Mansfield Wall of Fame Class of 2025 Revealed
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.
BACK TO SCHOOL: Parents should model healthy screen time habits, encourage off-screen activities
By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Excess screen time harms children and adolescents’ social skills, but it also affects their behavior similarly to dementia, presenting as distractibility and memory deficit. To help combat this, an extension expert says parents should limit screen time, encourage children’s off-screen interests and closely monitor online activities.
Brittney Schrick, extension associate professor and family life specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said junior high and high school students are expected to manage study materials in a way that is not developmentally appropriate.
“They’re being expected to constantly multi-task in way that’s not really even possible for adults, but especially not for a developing brain,” Schrick said. “They’re learning that that’s how you function in the world, and then the same adults who are asking them to do these things get frustrated when they get distracted.”
For example, if a student is working on algebra homework, they may be using a paper worksheet, but their textbook is an eBook, so they have that open in a browser for reference. Often, they use their phone as a calculator, and they are using another internet tab to review their teacher’s notes. Then, the moment a notification pops up on their phone, the distraction loop begins.
No going back
“Unless you’re somebody who has an excellent ability to delay gratification, or you are exceptionally strong-willed for a kid, you’re going to go check that notification, and then scroll on your phone,” Schrick said. “There’s no scenario in which we can ‘go back’ to the old ways. All the money that used to be spent on textbooks is now being spent on eBooks and other programs. But it’s not developmentally appropriate for kids to manage things that way.”
Schrick said that in addition to phone and screen use eating up time that children used to spend outside, doing physical activity or socializing with friends, the impact is “even deeper than that.”
“A lot of the effects of screen time look similar to the effects of dementia, at least behaviorally,” Schrick said. “This presents as distractibility, executive function loss, or lack of executive function development, and memory deficit, especially short term and working memory.”
According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control over a two-and-a-half-year period, approximately one half of teenagers had four or more hours of daily screen time, and these youth were more likely to recently experience a higher rate of anxiety or depression.
Related to schoolwork, Schrick said students are “missing out on aspects of memorization, such as their multiplication tables, and improving handwriting, making sure that you can communicate in more than one way.”
“It’s just like anything else: there are pros and cons, but we do have to acknowledge that it’s not going anywhere,” Schrick said. “If parents are able to at least provide encouragement and opportunities for their kids to explore academic topics or their own curiosity about different things without it being entirely on a screen, they’re probably going to be doing more good for them than they realize.”
Schrick said it’s important for parents to actively engage with their kids, including while they are using their devices.
“You don’t necessarily have to wrestle it from their hands, but ask them about what they’re watching or doing,” she said. “Find out what they’re playing in Roblox, or what they’re building in Minecraft. Who is this influencer, and what are they talking about? That way, you’re going to get a window into what they’re doing.”
Implementing changes, modeling good behavior
For parents with younger children who want to raise them away from screens as much as possible, Schrick said implementing this lifestyle as early as possible is key.
“It is much easier to start out that way than it is to take it away,” she said. “If you already have a lifestyle as a family that really lends itself to having limited access to screens, it’s going to be simpler.”
Schrick said it is critical for parents to model healthy screen and phone use.
“You have to do it. If you are sitting there on your phone telling your kids to get off their phones, what’s the point?” she said. “Modeling is absolutely crucial, and that includes alternate activities. What else are you going to be doing in the time you are not spending on your phone?
“By doing this, you are teaching kids how to spend their time,” Schrick said. “If you want them to spend their time in other ways that being on screens, you need to teach them to do that.”
For parents with older children who want to intervene and change their access to screens and phone habits, it’s important for both parents — or both households, if families are co-parenting — to first be on the same page about their own expectations and values.
“Parents need to have that conversation with each other when they are both calm, because if you try to talk about it when somebody is mad, or is saying ‘See, I told you this was going to happen!’ then it’s going to go badly,” Schrick said. “It will end up being a power struggle, not only with the kids but between the grownups.”
