KERNERSVILLE—Changes are afoot at the athletic department at West Forsyth High School.

       According to the Winston-Salem Journal and other media reports, veteran athletic director T.R. Richards is retiring at the end of October.  As a result, men’s basketball coach Mike Pennington is stepping down from that role to assume the duties of athletic director.

       Derrell Mitchell, who is a media assistant at West Forsyth, has been named the interim men’s basketball coach.  The 32-year-old Mitchell was a great athlete in his own right at R.J. Reynolds and was the Pat Best Memorial Award winner for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association for the 2000-01 academic year. He played on two NCHSAA state championship basketball tams at R.J. Reynolds under veteran coach Howard West and then went on to play football at the University of North Carolina.

       Mitchell coached the women’s basketball program at R.J. Reynolds from 2011-13 and posted a record of 30-19 during his tenure.