The Mansfield Wall of Fame (WOF) Board of Directors have recently released the names of the WOF Class of 2025. The announcement brings with it an invitation to join in the celebration.
According to a release by the WOF Board, a celebration for inductees will take place on Friday, October 17, 2025 at Mansfield High School. An informal reception, starting at 5:15 PM, will first take place at the MHS cafeteria. A recognition ceremony will follow. This modest public introduction will take place inside Tiger Stadium during the halftime break at the Mansfield versus Cedarville football game. The football kickoff will be at 7:00 PM with induction festivities likely to begin around 8:00 PM.
The meet and greet style gathering is free to the public. An admission ticket into the senior high football contest would be necessary to witness the induction ceremony.
Honorees for this year Mansfield WOF Class of 2025 are: Clara Ellingburg, Billy Elmore, Jessica Otto Farless, Crystal Kemp Ilagan, Stephanie Taylor Jeffrey, John Mackey, Kaylie Pyles, Brent Reeves, Robin Lowe Swede, and the MHS senior girls state championship combined track teams of 2007 – 2010.
It was noted that any participating senior high girl track athlete, coach or manager affiliated with Mansfield’s indoor or outdoor track state championships from 2007 to 2010 should come be part of the festivities. Team members will be recognized as a whole rather than individually at the induction ceremony. Attending track team members are asked to join the other individual inductees at the reception and on field introductions.
This year’s list of inductees demonstrates a wealth of championship pedigree. Included are distinguished record holders, notable state champions, and additional créme de la créme affiliates of Mansfield High School.
What follows are snippets of those individual inductees and teams being honored. More pronounced profiles of each honoree will appear in the coming weeks as the October induction ceremony comes closer.
Clara A. Ellingburg is a 19 time individual state track champion and current holder of 5 school records. This 2010 Mansfield graduate was once widely recognized as the state’s top female sprinter in all of class 3A. She never lost a state finals race in the 60m, 100m, or 200m dash. She also anchored Mansfield’s fastest 4x100m relay of all times. After turning away college offers, Ellingburg moved on to serve with distinction in the U.S. Navy. She has received multiple commendations, and has participated in the Global War on Terrorism.
Billy Elmore is a 2023 Arkansas High School Football Hall of Fame inductee and a 1990 Mansfield alumnus. He is one of a very few Arkansas high school coaches to have won state championships at 2 different schools. He played baseball at Arkansas Tech before beginning a 30 year coaching career that included stints as athletic director and Master Trainer for USA Football. He has been an All-Star coach for football and baseball, and won state titles in both for a total of 4 state championships.
Jessica Otto Farless is another 2010 MHS alumna. This 3-sport All-State MVP went on to win a Sunbelt Conference Indoor Track Championship at Arkansas State University. As a high school senior she was VYPE High School Magazine’s Girls Track Athlete of the Year, the ATCA Jones Award winner as the state heptathlon champion, and the recipient of 9 state rings through track and volleyball. She still holds the 3A state record in the 300m hurdles at 46.38 seconds. Today, she still hurdles with confidence as the Trauma Program Manager with Mercy Hospital.
Crystal Kemp Ilagan is still recognized around the state as one of the most dominant high school female track and field athletes of her generation. This 2005 Mansfield graduate won the Arkansas State Heptathlon with the third highest point total (5,518) in the history of the event. She won individual state titles in 7 different events. Her 100m hurdle time of 14.65 seconds has lasted over 20 years as the class 4A state record. Her winning high jump of 5’ 7” at the 2005 Meet of Champs ranked 45th in the nation.
Stephanie Taylor Jeffrey and her undefeated college teammates were inducted into the UAFS Hall of Fame in 2023 as players of the 1995 NJCAA National Championship Westark Community College Lady Lion basketball team. The remarkable 35 – 0 team has been regarded by some as the best junior college women’s basketball of all time. At Mansfield, this 1994 graduate was once the SWTR Newcomer of the Year and a 3-time All-State athlete playing basketball, volleyball, and track for the Lady Tigers. She found a career in education as a teacher, coach, and now the Dean of Students at Roger’s Oakdale Middle School.
John Mackey spent 38 years as a career educator with 35 of those serving multiple roles within the Mansfield School District. The teacher, coach, and athletic director is most often recognized for winning 14 state championships and 18 conference titles in track and field. He was a Conference Coach of the Year 25 times, the AHSCA State Track Coach of the Year twice, a Class 2A State Athletic Director of the Year, and a 2024 Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee.
Kaylie Pyles, a 2014 Mansfield graduate, has been both a state champion player and coach. She won 6 rings combined as an All-Star volleyball player and MVP track athlete. She won 5 more as a 2-time Arkansas High School Coach of the Year. Declared by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as one of the best high school volleyball hitters of 2013, this volleyball, basketball and track All-State athlete chose to play college volleyball at Henderson State University. Today, she continues to lead award winning programs as the head volleyball and women’s track coach at Mansfield.
Coach Brent Reeves, a 1982 MHS alumnus, is easily recognized for success as a state championship volleyball coach and mission field humanitarian. Reeves is often credited with building the Mansfield volleyball program from its earliest beginnings to state wide success. He coached the school’s first two volleyball state titles in 2009 and 2012. Beyond two different stints as a teacher, coach and administrator at MHS, he spent 9 years as a sports evangelist, church planter, and international coach in Thailand.
Robin Lowe Swede led Mansfield to the 1986 Class AA state basketball championship as a record wrecking rebounder. This 1987 MHS alumnus still holds many of the Mansfield rebounding records and remains its most productive basketball player ever. As a 3-year starter, her high school teams won an incredible 74 games against only 14 losses. She went on to play 2 seasons at Westark Community College before transferring to the University of Arkansas for a bachelor’s degree in business. She owns and operates her own home building and renovation company in Little Rock.
From 2007 through 2010, Mansfield’s senior girls track program literally ran circles around the competition. Combining indoor and outdoor state championships, the Lady Tigers won a remarkable 8 consecutive state titles. Mansfield went undefeated at home, at district and at state for four straight seasons. During that span, team members collected 40 All-State awards, 50 All-District plaques, 16 state records, and 17 school records. Twice they landed on the cover of VYPE High School Magazine and became the team model for a line of GTM track uniforms. In 2010, at the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame Banquet, Mansfield received the McCollum Award for Program of the Year.
The Mansfield Wall of Fame serves as a memorial to outstanding individuals whose athletic endeavors and achievements have brought honor to themselves, the school, and community. Nominations for inclusion are collected each year and voted upon by the WOF Board of Directors each summer. Candidates for membership can be submitted electronically by going to mansfieldtigers.org and clicking the community tab.
