DES MOINES, Iowa – Former University of Nebraska track and field stars Shanelle (Simmons) Porter and Paulette (Villarreal) Mitchell will be inducted into the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame during an April 24 luncheon at the Schickler Club in the Knapp Center on the Drake University campus. This Hall of Fame induction will happen in conjunction with the 115th running of the Drake Relays Presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom.
 
"2025 has been a commemorative year for women's sports at Drake University and that sentiment is echoed by the Drake Relays," Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays Blake Boldon said. "This year marks 50 years of women's athletics at the university and as we continue to celebrate women's sports, it is fitting that we honor two female inductees for the first time since naming the Athletes of the Century fifteen years ago. We're proud to enshrine successful and impactful athletes like Shanelle Porter and Paulette Mitchell into the Hall of Fame."
 
Porter was a five-time Drake Relays champion in the sprint relays. She ran on the winning 4x200 and 4x400 relays in the 1991 and 1992 Drake Relays. She was also a member of the triumphant 4x100 relay in the 1992 Relays.
 
She was a 12-time All-American as a Husker with two NCAA crowns to her credit. Porter won the indoor 400m dash in 1993 and anchored Nebraska's 1991 outdoor 4x400 relay. She earned 17 Big Eight Conference champions including nine individual races and eight relay events. Her Big Eight titles include three in the indoor 400, two in the indoor 200, and two in the outdoor 400. As a team Nebraska was a four-time Big Eight indoor and outdoor championship winner during her competitive career.
 
Porter later ran on the United States' 4x400 relay teams that set American records in earning a silver medal at the 1997 World Indoor Championships and a bronze medal at the 1999 World Indoor Championships. She was also a bronze medalist in the 400 at the 2000 USA Indoor Championships.
 
"Being inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame is an incredible honor," Porter said. "[Competing in the] Drake Relays was pure joy for me and my team—we'd kick things off with a silly, choreographed warm-up like a dancing chain gang, just soaking in the energy. We had so much fun running every variation on that iconic Blue Oval. It was an unforgettable experience every single year."
 
Mitchell, another decorated Cornhusker alum, was a three-time Drake Relays champion in the university-college shot put from 1994-96. Her three consecutive women's titles marked the first time an athlete won back-to-back-to-back women's shot put crowns and is only one of two athletes to do so. She took second place in 1993 when she matched the mark of the longest throw.
 
Mitchell also competed in the discus at the Drake Relays during all four years of her collegiate career, finishing as high as sixth in 1996. She still holds the Drake Relays high school record in the shot with a best of 50'-4.75" set in 1992, the first year for that girls' event. No one has come within two feet of that mark.
 
She was a five-time indoor All-American from 1993-96 including a runner-up finish in 1995, and earned indoor All-American honors in the 20-pound weight throw in 1996. Mitchell added five outdoor All-American awards at Nebraska including shot put, discus, and hammer. She won five indoor league championships and four outdoor league crowns in the Big Eight Conference. Her hammer throw of 199 feet at the 1996 Big Eight meet set the national collegiate record.
 
Mitchell finished 11th at the 1992 Olympic trials and 10th at the 1996 Trials.
 
"I am extremely excited and very honored to be able to attend such an important event," Mitchell said. "I'm thrilled to be able to share old Drake Relays memories and create new ones with my two sons who are participating in the field events. It's an amazing event in which I would love for them to build memories upon."
 
Porter and Mitchell will join Ryan Crouser as members of the 2025 Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame class as the 227th and 228th honorees. The Athletes Hall of Fame was established in 1959 during the Golden Anniversary of the Drake Relays with 72 charter members, including Jesse Owens who was named the outstanding performer during the first half-century of the Drake Relays.
 
Individual tickets and table reservations to attend the Hall of Fame luncheon on April 24 are available for purchase. If interested, contact Carolyn Burch Kirchhoff (carolyn.kirchhoff@drake.edu) Director of the Drake Relays Baton Club.
 
All-session tickets, single-session and ticket packages for the 115th Drake Relays April 23-26 are available now at https://godrakebulldogs.evenue.net/events/DR.