Former Francis Marion University softball player and coach
Rendy Yates and former Patriot track and field and
cross country athlete Mitch Powell were inducted
into the FMU Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 6, 1999.
Powell, a native of Wadley, Ga., was a
four-time NAIA District Six All-District cross country runner and a
three-time All-District track and field performer. He
lettered four years in both track and field and cross country
(1979-83) before earning the B.A. degree in history in 1984.
He currently resides in Milledgeville, Ga., and is a supervisor
with Horton Homes Manufacturing in Eatonton, Ga.
He earned All-District honors in cross country each of his four
years, was the District Six individual champion in 1981 and 1982,
and ran in the 1980, 1981, and 1982 NAIA national championship
meets. In winning the 1982 district crown, he broke the USC
Spartanburg course record by 30 seconds.
Powell was a three-time All-District selection in track and
field and participated in the 1982 South Carolina-North Carolina
All-Star Track Meet. He finished his career as the
third-leading scorer in Patriot track and field history (319.88
points), and set school records that still stand today, in the
six-mile (31:37.77), three-mile (14:38.80), 5,000-meters
(15:09.71), and 10,000-meters (32:42.08).
He helped lead the Patriots to three district team titles in
each sport.
