FEATURE: Wrestling's Mitchell overcomes early adversity to regain starting spot, qualify for nationals

Three months ago, Averett University men’s wrestling junior Khalil Mitchell found himself exiled to the bench after his subpar start to the season cost him his starting spot in the lineup. Later this week, he’ll find himself competing against the top 174-pound wrestlers in the country at the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Mitchell’s journey from the shadows back into the spotlight was an important lesson for him as he found himself and made changes to ultimately achieve one of his dreams.

“Being a backup definitely changed my mindset because I knew I could help my team and excel more,” Mitchell said. “Being a backup helped me want to improve more and wrestle even harder because I didn’t like being a backup. Something needed to change.”

Mitchell opened the year as the only wrestler in the starting lineup to lose a match in Averett’s season-opening dual with Southern Virginia University. Although he won his next four matches, two more losses in a span of three bouts led to him losing his starting role.

So many emotions went through Mitchell’s head. The native of Cocoa, Florida, even contemplated walking away. Averett’s coaching staff tried to guide him through the adversity.

“They told me the way I was acting wasn’t cool and I needed to grow up and do better,” Mitchell recalled. “I feel like that’s what changed me.”

Taking a step back to take two steps forward proved to be the right move for Mitchell.

“I told myself to keep wrestling hard and have composure — win or lose,” Mitchell said. “That’s something I’ve always struggled with. When I lose, it will feel like the end of the world. Having a composed mindset definitely changed my game.”

Roulo said a case could be made for Mitchell that he has the highest motor on the team, always putting in extra work. That part was never the problem.

“For him, it has always been the highs and the lows," Roulo noted. "If he can stay even-keel when something goes wrong in a match or goes great, as long as he doesn’t get too emotionally high or low, he can hang with the best of them. He knows what he’s going to do and he’s elite in what he does.”

When the Cougars went to the Gator Boot Duals in mid-December, Mitchell felt like it was the turning point for him.

“I was still a backup at the time,” Mitchell said. “Me and my teammate were switching off during that event, and I had to wrestle the ninth-ranked guy in the country. I thought, ‘This is my time to show what I’ve got.’ That’s when I knew that I could do it.”

Mitchell proved himself and soon after, he found his way back into the starting lineup just in time for the Cougars to get in the heart of the conference schedule.

“He was a backup until January,” Roulo said. “People forget that. He ended up earning his spot back by the Gator Boot Duals, but he had a rough first semester. He is somebody who I think it was good for him to have to work his way back because he’s had so much success. Here we are where he’s a two-time conference finalist and regional placer, but we didn’t have all the boxes checked of doing the right things. Once he hit January, he became a different person. When his emotions are in check, he can beat anyone.”

Mitchell cruised through the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships, winning the final with an 11-2 major decision. He rolled through the NCAA Southeast Region Championships until the finals, where he led until a late takedown in the third period proved to be the difference and left him as the region runner-up. Even though that result was disappointing, Mitchell tried to remind himself that he had still achieved his goal of qualifying for nationals.

And if Mitchell didn’t reassure himself in the moment, one of his Averett teammates made sure to. Graduate student Trent Ragland, who was among the six Averett national qualifiers, reminded Mitchell of the bigger picture.

“I talked to Khalil a little bit after the region finals because he and I were the only two to lose and get second,” Ragland recalled. “I just told him, ‘Hey, look. It is what it is. It’s obviously not what we wanted but we are still going (to nationals) and we’ve got another opportunity two weeks from now. Nobody is going to care what place we got in the regional tournament if we are standing on that podium in Wisconsin.”

Mitchell’s roller coaster of a season is the perfect example of that. Years from now, no one will remember that he once lost his starting spot early in the season. They’ll only remember that he etched his name into the record books as a national qualifier.