2 hours after school and they look different for each and every athlete. Mitchell explained what the typical day of practice looks like for him: “practices start with a Coach Swingle pep-talk, then circle up to do stretches in the middle of the field. Then sprinters run 2 laps around the track, then we do stretching drills and then workouts”.
Mitchell went on to explain his drills for high jump, which include a warm up, drills on the mat, about ten jumps per drill set, lots of form work to perfect skill, and work on height before meets. Then he explained his 400 workouts, which vary depending on the day, but overall consist of conducting workouts of different distances, speeds, and goals depending on the day, switching based on what his sprints coach, Coach Johnson, directs.
This work and effort put in by Mitchell and his coaches have helped him become as successful as he is today. When asked what motivates him to compete, he said, “Winning. I like to win”, and that is just what Mitchell and his coaches are working to achieve on the WCHS Track and Field team. Mitchell also explained that his favorite part of competing was not just winning, but more importantly being a part of the team. He expressed deep gratitude for the people that make track and field as enjoyable as it is, explaining that the people, community, and environment are truly his favorite part of being on the team. Mitchell stated, “It’s just fun being a part of the team and to hang out with people at meets”. He also didn’t fail to mention the “snack bin” as one of his favorite parts, “shoutout to Bart’s mom”, said Mitchell.
Mitchell is proud of the WCHS Track and Field team for their successes, PRs, tough school records, frequent wins at region meets, and mass amounts of state qualifiers. He has been proud to be a part of such an amazing team.
As high school comes to a close over the next few years, Mitchell plans to continue competing on the WCHS Track and Field team and hopes to continue his success for himself and his team. He does not currently plan to pursue a collegiate athletic career, but instead plans to pursue a technical degree to satisfy his hands-on, technical, trade oriented passions, wherever they may take him. He also plans to work on his family’s farm and continue pursuing his passion for agriculture. But for now, Mitchell plans to bring back the gold for Woodford County Track and Field over the next two years. He hopes to compete in the 400, 2×200 relay, and high jump at the State Meet on May 23. Woodford County wishes him the best of luck in his hop, skip, and jump to success!
