2016 - Tigertown

Ironton “Fighting” Tigers
Hall of Fame Inductions
January 30, 2016
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Philyaw
Blazer Presentations
Blazer Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Wolfe
presented by Linda Gagai
Blazer Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dennis Gagai
presented by Bart Burcham
Blazer Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . Jermon Jackson
presented by Rick McKnight
Blazer Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Payne
presented by Mike Burcham
Blazer Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Kristen Kavanaugh
presented by Rose Kavanaugh
Closing Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Philyaw
Dennis Gagai
John Wolfe
John Wolfe earned his stripes at Ironton as the longest reigning
booster member.
Dennis Gagai was an outstanding all-around athlete who lettered in golf, basketball and baseball.
A graduate of Ironton High School, John returned to Ironton to
practice law in 1970 and promptly joined the Tiger Clan. He has
been a member ever since serving as president, vice-president
on numerous occasions, as well as secretary.
As a basketball player, Dennis broke into the starting lineup
late in his freshman year and never stopped scoring. He broke
the school record for scoring with 1,542 points as he led Ironton
to a Division III state runner-up and set the school record with a
26-1 mark.
Wolfe came to the Tiger Clan with less than $100 in the treasury. The group has grown over the years and now offers more
than a half-dozen athletic/academic scholarships.
The Jack Wolfe Award was established in 1975 by Wolfe’s
mother and some friends including a man living in Florida who
donated $10,000 to the scholarship fund.
The John Wolfe Award was founded in 2012 by Wolfe’s wife,
Jan, and sons Jay, and Doug.
Mr. Wolfe has also served on the Ironton Board of Education
and with the Chamber of Commerce. He once served on the
board of directors for the Tri-River Council of Campfire Girls,
even though he does not have a daughter.
Gagai was voted a two-time Southeast District Division III Basketball Player of the Year and first team All-Ohio as a junior and
senior.
He was a four-year standout in golf and qualified for the state
tournament. He was also an outstanding shortstop and pitcher
for the baseball team.
Mr. Gagai attended West Virginia his freshman year as a member of the basketball team, but transferred to Northern Kentucky
University the following years. His impact was felt immediately
when the 6-foot-4 guard was named the Great Lakes Valley
Conference Freshman of the Year.
Dennis was a three-year letterman for NKU.
Jermon Jackson
James Payne
Jermon Jackson has been considered the finest running back to
play in the Tri-State area during the past 50 years.
James Payne is a 1972 graduate of Ironton who went into a
career in education.
Jackson was the Associated Press Division III Back of the Year
in 1993 and a USA Today honorable mention All-American. He
was a two-time first team All-Ohio running back and a two-time
letterman for Ohio State.
He has been a teacher, coach and superintendent at Ironton,
Symmes Valley and Coal Grove school districts. He is currently the Superintendent of the Lawrence County Educational Service Center.
Jermon ran for 1,849 yards and 29 touchdowns his senior year
and racked up 4,452 rushing yards for his career and scored 70
touchdowns.
At Ironton, Payne was a four-sport standout in football, basketball, baseball and track. He served as captain of the baseball team with Keith Parker.
Not only a gifted running back, Jermon was an exceptional allaround three sport athlete. He was a key component of the
1993-1994 Ironton Final Four basketball team as well as a state
qualifier in the long jump as a four year letter winner in track
and field.
James was an All-Ohio wide receiver in football and signed
with Mississippi State. Payne was the leadoff hitter and shortstop for the 1972 Class AA state championship team.
He was co-captain of the football and track teams. Payne
also ran the 100, 200 and relays in track.
Mr. Jackson set an Ohio State freshman record by scoring three
touchdowns in his first game. In 45 games for the Buckeyes,
Jackson rushed 136 times for 698 yards and scored seven
touchdowns.
At Mississippi State, Payne was a starter as a sophomore
and had a key 51-yard reception against Georgia and also
threw a big downfield block to spring Walter Packer for the
decisive touchdown in the Sun Bowl win over N.C. State.
Payne’s career was cut short by two knee surgeries and a
finger surgery.
Mr. Payne earned his Ph.D. from Ohio University in 1998.
Former Hall of Fame Class of 2013
Kristen Kavanaugh
Kristen Kavanaugh was one of the finest all-around female athletes to wear the orange and black.
In basketball, Kavanaugh was a four-year starter who scored
1,173 points and earned All-Ohio honors in both her junior and
senior seasons. She was listed as one of the top basketball
players in the country by USA Today.
Mike Burcham
Bob Lutz
Ken Fritz
A track standout, she holds the school records in 100-meter
hurdles (14.8 seconds), 300-meter hurdles (47.5 seconds) and
high jump (5-3).
Kavanaugh qualified for the state track and field meet all four
years of high school in five different events: 100-meter hurdles,
300-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump and 400-meter relay.
She finished as state runner-up in the 100-meter hurdles in both
her junior and senior years.
Kristen graduated from Ironton in 1998 with a 4.041 grade point
average and received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy where she continued to play basketball where she
was a three-year letter-winner and captain of the team her senior year.
Ms. Kavanaugh graduated from the Naval Academy in 2002
and received a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. She
played on the all-Marine and all-armed forces basketball teams
and was named the 2003 U.S. Marine Corps Female Athlete of
the Year.
Coy Bacon
George McAfee
Former Hall of Fame Class of 2014
Mark Snyder
Justin Collins
Anissa Campbell
Dan Pride
Ralph Snead
Former Hall of Fame Class of 2015
John Leach
Bobbi Ann Hunt
Triplett
Phil Rice
Bill Washburn
Carl White
Acknowledgements
Ironton "Fighting" Tigers
Hall of Fame Inductions
The 2015-2016 Hall of Fame Committee Members:
Linda Gagai
Kevin Hacker
Mark LaFon - Chairman
Rick McKnight- Secretary/Treasurer
Dean Nance
Jason Philyaw
Tim Thomas
Jay Zornes
The Hall of Fame Committee would like to thank the following people who helped contribute to the success of
our induction ceremony:
Mr. Ron Ross, program
Ms. Valerie Freeman and Mrs. Angela Malone, caterers
Mr. Jason Philyaw, Master of Ceremonies
Mr. Jim Walker, Inductee Research
Mr. David Phillips, sponsor of HOF program
We would also like to thank you for attending the reception and look forward to seeing everyone at next year's
induction ceremony.