Editor’s note…
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the traditional Mansfield Tiger Booster Club Banquet to honor athletic award winners of the 2019-2020 sports seasons were canceled. In an effort to publicize the athletes that won either conference, state, or local awards; this publication will offer a series of articles related to those participants that earned athletic accolades this school year.
Mansfield coaches submitted narratives pertaining to their specific teams. These will be released in chronological segments. Early Fall will include cross country, golf, and cheerleading. Fall will recognize football and volleyball. Winter sports include men’s and women’s basketball. Spring will offer insight into the abbreviated seasons of track, baseball, and softball (whose sports ended prematurely due to social distancing mandates.) Rising Star awards recognizing an outstanding male and female freshman. And the T. Franklin Boyd recipients recognizing the top male and female senior high Athlete of the Year will go last.
The opening article related to this series on the Mansfield Athletic Awards will kick off with the Early Fall activities of cross country, golf, and cheerleading.
2019-2020 Cross Country Awards:
(contributions by Coach John Mackey)
It was no secret Mansfield’s cross country teams were in one of the strongest conferences in the state. The 3A-1 West district produced both the men’s and women’s state champions while it placed eight teams in the state’s Top 10. Despite landing six athletes onto the local Farm Bureau River Valley All-Star team, Mansfield could only climb to tenth in the state and fifth in league play. Collectively, Mansfield’s junior high and senior high rosters produced four All-District runners and 10 Southwest Regional Top 25 athletes. The 7th through 12th grade Tigers topped out at 29 players for the season.
The junior girls had the strongest resume with conference and regional runner-up trophies. Seventh-grader, Trinity Triska, was the overall regional champion and fourth in district. She was joined by medalists Laney Wood, Jadelynn Wood, Alyssa James, and Meghan Emery as the junior team’s scoring five. The senior high women’s scoring five for both district and state included McKenzie Griffin, Faith Rainwater, Darby Jones, Jadelynn Wood, and Katlynn Moore. Joining the scoring mix at regionals was Lennon Woods. The senior covered for an injured Rainwater helping the team earn a runner-up trophy at regionals.
The senior high men had Ethan Chapman, Renden Emery, John Branche, Ashton Hinkle, and Victor Steffen as their scoring unit. Mansfield’s long-distance runners started cross country season with nightly preseason runs last July. The season moved into August, September, and October for regular-season meets. The championship rounds for district, regionals, and state wrapped up in early November. Mansfield closed out the year by hosting the Farm Bureau River Valley All-Star meet on November 16.
Individual Cross Country Awards for senior high:
Ethan Chapman – Southwest All-Region, and River Valley All-Star
McKenzie Griffin – 3A-1 West All-District, Southwest All-Region, and River Valley All-Star
Ashton Hinkle – Most Improved / Farthest Non-Stop Distance
Darby Jones – Southwest All-Region, and River Valley All-Star
Katlynn Moore – Southwest All-Region, and River Valley All-Star
Faith Rainwater – River Valley All-Star
Jadelynn Wood – River Valley All-Star
Lennon Woods – Southwest All-Region
Lennon Woods 
Ashton Hinkle 
Hope and Faith Rainwater 
Katlynn Moore 
Jadelynn Wood
The 2019-2020 Female Cross Country Player of the Year…
This sophomore athlete started out the season as the number two runner on the senior high squad. Her successful season progressed with numerous accolades at nearly every event. By the championship season, this lanky runner moved to the team’s number one position. Her progress was indeed timely. Three of the team’s top five runners faced significant medical issues for all or part of the season. Her emergence as a top-flight runner in the area fueled the team’s overall chances.
Midway through the year, this highly decorated runner started utilizing a “fast start” racing strategy. Her first-mile pace was calculated at a much quicker clip. She relied on her built up stamina to carry her over the final stretch. The new approach worked as she cut nearly four and a half minutes off her time from the beginning of the year to the state finals. It’s at the 3A State Championship in Hot Springs that she clocked a personal record 23:25.5 for the 5K course.
