Saturday’s LCMR Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony to honor seven athletes, one team

Posted: May 15th 2025

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Seven former athletes and one championship team are set to be inducted into the Lower Cape May Regional High School Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend. The ceremony will be held in the school’s Performing Arts Center Saturday beginning at noon. Admission is free.

The following are set for induction:

Cory Damiana (Class of 2014): A wrestling and football standout, Damiana was a three-time district champion, three-time Cape-Atlantic League all-star and two-time region finalist who finished his high school career with 124 wins in wrestling. He was also a New Jersey freestyle and Greco Roman champion and went on to wrestle at Division I Rider University. In football, Damiana was a first team CAL all-star as a senior. He currently serves as an assistant coach in the Caper Tiger wrestling program.

Mike Gavin (Class of 1997): Mike Gavin is one of the most prolific scorers in the history of Cape-Atlantic League soccer, finishing with 111 career goals, second all-time in Cape May County boys soccer history. He was part of one of the most successful periods in program history as he was a key player on a team that won four straight conference titles within the CAL. He was a South Jersey all-star as a junior and senior and an all-state selection as a senior in 1997. Also a basketball player at Lower Cape May, Gavin received a scholarship to play Division I soccer at Rider University.

Phil Hickman (Class of 1961): Hickman was an outstanding two-sport athlete, earning CAL all-star status three times in both football and baseball. He was a two-time South Jersey all-star and was selected to the all-state state team as a junior in football. Hickman earned a football scholarship to the University of Delaware, where he played on the undefeated 1963 team that was declared the national small college football champion by United Press International (UPI).

Gene Randle (Class of 1979): Randle made his name as a Lower Cape May athlete in wrestling and football. He was a District 32 champion, region runner-up, finished in fourth place at the state tournament and was a league and South Jersey all-star in wrestling. He was a CAL all-star in both wrestling and football.

Henry Taylor (Class of 1978): Taylor was a league and South Jersey all-star who won district and region championships before placing third in the state in wrestling.

Chris Vasser (Class of 1978): One of the most accomplished track athletes in Lower Cape May Regional High School history, Vasser was the state Group II long jump champion at a distance of 22 feet, 3 ¾ inches. He was one of only two athletes from South Jersey to compete in the Meet of Champions as a senior in 1978. The other was famous Olympian Carl Lewis. His jump of 23-5 ¼ won the Meet of Champions that year and still stands as the school record in the event nearly 50 years later.

Ken Washington (Class of 1966): One of the best track and field athletes in school history, Washington set Lower Cape May records in both the shot put (50, feet, 11 inches) and the discus (154 feet, 6 inches). He was a state champion in the shot put in indoor track and a CAL and South Jersey champion in the shot put and discus in outdoor track as a senior. He went on to place second in both events at the 1966 Meet of Champions. Washington was also a CAL football all-star as a senior as a two-way lineman.

2014-15 girls basketball team: The 2014-15 girls basketball team finished 28-3 and became the first girls team at Lower Cape May to win a South Jersey title in any sport, defeating Sterling in overtime in the sectional Group II championship game. The team was the CAL National Conference champion and qualified to play in the CAL title game. The Lady Tigers were led by the school’s all-time leading scorer in Lauren Holden (2,476 career points) and another career 1,000-point scorer in Madie Gibson. Other players include Elizabeth Sulecki, Carrie Wunder, Rian Young, Ariel Magee, Jessica Elliot, Madison Bailey, Dej’hanee McNeal, Olivia Levin, Amanda Durbin, Marissa McGaffney, Kassidy Cluff and Kaylee Devine. Scott Douglass was the team’s head coach, assisted by Roy Wright and Pat Holden.