Northwest Nazarene University Athletics

Greg Mitchell joined the NNU track & field and cross country staff in the fall of 2022, first serving as the assistant cross country coach and the assistant track & field coach for the distance events before earning promotion to Head Coach in the fall of 2024.

In his first year as the head coach of the Nighthawks in 2024-25, two of Mitchell's athletes earned NCAA DII Outdoor All-American honors. Laurenz Waldbauer was the National Runner-Up in the javelin, while also earned GNAC Men's Field Athlete of the Year honors and GNAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition. Destany Herbert earned Second Team All-American honors with a ninth-place finish in the shot put at the outdoor championships. Gerohm Rihari also qualified for Outdoor Nationals in the high jump. The Nighthawks also earned 14 All-Region honors from the USTFCCCA and 26 All-GNAC honors, including four individual GNAC titles. NNU also broke school records 15 times during the year and registered nine NCAA provisional qualifying marks. The men's cross country squad also recorded their best finish in over 20 years at the GNAC Championships with a runner-up finish as a team.

In his first cross country season at the helm, Mitchell led the men's team to a runner-up finish at the 2024 GNAC Championships, the team's highest finish since winning the conference title in 2001. Brody Kemble earned his second-straight All-GNAC honor, while Kemble and Morgan Erler both achieved All-Region recognition. 

Mitchell joined the program with over 25 years of previous coaching experience at the collegiate, high school, and club level. He most recently served as the head coach of the Rose City Track Club in Portland from 2017-2021, coaching post-collegiate athletes to achievements such as Olympic Trials Marathon and Boston Marathon qualifying times. 

Prior to that, Mitchell spent two years, one as an assistant and one as the head coach, at Mountainside High School in Beaverton, Oregon, helping to establish a brand new program at a new high school. Before Mountainside, he spent 10 years at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, first as an assistant coach and then the associate head cross country coach for six seasons, coaching numerous individual NCAA DIII national qualifiers and conference champions. 

Prior to Linfield, he held multiple cross country and track & field roles at Rampart High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, McMinnville High School in Oregon, and Gresham High School in Oregon.

Mitchell ran collegiately for Linfield, claiming two conference championships and two conference runner-up finishes in the 10,000 meters. He also earned a runner-up finish in the 5000 meters and finished second twice at the conference cross country meet. His Linfield squad won the conference's team track & field championship twice and the cross country championship once. At the national level, he qualified for the NAIA Cross Country Championships three times and the NAIA Track & Field Championships twice.

He continues to compete at a high level, as he is a 13-time USATF Masters Individual Champion (cross country, track, and roads), a six-time USATF Masters Team Cross Country Champion with the Bowerman Track Club, and the American Masters record holder in the 20,000 meters.

Mitchell earned his undergraduate degree from Linfield before receiving a Masters of Education from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He and his wife Stephanie have one daughter, Phoebe.