Track/Cross Country Add Clif and April Mitchell to Coaching Staff
9/7/2022 12:51:00 PM | Cross Country, Track and Field
Clif and April Mitchell will assist Coach Shirley in Track and Cross Country
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Track & Field/Cross Country and Head Coach Benaud Shirley have added two assistant coaches heading into the 2022-23 year. Clif and April Mitchell will assist Coach Shirley as the Track & Field program returns from reinstatement.
April Mitchell - Assistant Track & Field Coach
April Mitchell returns to the world of athletics following a four-year stint in the non-profit industry. The former NCAA Championship-qualifying runner will serve as an assistant coach for the track and field program.
"I'm excited to be a part of the Kansas City Athletics staff, rejoining the world of college athletics and helping develop the newly-reinstated Track & Field program," Mitchell said.
For the past four years, Mitchell worked for the non-profit Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, serving as the Director of Development. In that role, she raised funds to aid the mission of the foundation, serving as event director for the fundraising events hosted by the Eastern Oklahoma Chapter.
Prior to her time with the CFF, Mitchell spent over a decade at the University of Tulsa, earning three degrees, running on the track team and working in the athletics department.
Mitchell was named Director of Operations for The University of Tulsa Athletics Department in July 2012, and was promoted to Assistant AD for Operations & Game Management in July 2015. Mitchell was appointed to her Director of Operations position after spending one year as an Assistant Track & Field Coach. Before that, she spent two years as a Graduate Assistant in the athletic operations department.
As the Assistant AD for Operations and Game Management, she managed athletic events hosted by the university and assisted with a variety of other tasks for department operations.
Prior to working as an employee, Mitchell was a 12-time letter-winner for the Golden Hurricane. As a senior, she was named one of 12 Conference USA student-athletes to earn the Jim Castaneda Postgraduate Scholarship Award, maintaining a 3.96 grade point average throughout her undergraduate career at Tulsa. In her senior season, Mitchell qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400-meter hurdles. She earned all-conference honors in outdoor track for the 400m hurdles and the 4x4000-meter relay, while also earning all-league merits for the indoor 4x400m relay. Mitchell's best mark for the 400m hurdles was a time of 58.71 at the 2009 NCAA Regional meet.
Mitchell graduated from Tulsa with her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Science in Exercise & Sports Science in 2009. She remained at Tulsa for her Master of Arts in Education in 2011.
Prior to her collegiate career, Mitchell was a four-year letter-winner at Broken Arrow High School, helping to lead her high school to team state titles in track and runners-up in cross-country as a senior (2003-04). Mitchell was the state champion in the 800-meters, 1,600m relay and 3,200m relay, while placing as the runner-up in the 300m hurdles in her senior season (2004).
April is married to Clif Mitchell, who is also an assistant coach at Kansas City. The pair reside in Olathe, Kan. with their children Dylan and Morgan.
Clif Mitchell - Assistant Track & Field/Cross Country Coach
Clif Mitchell returns to Kansas City following a three-year tenure as the Roos' assistant coach from 2008-11. In his current role, Mitchell will work with sprinters, mid-distance and distance runners.
"I'm very excited to be back at Kansas City, working with Coach Shirley," Mitchell said. "This program has won five conference titles since 2013, and we have a very good, young core group that we can build around and continue winning championships."
From 2016-22, Mitchell was an Assistant Coach at Jenks High School in Tulsa, Okla. He helped lead the Trojans' Girls' team to back-to-back Class 6A State Championships in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, his girls' 4x800m relay team broke a 38-year-old record, running a 9:18.32. The following year, the same quartet shattered their own record, running 9:12.04.Â
Mitchell also coached current Roo Ally Ryan at Jenks, helping her win the 2017 state title and break the state record in the 800m with a time of 2:09.28, making her the first Oklahoman to break the 2:10 mark. The following year, Ryan broke the state record mark in the 1600m, inning a 4:51.55.
Prior to his time at Jenks, Mitchell was an assistant coach at Tulsa from 2011-16. He helped lead the men's team to a Conference USA Indoor Championship in 2012, and a runner-up finish in 2013. Among his mentees were Bryce Robinson, eight-time NCAA All-American and Team USA member, Audrey Jean-Baptiste, an Indoor All-American in the 400m and Team Canada member and Katherine Camp, four-time Conference USA 800m Champion, Outdoor All-American and Team New Zealand member.
During Mitchell's initial stint at Kansas City, he recruited and signed KC Hall of Fame and Olympian, Courtney Frerichs. The women's cross country teams that he coached improved in the Summit League standings in each of his first three years, and Cosmas Ayabei won the 2010 Summit League Men's Cross Country Championship. Mitchell coached Roo student-athletes to 22 school record, 19 All-Conference honors and three conference championships.
Mitchell earned his bachelor's degree in exercise physiology from Tulsa in 2006, earning a master's in the same discipline from Kansas in 2008. During his time at Tulsa, Mitchell was a member of the track & field/cross country team. During his junior season, he twice broke the school record in the 600-yard run.
Originally from Edmond, Okla., Mitchell graduated from Edmond Memorial High School in 2002. He was a decorated athlete, earning all-state and all-regional honors in track, breaking the 4x400m state record, winning a cross country state championship and earning all-conference honors in basketball.
Clif is married to fellow Assistant Track and Field Coach April Mitchell. The pair live in Olathe, Kan., and have two children, Dylan and Morgan.
Players Mentioned
