Cross Country, Wrestling, Track
Favorite athlete: Steve Prefontaine
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: My favorite memory is of my first cross-country race, the 2010 Viking Invitational. I was so excited to run against so many other competitive high school kids.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: In my younger years as a Raiders’ wrestler, I tried to show off at a wrestling match by doing some high leg kicks, and I tried so hard that I ended up falling onto my back in front of what felt like a million people.
Music on iPod: From classic rock to classical
Future plans: I want to go to a competitive college and major in mechanical engineering.
Words to live by: ‘A novice sailor does not become a good sailor by always sailing on calm waters.’
One goal before turning 30: I want to find and settle into a profession early in my life that I can enjoy forever.
One thing people don’t know about me: I actually enjoy doing mental math.
By Alex Frazier
When Robert Mitchell entered Central Bucks West as a sophomore, he decided to give up football, which he had played for three years in middle school, because he had heard the academics would be considerably harder.
“I was afraid of playing sports and doing school work at the same time,” he admitted. “I recognized that academics comes first, and I heard that high school was a lot more challenging. I wanted to make sure I could handle the academic load before participating in sports.”
Once he discovered he felt comfortable in the academic environment, Mitchell returned to wrestling in the winter and lacrosse in the spring. Both sports he had been playing for a “bunch of years.”
Fast forward to the following fall and Mitchell decided to go out for cross country, partly at the prompting of his friends but also because he wanted to be in better shape for wrestling than he had been the year before.
Now a senior at West, Mitchell is captain of the cross country team.
In nutshell, this is what Mitchell is all about.
A dedicated athlete, an accomplished student and a leader in life.
Ever since his first year in high school, Mitchell has had a plan.
And it’s well mapped out.
From the get-go, he had an affinity for science, technology, engineering and math. Instead of pursuing the normal progression of courses in high school, Mitchell enrolled in the Energy Related Technologies Program at the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology (MBIT).
While at MBIT, he mastered Robotics 1, Robotics 2, Measurement Tools, Pneumatic Control, Plastic Molding and Hydraulics. In addition, he learned two computer aided design (CAD) programs—Inventor and Solid Works, completed a 10-hour OSHA General Industrial Safety Course and presented a team project to the MBIT Executive Council.
Mitchell was particularly fond of his CAD courses.
As if that wasn’t enough, he also took advanced placement statistics (scored 5 on the exam) and physics (scored 3 on the exam) at C.B. West.
Mitchell is ranked in the 11th percentile of his class (about 52 of 490).
He has also been recognized as a leader in almost every endeavor.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” he said. “I’m not an intra personal thinker, but a lot of my life can be connected through some aspects and leadership is definitely one of them.”
In academics he has been recognized for his excellence with a partial scholarship to the Rensselaer Institute of Technology and received the Presidents Academic Award.
In his engineering classes, he was a representative who attended monthly meetings and reported back to the class. He also participated in a leadership retreat and took a two-day Leadership Training course in political and community leadership.
As far back as ninth grade, Mitchell captained his freshman wrestling team.
This year, despite being only a second-year runner, Mitchell is captain of the cross country team.
“He’s a great leader,” said coach Greg Wetzel. “The other kids look to him for leadership and they listen when he talks. He’s not one to speak out of turn or talk too much. When he is speaking up, the other kids take notice and listen. It’s nice as a coach to know I have a guy like that on the team.”
“I enjoy being helpful,” said Mitchell. “The coach has recognized that I have some leadership qualities.”
After a race last Saturday, Wetzel told the team that since they had a tri-meet Wednesday, they should take their long run on Sunday, which is normally a day off, instead of Monday.
Wetzel knew he could depend on Mitchell to make sure that happened.
“I had no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Rob and the teammates that Rob has helped lead all completed their long run,” said Wetzel. “I can trust that. That’s something Rob has fostered on our team.”
Success in anything is linked to commitment. This is no more apparent than on the cross country circuit.
“Right in the beginning I realized I had some potential to run well, so I went after it,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to be particularly good at it.”
Wetzel has a ready explanation for Mitchell’s success.
“He gives 100 percent in everything he does,” said the Bucks’ coach said. “He’s always looking to do more. He’s looking to be excellent. We’re lucky to have him.”
Mitchell is now running No. 4 on the team and is a “relatively elite” runner, according to Wetzel.
Mitchell is beginning to explore his future college. He has yet to narrow his list other than to say he wants to stay close to the area.
“I’m looking at engineering schools within the region,” he said. “I have a whole variety of schools ranking from Ivy League to much closer, more public universities.”
He would like to continue running in college, most likely as a walk-on, if it fits into his plan.
“I think I’m going to approach it like I did my sophomore year at West,” he said. “I realize that the point is to prepare for the work force and get the skills. I’m not going to go to college already recruited, but I may try to walk-on to either the track or cross country team.”
One thing he knows for sure, as a result of his experience at MBIT, he wants to pursue engineering, more specifically mechanical engineering.
“Mechanical is where I see myself the most,” he said. “I enjoy computer aided drawing. It gives a lot of room for creativity in designing of parts and fixing problems. I find that interesting.”
Before that, he would like to complete a successful senior year, one that would include earning a district medal in cross country.
“He’s in a position hopefully to be in the mix,” said Wetzel. “He’ll be in the hunt.”
He will also wrestle 145/152 during the winter and run the mile and two-mile in track, a sport he also started last year.
“I enjoyed cross country so much, I decided to run spring track, which was a relatively difficult decision because I had played lacrosse for so many years,” he said. “Running is still something pretty new for me, but it was a long thought-out decision.”
Beyond his academic and athletic life, Mitchell has gone out of his way to find out what life is like “on the other side of the tracks.”
He has had two eye-opening experiences.
In ninth grade, he and his football teammates volunteered to help at the Special Olympics.
“I went there not expecting much, to kind of be standing there and being bored,” he said, “but it was really pretty interesting, kind of eye-opening because I live in the microcosm of Doylestown, where there’s a lot of wealth and intelligence. Being exposed to a world I don’t know was pretty interesting.”
Mitchell was also pleasantly surprised by the feats of the special athletes.
“Some of them were putting up some significant numbers as far as weightlifting,” he said. “I was more than surprised.”
Members of his church and others collect donated food and distribute it to the needy in Philadelphia.
Mitchell helped pack up the food donations and handed them out to the homeless and indigent in center city, a long way from his cushy Doylestown.
“We set up a bunch of tables out of the back of a van and distribute food to people who come,” said Mitchell. “It was another eye-opening experience.”
Mitchell also volunteers for the Doylestown Business Community Alliance “to rack up some hours and enjoy the town at the same time.” One of his stints was helping out at the Doylestown Arts Festival.
Mitchell also volunteers regularly with the National Honor Society at community events like jazz festivals.
“It’s not like he’s just a participant,” said Wetzel. “He’s doing all those things well. A lot of kids are looking to do the right thing and participate in things but don’t have the ability to be excellent or aren’t that interested in being excellent but just want to have a lot of stuff to put down on their resume, but if he’s doing it, he’s doing it well.”
