The world goes silent when Dillon Mitchell hits the drive phase.
Inside the packed arena, the roar of the crowd is a muffled hum against the rhythmic thwack-thwack-thwack of spikes digging into the synthetic track. By the 40-meter mark, he isn’t just running; he is separating himself from the best 10th graders in the country. As he leans through the tape at the finish line of the 60-meter dash, the clock confirms what the stands already suspected: another national-level record has fallen. Dillon walks off the track, chest heaving, his face transitioning from a mask of intense focus to the relaxed smile of a 16-year-old who just did exactly what he set out to do.
“When I’m in the zone,” Dillon says, cooling down after the historic sprint, “I am normally in a relaxed state, just thinking about what I must do to win.” That mental clarity has propelled him to the top of the national rankings. But despite the trophies and the “fastest in the nation” labels, Dillon is quick to clear up one common locker-room rumor. “I really am a 16-year-old in the 10th grade,” he laughs. “I am always asked if I have reclassed. I have not!”
For Dillon, the path to the podium is built on a specific, almost superstitious routine. While other athletes have complex rituals, his is grounded in physical readiness. “The most specific part of my warmup is knowing that if I can touch my toes, then I am ready to run,” he explains. Once those hamstrings are loose and he’s crouched in the blocks, the noise of the world fades until only two words remain: “The last thought that goes through my mind before the starter’s pistol fires is, ‘GO WIN!'”
Success at this level requires a level of sacrifice that would break most teenagers. While his peers are at weekend parties or sleeping in, Dillon is grinding through intervals. To him, it isn’t a difficult choice. “The podium is worth it every time,” he says firmly.
However, the pressure of being a national record-holder can be heavy. To stay grounded, Dillon leans on the wisdom of his closest mentor—his father. Having lived in various cities and attended different schools, the one constant has been his dad’s presence on the sidelines.
“The best advice a coach has given me is: ‘One race or game does not define who I am.’ That coach is my dad,” Dillon shares. It’s a lesson he wishes he could have shared with his younger self. “If I could go back to my very first track practice, I would tell my younger self that you will never do anything perfect all the time. Don’t stress about it.”
That perspective allows him to dream big—not just about winning, but about learning. When asked if he’d rather meet a childhood idol or play them in their prime, Dillon chooses the meeting. “I’d rather meet my childhood hero so I can ask them for tips and tricks,” he says. “I’d ask what they did right and wrong so I don’t make the same mistakes.”
And while he is currently the king of the 60-meter dash, track isn’t his only love. Dillon is a multi-sport threat who admits that, despite his sprinting accolades, “Football is my favorite sport.”
Whether he’s on the gridiron or the track, Dillon Mitchell is moving too fast for the rest of the country to catch up. But even with the national spotlight shining bright, he’s happy to keep his eyes on the finish line—and perhaps keep his occasional losses a bit more private. “I’d rather lose while nobody is watching,” he jokes, “so that I am the only person who knows I lost.”
With the way he’s running lately, it doesn’t look like he’ll have to worry about losing anytime soon.
