South Putnam's Derrick Mitchell signs letter of intent

Friday, May 2, 2014
Eagle long jumper Derrick Mitchell signs letter of intent to run track at Point Park University in Pittsburgh with Mom Ida and South Putnam coaching staff.

It was a joyous occasion at South Putnam High School for Derrick Mitchell and his mom Ida Friday morning.

Mitchell was signing his letter of intent to run track at Point Park University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

"I'm pretty excited," Mitchell said. "I wanted to go out of state and they got ahold of me. Last week, I got my letter of acceptance, so I'm just excited."

Following a two-year track career at South Putnam, Mitchell will be going to the Pittsburgh Liberal Arts school majoring in mathematics for the Pioneers.

This will be the first time that Point Park University has had a track team since its founding in 1960. This was part of the appeal to Mitchell.

"It's a new track school," Mitchell said. "The coaches are really nice. I wanted to start something new."

His mother, Ida, couldn't be happier for her son.

"I'm very proud of the decisions he's making," she said. "A lot of hard work went into this. Credit South Putnam, they helped him a lot. They made everything worthwhile."

While Mitchell will be proudly running for his mom in Pittsburgh, there is also another means of motivation for the 19-year-old Mitchell.

I'm motivated by my mom and my dad," Mitchell said. "He died last year. That was really hard so my main goal is to do better for Dad."

Mitchell was recruited for his triple jump and long jump prowess and the new Pioneer is setting some steep measuring goals but is confident that nothing is out of reach.

"I'm going to try and get to the Olympics," Mitchell said. "To do that I'm going to have to jump 24 feet (in long jump). That's my main goal that I'm working toward right now."

South Putnam will miss such a strong competitor running for its track team, but Eagles' track coach Troy Burgess is pleased with the effort of his young star.

"I'm very happy for him," Burgess said. "He is a good young man. This is very well deserving. He's come a long way in the two years he was here."

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