MANSFIELD — They are questions that every high school athlete faces when their careers start to wind down.
How do you want to be remembered? What do you want your legacy to be? The athletes coming in at Nos. 11-20 in the Richland 200 have already laid the foundation to some lasting legacies but can put the finishing touches on them during the 2024-25 season.
Let's see who they are.
11. Liam Kuhn, Crestview
Kuhn is a three-sport star for the Cougars. He made his name known the most in track after earning his second All-Ohio honors in pole vault in as many years. As a sophomore, he took fourth place in Division III with a vault of 14-08.00, a lifetime personal record. It was the capstone to a memorable sophomore year that started with honorable mention All-Ohio, second team All-Northwest District and honorable mention All-Firelands Conference honors in football after he threw for 1,277 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also a district qualifying wrestler in the winter. So, the two-sport All-Ohioan comes into his junior year having already achieved so much, but still working just as hard to build a lasting legacy.
12. Mason Turnbaugh, Ontario
Speaking of lasting legacies, Turnbaugh is working on one that might just outshine anyone in Richland County. Last year in wrestling, Turnbaugh took third-place honors in the 138-pound weight class of Division II. Turnbaugh lost his first match at state by a 5-3 decision in a bit of an upset which lit a fire. He took that fire and won five matches in the consolation bracket to take third overall and finish the year 47-3. Turnbaugh is on a quest to become the first state champion at Ontario since his father Wes won in 1999. With 2024-25 being his senior year, Turnbaugh has a chance to be remembered as one of the greatest to ever do it at Ontario.
13. Brailey Slone, Lexington
The Lexington Lady Lex cross country program has a storied history with a plethora of team state championships. But, they only have one individual state champion, Dominique Clairmonte in 2014. Slone has a chance to become the next, which would leave a legacy that could be untouched. Last year, Slone took fifth overall at the Division II state meet with a time of 18:38.0. Two of the other four runners who finished ahead of her graduated and the other two will be incoming juniors along with Slone. She will have some work to do to catch the other two but given her competitive nature, expect her to be racing for that top spot over the next two years. She is also a state qualifier in track as she joined the 4x800 team of Katya Prykhodko, Julia Wyant and Elyana Weaver to finish 11th in the Division II state meet.
14. Addi Pittman, Ontario
Pittman earned the first All-Ohio honor of her career last season as a sophomore when she took second team all-state, first team All-District and first team All-Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference honors in soccer. She scored 23 goals and handed out eight assists as she helped the Warriors post a 15-3-2 record. She had an even bigger season as a freshman with 28 goals and 16 assists giving her 51 goals and 24 assists for her soon-to-be legendary career. Back for her junior year, Pittman had already achieved so much individually, but as a team, she is looking to lead the Warriors to a district championship for the first time since 2016 and that would be quite a legacy.
15. Chance Basilone, Lexington
Basilone has become one of the top runners in all of Richland County and even the state. During an impossible Division I state cross country meet, Basilone finished in 27th place with a time of 15:50.0 to earn All-Ohio honors in the sport. Now, he leads the Minutemen into Division II in 2024 as he believes they can compete for a team state championship and maybe even an individual state title, afterall, his time would have put him in the Top 8 in the 2023 Division II state cross country meet. Basilone was a two-sport All-Ohioan for Lexington during the 2023-24 season as he anchored the 4x800 relay team to a third-place finish during the state track meet with a time of 7:41.38. It would be quite a legacy to leave if he can net a couple of state championships during his senior year.
16. Mel Blubaugh, Clear Fork
Blubaugh has a chance to do something incredibly rare in the world of Richland County sports. After earning All-Ohio honors in softball as a sophomore, she picked them up in basketball last season as a junior with a special mention. She was also second team All-Northwest District, second team All-District 6 and honorable mention All-MOAC after averaging 9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.3 assists. Before that, she was a second team All-District and first team All-MOAC soccer player when she scored 11 goals and added three assists. She capped off a special junior year with first team All-Northwest District and first team All-MOAC honors in softball after she hit .512 with 43 hits, 10 doubles, three triples, two home runs, 25 RBIs and 44 runs scored. How she didn't earn All-Ohio honors with that stat line is pure insanity. Now that she is entering her senior year, she is in a position to possibly earn all-state honors in soccer and if she can do that, the legacy of being a three-sport All-Ohioan is hers. Heck, she might just do it during her senior year alone.
17. Maurice Bradley II, Mansfield Senior
Bradley has a chance to create a legacy of the best linebacker in Mansfield Senior football history. Last season, he set five program records with 144 tackles, 13.5 sacks and 77 assisted tackles, all tops for marks in a season. He also had 13 tackles in one game and has 152 assisted tackles in his career which are all tops in the program. Last season was special, earning him first team All-Ohio, first team All-Northwest District and first team All-OCC honors while also netting Division III Northwest District Defensive Player of the Year accolades. The Bradley name is a storied one for the Tygers as his father played along with his uncle, head coach Chioke Bradley, and cousins Mekhi, Myles and Keontez all suited up for the Tygers. With his senior year coming in 2024, Bradley has a chance to continue rewriting the record books.
18. Makaree Chapman, Lexington
Like Blubaugh, Chapman could be a three-sport All-Ohioan by the end of her senior year at Lex. She took all-state honors in basketball last year earning honorable mention All-Ohio, second team All-Northwest District, first team All-District 6 and first team All-Ohio Cardinal Conference honors when she averaged 13.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 4.1 steals per game. She followed that up with what should have been an All-Ohio softball season but she only earned first team All-Northwest District and first team All-OCC honors while being named OCC Pitcher of the Year. She hit .485 with 47 hits, 11 doubles, four triples, one home run, 34 RBIs and 35 runs scored while also going 20-2 in the circle with a 1.67 earned run average and 238 strikeouts. How she wasn't an All-Ohioan is a travesty. Chapman can also become an All-Ohio golfer. Last year, she made it to the district tournament and shot a 46-42-88 which tied her for 12th and just six shots from an individual qualifying spot. Still, she led Lady Lex to an OCC title and expects to do it again this fall. Talk about a lasting legacy.
19. Dan Hockensmith, Lucas
Hockensmith had an insane junior football season for the Cubs. He recorded 130 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, eight sacks and two forced fumbles, which impressed enough to earn second team All-Ohio and first team All-Northwest District honors. He also ran for 333 yards and six touchdowns on the offensive side. Hockensmith has been a part of a storied football program and now that he is a senior, he would love nothing more than to keep the Cubs' streak of 10 straight playoff appearances going. He will be the team captain and if he can help the Cubs keep things rolling down there, his legacy will be set.
20. Symirr Phillips, Mansfield Senior
Phillips had a breakout year during the 2023 football season for the Tygers. As a defensive lineman, he recorded 80 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He earned third team All-Ohio, second team All-Northwest District and first team All-OCC honors and returns to be the spearhead of a defense that will not give up many points in 2024. Whenever you are the focal point of a Mansfield Senior defense, you have a legacy that is unmatched.
jfurr@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland 200: Finishing touches on lasting legacies coming for Nos. 11-20
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