Eliza Mitchell, a 5”2, 118-pound wrestler, is a force to be reckoned with on the mat. Last year, Mitchell qualified for state as a freshman, and is on track to do so again during her sophomore season. Mitchell is known around City High as an unbreakable female athlete, as she plays three different sports at the Varsity level at the age of 15.
Mitchell has been around City High for her entire life. Her father, Brian Mitchell, has been coaching City High baseball since 2012, just three years after she was born. As a result, Mitchell has always been surrounded by sports. Raised with her two brothers who are also competitive athletes, wrestling and baseball were a huge part of her childhood. Both of her brothers wrestled throughout their youth, so when girl’s wrestling was introduced to Iowa during Mitchell’s seventh-grade year at South East Junior High, she decided to try it.
“My grandpa wrestled and coached at Iowa, and my brothers wrestled, so it kind of runs in the family.” Mitchell said.
“It runs in the family” is not an understatement when it comes to the Mitchells. Mitchell’s grandpa, Dan Gable, is an Olympic gold Medalist in wrestling, and is regarded as the most successful wrestler and wrestling coach at The University of Iowa. Mitchell’s dad played baseball for the Hawkeyes, and Mitchell’s brothers, Gable and Jake, currently play baseball for the Hawkeyes as well.
Mitchell says that her grandpa and brothers are her biggest role models. She says that even though she gets “beat up a little bit”, they still teach her new stuff every day.
Entering her 3rd year of wrestling, Mitchell says her sport “takes grind.” Wrestlers have to put in an immense amount of work daily, as they need to stay in their weight class and also take care of their bodies so that they stay healthy. But, wrestling is also a very mentally challenging sport, especially for females new to the sport.
Mitchell is unfazed by these difficulties, though. After growing up around the sport, she doesn’t see a difference in male and female wrestlers.
“I feel like the sports just feel the same.” Mitchell says.
When asked what advice to a female athlete who does feel the stress of playing a male-dominated sport, Mitchell would advise them to “get your friends to do it too, and just have fun with it.” She believes that you can have lots of fun with wrestling, and that “you don’t have to be great right now, because everyone’s new to it.”
