WHEN HE WAS FIVE YEARS OLD, TRUMAINE MITCHELL KNEW WHAT HE WANTED.
“No one in my family went to college. I wanted to be the first one to do it,” the Terry High junior said.
Since then, college has been at the forefront of Mitchell’s priorities. His mother, Sofia Salazar, encouraged him to do extracurricular activities, signing her son up for as many sports as possible to better his chances of getting to college.
“It would mean a lot to me and my mom,” Mitchell said. “It’s not going to be easy, and it takes a lot.”
Mitchell is certainly doing all he can.
The 5-foot-8, 180-pounder runs track, and plays football and basketball for the Rangers. He wants to play football and run track in college.
Mitchell is a standout receiver for the Rangers, catching the game-winning touchdown pass in the 2021 “Battle of the ’Berg” to beat Lamar Consolidated. He plays basketball, which he said helps with explosiveness, conditioning, and reading defenses, and runs track to improve his speed and mechanics for football.
Mitchell currently runs a 4.7 40-yard dash. He’d like to see that dropped to 4.3 or 4.4. He runs the 100 meters, and 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays. Mitchell ran the first leg of the Rangers’ 4x200 relay last season that finished fourth at the Class 5A State Track & Field meet with a time of 1:25.75.
“Track helps with a lot of things,” said Mitchell, who is using this track season to improve his breakout speed for faster separation off the line of scrimmage. “Speed, running form, stamina. Even with jumping, being able to go and reach at the high point of the football. A lot of things translate to the football field.”
Mitchell took up track in the seventh grade largely because of Sofia, who also ran track when she was younger.
“It’s like a family legacy,” he said.
He remembers his first race, running the 100 meters.
“I was scared. I was nervous,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t know how I was going to do. I knew I was competing against other fast people.”
And now?
“After I got that first one out of the way, I was good,” Mitchell said. “I’m just doing my best and competing out there. I know all the work I’ve put in.”
When he isn’t on the track, field or court, Mitchell coaches youth basketball for a local league. Coaching is something he might like to do as a career.
But first he wants to get to college. He plans to study business.
“I’ve got to be committed to make it,” Mitchell said. “That’s my ultimate goal.”
