Although Warren Mitchell coached many sports over the span of his career, he is perhaps best know as the Limon boys track coach from 1955-2010. Contributed photo.
Warren Mitchell passed away last night at his Aurora home.
On the landscape of Colorado high school coaches, perhaps no figure looms larger than Warren Mitchell. He began coaching at Eads High School in 1952, moved to Limon in 1953, and continued as a coach at Limon through the track season of 2010. During that time, he coached football, boys basketball, baseball, and track and field--the sport with which he is most commonly associated. In all, Mitchell coached 57 years at Limon, including 56 years of track and field.
During his coaching tenure, Mitchell won 17 state championships--12 in track and field, four in basketball, and one in football, all at Limon High School. Five more times, he was coach of a state runner-up team. Four of those were in track and one in football. His most recent state title was earned when the Limon boys won the 2A State Track and Field championship in 2005.
In addition, Mitchell coached 57 individual and 16 relay state champions during his time as the head track coach at Limon.
Mitchell graduated from Denver West High School and went on to attend Colorado State College of Education (now the University of Northern Colorado), where he graduated in 1951. He ran four years of track and played one year of football while in college.
Mitchell will be inducted posthumously into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in April of 2015. He already owned hall of fame memberships in the NFHS, NHSACA, CHSAA, and CHSCA. The other accolades of his career are legion, almost beyond enumeration.
The Colorado High School Coaches Association awards a track and field coaching longevity honor in his name each year.
Truly, one of the great legends of Colorado High School athletics has departed from among us.