Redshirt sophomore Warren Witchell is a distance runner for the Eastern Michigan University track and field team and also runs cross country for the school.
He comes to EMU from Dansville, Mich., which is about an hour northwest of Ypsilanti.
“Dansville is a very small town with about 1,000 people,” he said.
Witchell, 21, has four brothers: Josh, 25, Jay, 19, Cory, 15, and Andy, 12.
His parents, Fred and Wendy, have been strong influences in his life.
“They have always gotten me to stay focused on my academics and would always tell me that in track and field, ‘There is always someone who is faster than you,’” Witchell said. “They told me to set goals for myself by being faster than the man next to me to keep the hunger and motivation going.”
Witchell attended Dansville High School, where he was a three-sport athlete in track and field, basketball and soccer.
“I was pretty decent in soccer, but in basketball I was not a great shooter, so ultimately I was destined for track and field,” Witchell said.
He has been running track and field since he was 14.
When asked who his favorite athlete would be, Witchell responded,
“I really do not have one because I am one of those guys that do not watch a lot of sports on television. If I do, then I can only watch for 10 minutes before having to get up and play that sport.”
After his track and field career wraps up at EMU, he wants to become a high school teacher and plans to continue to do outdoor running.
Witchell sees himself one day being a part of organized marathons.
“I can see myself running in some marathons such as the Chicago, Boston and New York ones,” he said.
Currently, Witchell’s major is social studies and his minor is economics.
If there was one class he could pick as his favorite, Witchell said it would be his U.S. history class.
He said his favorite professor is John Ellis.
“He is a real cool guy and helps out if I do not understand something,” Witchell said.
When it comes to his favorite foods, it depends on the time of the year because of his sport.
“I like to eat pizza in the off-season, but not too much because it is unhealthy,” Witchell said. “And during the season, I would say pasta is my favorite because I run a lot of miles and it helps me keep with calorie intake.”
His favorite restaurant to dine is Big Boy.
“I like Big Boy because they have a good dessert called the classic hot fudge cake and it is delicious,” Witchell said.
He admits to not watching a lot of TV because of his schedule, but likes “Pawn Stars” on the History Channel.
“I like it because they show off all of their historical stuff all at once and is very cool to see,” he said.
Witchell is not very big into clothes shopping, but whenever he needs to buy any, he likes to go to Wal-Mart.
“Wal-Mart is simple enough because I usually run in the same clothes that I wear every day,” Witchell said.
His favorite place to travel is Buffalo, N.Y., and he likes a lot of the stops on the way there.
“Stopping by Niagara Falls was sweet and then being able to take in Buffalo was a treat,” he said.
The person Witchell looks up to the most is his teammate, redshirt sophomore Harry Dixon.
“[Dixon] has a 4.0 grade point average and it is inspiring to see him achieve at a high level academically,” Witchell said. “Harry helps me to strive to be a better person academically and athletically.”
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