Junior track and field runner Sarah Mitchell “hated everything sports” in middle school. 

Mitchell only embarked on her journey in athletics after her parents presented her with two choices — try out for track or soccer — in order to build character. She reluctantly began her running career in the seventh grade, and 10 years later she holds the GW school record of 16:42:17 in the 5000m.  

“They felt that being on a sports team teaches valuable life lessons,” Mitchell said. “And they gave me the option of soccer or track. I quickly realized I was a little late to join soccer, and so I joined the track team in seventh grade.” 

In her senior season at Apex High School in Apex, North Carolina, Mitchell won the NCHSAA State Championship with a 5K time of 17:26:96 and was named the 2021-22 Gatorade North Carolina Girls Cross Country Player of the Year. She shaved over 32 seconds off her best 5K time from her junior season in order to clinch the state championship her senior year. 

Mitchell said she started seriously considering a collegiate running career during her junior and senior years of high school after having conversations with her high school coaches about continuing running. After improving her times significantly throughout high school, she said she understood the value of “sticking” to something and staying determined.

“I didn’t want my career to be over in high school, and I have such love for the sport,” she said. “Even while running in college I am still learning about competing and this sport, and I feel like I fall in love with it all over again every year.”

Mitchell said she reached out to several schools, including GW, and provided them with her times in August 2021 and had committed to running with the Revolutionaries by October. 

As a freshman, Mitchell earned all-conference honors in cross country. At the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track Championships on March 1, Mitchell placed second in the 5000m with a time of 16:39.73, less than four seconds behind the winning time. She improved on that time just one month later at the opening meet of the outdoor season, shaving off more than 20 seconds at the Raleigh Relays and finishing with a time of 16:18.10.

“I am really proud about that race,” she said. “Being able to win my heat and have such big PR was really exciting. I think it really reflects months of hard work, trusting myself and the support I’ve had from my coaches and teammates.”

Mitchell said she credits her improvement with maintaining a consistent, yet healthy mileage and learning to trust herself when responding to other racers’ moves. She also said visualizing the start of a race helps her to “get out” quicker, and listening to Lady Gaga before races puts her in the “right mindset.”

With her new personal record at the Raleigh Relays, Mitchell said she is “beginning to find a new gear,” as she looks forward to the rest of the season and her senior year.

At the beginning of this season in January, Head Coach Terry Weir promoted Mitchell to a team captain role, which she said she hopes to use to promote unity amongst the team.

“One thing I’ve done is try to lead by example, from doing all the drills and warmups, to buying bows for the girls to wear during races,” Mitchell said. “I’ve also facilitated team hangouts to encourage team fellowship and to help create a positive team culture.”

Mitchell said her favorite part of being an athlete at GW is the community element of the team because she and her teammates motivate each other through hard workouts. She said the team placing second at the A-10 cross country championships in 2023 was “a special moment” because the team could see their training paying off.

“I think I realize that there isn’t many other times in life where you will be surrounded by such like-minded and motivated people who want the same things as you,” she said. 

Mitchell placed seventh in the cross country team’s runner-up finish at the A-10 Championships her sophomore year, covering the 6k course in 21:16.67, followed by teammates Olivia Syftestad and Una Boylan in 20th and 21st place. This year, the Revs concluded the cross country season sixth in the conference.

Mitchell said her goals for the rest of her collegiate career are to break the school record in the mile of 4:45:80, as well as set new school records in the indoor 3000m and 5000m. 

Her current PR is 14 seconds from the indoor 3000m record, and she is just two seconds from breaking the indoor mile record. 

In next year’s outdoor track season, Mitchell said her goal is to qualify for NCAA regionals. The top 50 declared student-athletes qualify for the competition. Last year, the last qualifier in the 5000m made it into the east regional field with a time of 16:02:40, about 16 seconds better than Mitchell’s current PR. 

“I have big goals for this next year, and I think this race laid the foundation,” she said. “I’m excited to see what else I can do.” 

Mitchell now says she sees running as something she will continue beyond college, even if that means running marathons for fun. 

“I think running will always be a part of my life after college, and I don’t see it as something I’ll ever completely walk away from,” Mitchell said.