Carroll cross country and track & field runner Hayden Mullett will continue his running career and his education at Grace College. The news was made public in a Twitter post from Grace.
“I just really enjoyed the cross country program,” Mullett said. “The coaches were really welcoming and friendly and they really pursued me since the end of my junior year in track. And also, I chose Grace College [because of] the opportunities with the school of education.”
Mullet will continue to compete in both cross country and track & field at Grace. He plans to major in Secondary Education and to minor in Psychology.
“I am excited for Hayden to continue his competitive running career at Grace,” Carroll boys cross country coach David Brooks said. “The school and community there are a great fit for him, and I expect he’ll do very well both academically and athletically. Running wise, Hayden’s skill set is more geared toward longer races, the 8K’s and 10K’s he’ll have the opportunity to race at the next level.”
Before Indiana’s shelter-in-place took effect, Mullet was able to do two visits to Grace’s campus.
“One [visit was] in early fall just to meet the coach and visit the campus,” Mullett said. “And then I also went in January for a second visit, specifically with the cross country team, and to tour a couple of education classes and get a hands on experience with that.”
Grace’s cross country team is coached by Jake Poyner, who has competed at both Wake Forest and Lipscomb University. He won an ASUN cross country meet his senior year.
“I think he is a well-fit coach for the program. He has a lot of hands-on experience from his past, in college athletics,” Mullett said. “He just really pursued me greatly on a personal level, and he’s just a very flexible coach, and he just really wants the best for his athletes. So I think he is a great fit for the team.”
On the track side, Mullett got to speak with Assistant Coach Max Kittle during a Zoom video conference call. Kittle has been on Grace’s coaching staff since 2017. The head track coach is Jeff Raymond, who coaches the men’s and women’s track teams. Raymond is in his 10th year as head track coach.
Grace is approximately 50 minutes away from Fort Wayne. As far as Mullett is concerned, it’s not too close to home, but not too far away either.
“I think Grace College is still a great distance to get away from home a little bit, and it’s a very beautiful campus, and it will just be easy to commute back and forth for breaks and for any time I would need to come home,” Mullett said.
Mullett made it to semi-state in cross country both this year and last year. He placed sixth at last year’s Track & Field Sectional at North Side.
“I just have really enjoyed the team atmosphere a lot and the camaraderie aspect,” Mullet said. “Coach [Phil] Yoder and Coach Brooks have done a great job in their coaching abilities, and I’m just very thankful to be a part of that team.”
Coach Brooks has multiple positive things to say about Mullett, particularly in regards to his attitude.
“Hayden exudes positivity and is about as selfless as they come,” Brooks said. “He’ll be a great teammate at Grace as he has been at Carroll.”