In addition to approaching the change as a united front, parents should be prepared for pushback from the child — stick to it anyway, Schrick said.
“It takes work to implement such a big change,” Schrick said. “You have to maintain it consistently, and you have to be willing to revise your plan if something doesn’t work. You can’t give up after the first bump in the road. It takes persistence, insistence, and determination. You have to be willing to stay firm and strong about it.”
Use available parental tools, resources
Schrick said the Cooperative Extension Service plans to launch a new program for parents, Smart Phone Smarts, over the next year. In the meantime, she suggested the program Wait Until 8th, which encourages parents to wait until after eighth grade to give their child a smartphone. The program includes educational resources and guides for recruiting other families to delay the smartphone.
Schrick also recommended using parental controls whenever they are available, including options such as setting screen limits on certain apps or setting up devices to only be used during certain hours of the day.
“It also comes down to building a trusting relationship with your kids and being somebody who they feel comfortable coming and talking to, and to where they feel a little guilty about going behind your back,” Schrick said.
For more extension family life resources, visit thePersonal & Family Well-Being page on the Cooperative Extension Service website or contact Schrick at [email protected].
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
State Capitol Week in Review from Senator Terry Rice
Arkansas tourism continued to grow last year, generating $17.4 billion to the state’s economy and supporting almost 72,000 jobs.
Every year the state Department of Parks Heritage and Tourism commissions an analysis of the economic impact of tourism. In 2024 about 52 million visitors were welcomed in Arkansas, an increase over 2023 of 2.6 percent.
Every day, visitor spending in Arkansas is about $28.2 million, which supports 71,633 jobs directly. Visitor spending indirectly supports an additional 31,034 jobs, thus the visitor economy helps maintain one out of every 18 jobs in Arkansas.
Of the various spending categories within the tourism industry, food and beverage grew the most in 2024. It totaled about $3 billion, which was 6.5 percent over the previous year.
Retail grew by 5.8 percent in 2024, while recreation grew by four percent. Short-term rentals grew 3.3 percent in 2024.
Arkansas tourism traditionally relied on outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing and camping. Marketing efforts were focused on neighboring states, and on persuading Arkansas residents to remain in state for their vacations.
About 20 years ago advertising and promotion efforts broadened their appeal, to emphasize the availability of historic, cultural and artistic destinations. Marketing emphasized activities such as a spa day in Hot Springs, a visit to the presidential library in Little Rock, a weekend at the blues festival in Helena-West Helena, a day at the art gallery in Bentonville, opportunities for geocaching in state parks or an educational stroll through a Civil War battlefield.
Arkansas tourism campaigns targeted specific demographics, such as motorcyclists who want to ride along mountain highways or groups of senior citizens who charter buses. In addition to advertising in media that caters to sportsmen who like to hunt and fish, ads for Arkansas tourism were placed in media for bird watchers.
In recent years Arkansas tourism promoters have been getting back to basics, but with a modern twist. Recognizing the importance of outdoor activities, the state has created an Office of Outdoor Recreation. Within the annual economic analysis is a separate measure of outdoor recreation as a component of the state’s overall tourism industry. It is huge and growing, and it is based on much more than hunting and fishing.
For example, in April the New York Times published an article on how Bentonville has become an “epicenter” for cycling. Growth in outdoor recreation has been boosted by more than building miles of trails. It also comprises manufacturing, warehousing and transportation of kayaks, bikes, fishing gear, boats, ammunition and hunting supplies.
Measured as a separate category within tourism, outdoor recreation contributed $7.3 billion to the Arkansas economy last year, supporting 68,000 jobs. According to the Department of Parks Heritage and Tourism it represents 2.5 percent of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP), and has surpassed farming.
Arkansas tourism officials have broadened their efforts to appeal to a nationwide audience, and they use a dizzying array of digital media platforms to spread their message. One advantage they have is that Arkansas is a year-round destination, not just a seasonal one.
