Mildrette Netter Graves, a 1972 graduate of Alcorn State University, competed on two Olympic track and field teams as a collegian, in 1968 and 1972. She became one of the fastest women in the world. She had the fourth best times, nationwide, in the 100- and 200- meter sprints, which landed her a spot on the 4x relay team. Mildrette’s outstanding achievements led her to be selected as "Female of the Year" by the 100% Wrong Club of Atlanta in 1969.

Graves started out by playing basketball for West Bolivar High in her hometown of Rosedale, MS. Her life changed when Willie McCoy, a former track star, started coaching girls basketball at West Bolivar. He told Mildrette that in order for her to play the following year, she would have to run track. She tried out and beat everybody.

Because Graves was so much shorter than other runners, this gave her the ability to get down lower and get a quicker start. Her fastest 100- meter time was 11.2 seconds. She was inducted into the Alcorn State Hall of Honor in 1992 and the SWAC Hall of Fame in 1995 and was also selected as a torchbearer for the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.

She was selected as Delta Valley Conferences track and field coach of the year 1973, 1975, 1978, and 1979. In 1979, she was named the US Southeast Region High School Coach of the Year. Mildrette now lives in Clarksdale and works as the athletic director at Tutwiler Community Education Center.