Athlete Spotlight: Walter Mitchell

Salem's Walter Mitchell has consistently been one of the state's fastest sprinters in his class for years dating back to middle school years including an AAU national title in the youth boys 400 back in 2007.  He inherited good genes with both parents having a track background.

However, racing in an especially competitive Beach District this past year with the likes of Darrell Wesh and Justin Burke made it easy for Mitchell to be overlooked with their success and state titles. Mitchell had a state title temporarily in the 4x400 meter relay, but a disqualification from an exchange zone violation quickly took it away from the Salem boys.

With Wesh graduated, a talented pack of returnees will be back in 2011 to vie for bragging rights at the state's top sprinter and Mitchell is looking to step up into that spotlight. A nice springboard into his senior year could be next week's AAU Junior Olympic Games in Norfolk as the 2009 AAU intermediate boys 200 national champion will be vyi...