Short of calling his own shot, Mike Mitchell made his intentions clear prior to the District 11 Track and Field Championships.

"Districts is when it counts," Mitchell said at the time.Coming off a runner-up finish in the long jump and a third-place result in the triple jump a week earlier at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference meet, Mitchell had all the motivation he needed going into districts.And the Pleasant Valley senior delivered. Mitchell vaulted to wins in the Class 3A long jump and triple jump at Blue Mountain High School, breaking his own school records in both events.Mitchell finished his high school career with a fifth-place medal in the triple jump, and a 12th-place result in the long jump at the PIAA Championships.Much like he did throughout a remarkable postseason, Mitchell soared above the competition to claim the Times News Male Track Athlete of the Year."I knew I was trying to win districts," Mitchell said. "I wanted to win leagues and I wanted to win states. I didn't get to win states, and I didn't get to win leagues. … But for our area, I was really happy I got to win districts. It was a heck of a track season."Mitchell also enjoyed a stellar football season in the fall, one that ended with Times News Player of the Year honors.But that campaign ended with an ankle injury against Stroudsburg, one that derailed much of his offseason."To be honest, I thought I wasn't (going to be) at the same speed," Mitchell said. "When I used to play basketball, I couldn't dunk like I used to. I could do it but I felt I wasn't (getting) high enough. Everything didn't start falling into place until the middle of track season."And he remembers the moment well."I lost to a sophomore in a race," Mitchell recalled.The race was the 100-meter dash. The meet was April 27 against Freedom. And the loss came to Nasai Moon."Everybody was just like, 'Mike, you let Nasai beat you?'" Mitchell said. "And I was like, all right, that's it. And then something just triggered."The setback set the tone for the rest of the season."I believe that the turning point for him was the Freedom meet," said Pleasant Valley track and field head coach Michelle Piontkowski. "He won both the long jump and triple jump, but his jumps were average. It was because he got beat in the 100 by a teammate, for the second meet in a row, that things started to change for him."After that meet, we noticed he was more focused in practice and worked just a little bit harder. He did not want to get beat again by a sophomore. The next, and last, (regular season) meet was the Stroudsburg meet, and that's when he got back to jumping 21 feet in the long jump and jumped over 44 feet in the triple."Mitchell didn't fully hit his stride until districts. His strategy? Rest."To be honest, I did not do anything," he said. "I said I was gonna stay off my legs so they feel rested. And to be honest, I did not do anything all week. I practiced one time and that was it."Honestly, I just rested. I feel like my body performs better with the more rest I get. So not like two weeks' worth, because then I'll feel out of shape. But five or six days of rest, I feel like that's perfect coming into it. My body's warmed up. The weather was real good, so everything was in my favor. My body felt really good."Mitchell's progression was something Piontkowski always knew was possible."Mike is a natural athlete, so from the start we had high expectations for him," Piontkowski said. "We expected to enter him in four events every meet this year, however, realizing he was coming off an injury we had to readjust our plan. Mike has always been one of our top jumpers. He didn't come out for track until his sophomore year, and we already had three excellent long jumpers in Kevin Cruz, Nyiem Nevarez and Demetrius Green, so Mike had to settle with being the best triple jumper he could be, and worry about the long jump the following year."He didn't disappoint as he qualified for states in the triple jump as a sophomore. Last year, with losing those long jumpers to graduation, Mike quickly picked up the long jump and qualified for states. So this year, naturally we knew he could qualify in either event, if not both. However, there are a lot of excellent jumpers in our district and it all comes down to the district meet. To see him at the top of the podium two days in a row at Blue Mountain was priceless."Truly, priceless."As a coach, you are always proud of your athletes for winning awards," Piontkowski said. "But for Mike to persevere through injuries and questioning himself throughout the regular season, it makes it a little more special knowing what he overcame physically and mentally to be at the top of his events at the end of the season."