Finishing 31st at the state finals out of 121 class 3A runners, Mansfield’s Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year is McKenzie Griffin.
The 2019-2020 Male Cross Country Player of the Year…
Picking up where he left off last season, this sophomore distance runner took his game to a new level. On three different occasions, this tenth grader completed the 5k race under 20 minutes. At the Tom Stuttard Top 25 Southwest Regionals, he blazed to a personal record time of 19:02.00. Had it not been for the last 300 meters being an elevated mud slick, he most likely would have posted a time in the 18-minute range. This two time River Valley All-Star and Southwest All-Regional runner was knocking out a mile every six minutes and seven seconds for the 3.1-mile course.
More astonishing was that he reduced his actual one-mile time to 5:24.39 by indoor track season, and 5:08.27 before the outdoor season was canceled. In eight cross country races before the state finals, this long-distance specialist finished 19th or better. That was against both large and small school competition. He has been Mansfield’s top finisher in every race since moving up to the high school ranks at the regional finals his freshman season. He also cut 20 seconds off his state finals time from the previous year. He was 52nd out of 140 runners at the class 3A state finals.
For all this, Ethan Chapman is Mansfield’s Male Cross Country athlete of the year.
2019-2020 Golf Awards:
(contributions by Coach Layton Robinson)
Senior Maggie Strunk was the only returning member on this season’s golf team. Adding freshmen Skylynn Harris, Natalie Allison, and Brooklyn Adams, made this year one of many new experiences for everyone involved. At times, it was frustrating to the girls and the coach as each split time with dual-sport responsibilities. No one hung their head, however, as improvement showed with each match played. At the 3A-4 District Championship, it was Strunk and Harris that found their groove. Both qualified for state finishing their district round in second and tenth places respectively.
Individual Golf Awards for senior high:
Skylynn Harris – All-Conference
Maggie Strunk – All-Conference
The 2019-2020 Female Golf Player of the Year…
Two seasons ago this athlete revived a golf program that sat dormant with no participants the previous year. Taking on the challenge of the sport while participating in another was her first obstacle. Finding three other players to join the next season was her second hurdle. The effort at both ends worked as the new Tiger foursome battled the likes of top five state programs like Booneville and Charleston. Armed with all-conference and state qualifying experience, this senior helped her team to a memorable postseason run.
Mansfield’s female golfer of the year goes to Maggie Strunk.
2019-2020 Cheer Awards:
(contributions by Coach Allie Dake)
Most people don’t understand the length, time, and work that have to go into a full cheer season. As soon as tryouts are over, practices begin for introductory spring sports and summer prep for the upcoming football and basketball season, which last from August through the end of February, and back to tryouts by the end of March. When anyone spends that much time together, along with classes and other shared sports and activities, it gets pretty tense after Christmas break. It is an issue almost every year for all squads and the MHS squad isn’t immune to that.
The past couple of years we have struggled in numbers to begin the season with and sadly lost some by the end. I am proud to share that while we were still small in numbers this season, everyone stuck it out which in return helps build up our program. My goal for Mansfield cheer was to bring back the positive, fun, heart of the school experience of cheer and get students wanting to be a part of what we represent. I believe this year’s squad helped point us in the right direction and we are ready to take on the upcoming season.
Individual Cheer Awards:
Hailey Walker – Most spirited
Bree Benavides – Best jumps
Ryan Hayslip – Best tumbler
Bree Benavides 
Ryan Hayslip
The 2019-2020 Cheerleader of the Year…
After taking a season break following her freshman year, this cheerleader came into tryouts excited and ready to get the year started. She makes sure to always know all material, never brings drama or negativity to practices or events, goes out of her way to help myself and all other team members on both senior and junior high squads, and has a love for cheer and her Mansfield Tigers that is obvious to everyone.
Mansfield’s cheerleader of the year is Hailey Walker.
