One of the most favorite parts of my job is when high school athletes prove me wrong.
I actually get a lot of joy out of seeing athletes exceed my, and even their own, expectations.
This list is full of those athletes. There were a ton of athletes who outperformed their 2025 Richland 200 ranking, and I am proud and excited for each one of them. But these 10 athletes were the biggest surprise in 2025-26 and surprised me in the biggest ways.
Let’s meet the 10 athletes who took their Richland 200 ranking, or lack thereof, and turned it into motivation to do some special things in their sport.
Katrina Neal, Clear Fork
Neal went into the 2025-26 school year unranked in the Richland 200 but was absolutely magical in cross country and track. She earned All-Ohio honors in both sports and took them in two events in track to become one of the most inspirational stories of the year. Neal’s improvement from one year to the next is one of the biggest jumps I have seen in more than 10 years as a sports reporter. She will definitely not be underrated going into her senior year when expectations are sky high.
Chloe Mahek, Shelby
Mahek was also unranked in the Richland 200 heading into her junior year. All she did was earn All-Ohio honors in basketball while helping the Whippets keep the train rolling in the girls hoops program. Mahek was a special mention All-Ohioan while also earning first team honors in the Northwest District, District 6 and Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference. She is a prime example of an athlete who was going to prove me wrong by any means necessary and boy, she did in a big way.
Izaya Reynolds, Plymouth
Reynolds understandably slipped through the cracks in the 2025-26 Richland 200 rankings. Entering the year as a sophomore, Reynolds wasn’t able to do much as a freshman last year. But he enjoyed a breakout year in basketball earning special mention All-Ohio, third team All-Northwest District and second team All-District 6 and Firelands Conference honors.
He also qualified for state in track in the 400-meter dash making him one of the biggest success stories to come out of Plymouth in a long time. Nothing makes this Big Red alum prouder than seeing Plymouth athletes make names for themselves.
Trevor Reed, Lexington
It isn’t every day you see someone go from unranked in the Richland 200 to a state champion. Reed did just that. After not appearing on the list last summer, Reed took that and turned it into fuel as he helped the Lexington 4×800-meter relay team win the Division II state track and field championship.
Returning state champs get high spots in the Richland 200, so expect to see Reed near the top by the end of summer.
Jermel Powell, Ontario
One of the craziest track stories of 2026, Powell was unranked coming into the season in the Richland 200. He went on to qualify for state in four events and earn All-Ohio honors in two of them, the 100-meter dash and the 4×100-meter relay.
Powell was instrumental in leading the Warriors to their first regional track and field team championship in program history. Back for his senior year, Powell will not be overlooked this time around.
Tre Fowler, Ontario
I knew the kind of potential Fowler had, but he didn’t qualify for last year’s Richland 200. I should have used a wildcard spot on him because he would have made me look very smart. He went from unranked to an All-Ohio track star in two events. I think he is going to have a massive football season and I would love to see him get back on the basketball court where he could dominate as a defensive specialist.
Kid could average six steals per game with his quickness and instincts. But I am expecting some big things on the track next year.
Joey Desterhaft, Lucas
Like Powell, Desterhaft came out of nowhere to have one of the biggest track seasons in Richland County. He was unranked in the Richland 200 coming into the season and proceeded to earn All-Ohio honors in two individual events, the long jump and the 300-meter hurdles.
I should have looked at his regional performances last year and realized this kid was a breakout star waiting to happen. He is going to be one of the top returning athletes in Richland County in 2026-27.
Ashley Montgomery, Shelby
Montgomery took a page out of Reed’s playbook and went from unranked in the Richland 200 to a member of a state championship relay team. She joined Madison Henkel, Princess Timko and Karlie Walp as the Division III 4×100-meter relay state champions. Montgomery is another kid I should have known was going to have a big year. In 2025, the 4×100 relay team was disqualified in the district meet and would have likely competed for a state title had that not happened and Montgomery was in line to share that honor and would have been one of the top ranked athletes coming into the year.
I’ll pay much closer attention thanks to her breakout year.
Kamryn Pelphrey, Ontario
Like Reed and Montgomery, Pelphrey is a kid who was unranked in the Richland 200 and walked out of Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium with a state championship. In 2025, the Ontario 4×400 relay team of Audrey Mahon, Sasha Bulakovski, Tessa Crum and Arialyn Bischak won the program’s first relay state championship. With Bischak the only one graduating from the team, the Warriors needed someone to step up and take her place. Pelphrey did that and then some as the sophomore gave the team a great start to the race and was instrumental in the Warriors defending their state title.
She was also an insanely good soccer player earning first team All-District and second team All-MOAC honors after scoring two goals and handing out four assists. She is going to be a staple in the Richland 200 for the next two years.
Tyler Galownia, Lexington
The only athlete on the list who was actually ranked last year is Galownia. He came in at No. 164 in last year’s Richland 200 and used that number as motivation to earn first team All-Ohio honors and take home the Mansfield News Journal Baseball Player of the Year award after hitting .321 with 27 hits, five doubles, a home run, 18 RBIs and 31 runs scored. He drew 30 walks, was hit by a pitch eight times and stole eight bases. But his biggest impact was on the mound where he was the ace of the pitching staff.
He went 9-3 with 72 strikeouts and a 1.64 earned run average in 59 ⅔ innings of work. He proved that the Richland 200 is just a number and you can go out and do special things which is what this project is all about.
jfurr@usatodayco.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: 10 athletes who proved Richland 200 rankings (or lack thereof) wrong
Reporting by Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal | USA TODAY Network
