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Mariah Mitchell

Small Town, Long Odds, Big Dreams

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Mariah Mitchell's journey from Wapello, Iowa

For most people in Wapello, Iowa – pronounced WOP-a-low with a population of 2,067 – being a college athlete is not even on their mind. It was not on the mind of Mariah Mitchell either, until the sophomore she joined the Iowa Rockets club volleyball team. However, even then, she was not in love with the sport.

Mitchell grew up an all-around athlete, participating in pom and cheer and playing basketball while running track in the spring. When her coach mentioned that she should try out for the Rockets, she decided to give it a shot.

"My coach told me that I should try out for the Iowa Rockets in early high school. When I tried out for the Rockets, I was able to make it on the team," Mitchell said. "The problem was that I did not really love volleyball yet at that time, it was just something else to do. By the end of my first season with the Rockets, I fell in love with the sport."

When she fell in love with volleyball, it began to take over her athletic career and for good reason – she was good, really good. By her junior season, she threw in the towel and poms on all her other endeavors but volleyball and track and decided to shift her main focus on the volleyball court. She then took her junior year off from track to focus on the volleyball court before returning to running track her senior season.

Mitchell only decided that it was a possibility to be only the second athlete from her town to play a Division I sport when she was introduced to Lori Hanson, the recruiting coordinator for the Iowa Rockets.

"Playing college volleyball was never really the goal for me, even when I tried out for the Rockets. After my first year and I fell in love with the game, I decided to see how far I could go with it," she said. "I did not know what the recruiting process was like because no one from my high school was going through Division I recruitment. It was nothing I was used to in a small town." 

Growing up in Wapello, Mariah took advantage of the Iowa River that ran across the road from her abode. She enjoyed her family's camper and boat in her younger days, and played "hostage" with her friends, claiming that was the most fun that they could have among the corn fields.

She has enjoyed her transition to Western Illinois and has credited her teammates for making the move as seamless as possible.

"I love it at Western and being in Macomb," she said with a grin. "I knew a lot of the girls from camps that I came to and they have really embraced me.

"It is also nice to have a Walmart less than 30 minutes away."

Mitchell is wrapping up her freshman season as a Leatherneck and looks to continue having success donning the purple and gold for the next three years.
 
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