8 of the 9 honorees in the Salem County Sports Hall of Fame’s first induction class since 2019 have ties to Pennsville

By Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem County Sports Hall of Fame has announced its 2023 induction class and the group has a heavy Pennsville flavor.

Five of the six inductees for the Hall’s first class since 2019 have direct ties to Pennsville Memorial High School. All three service award honorees also have connections to the high school or township.

The inductees are Dylan Cummings, his brother Tyler Cummings, Amy Coker McDade, Victoria (Tori) Nugent, Katie Jackson Scull and Ta’riq D. Thomas. In addition, Louise Foley, Mike Hartman and Louis (Lou) Priest will be recognized for community service in local sports.  

“This is a reflection of the great tradition that we have here at Pennsville when it comes to athletics,” current Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas said. “It also shows we have a lot of work to do with our (PMHS Athletic) Hall of Fame, us being only five years into it. There are a ton of great athletes that we still have to induct in our own personal Hall of Fame. You look at this list and none of these people are in our Hall of Fame.

“It’s glaring how much we needed to have a Hall of Fame. Thankful for the work the previous athletics director did to get this thing off the ground along with the committee members and we’re moving in the right direction with that, but we have a lot of great athletes that we’re going to be discussing over the next many years that there will never be a shortage of inductees for our Hall of Fame.”

Thomas has a direct connection to many of this year’s Salem County Hall inductees, either as a classmate, teammate, student or co-worker. One of the 2023 honorees, Amy Coker McDade, is the athletics department administrative assistant.

“Amy was a great player,” he said. “In ’01 I was coaching here, I wasn’t even teaching here yet, so I was still kind of in the background, but I remember Amy playing. She was a stud athlete on the soccer field, on the softball fields and now just a great overall person. She does so much for the athletics department.

“She is the one behind our current Hall of Fame. Her work is just second to none. It’s what makes that night for us so enjoyable and run so smoothly. She’s taken that work ethic she had on the athletic fields and converted it into her career and we hope we’re doing that with a lot of kids. That’s a major piece to an academic-based athletics program, trying to teach kids how to be successful in their future. Whether we’re successful on the fields or not, wins and losses don’t really matter, what matters are these kids becoming successful when they get out of here and Amy is absolutely one who proves that point.”

The induction ceremonies are in Salem Community College’s Sol and Jean Davidow Performing Arts Theatre Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

The following biographies are courtesy of Salem Community College.

Hall of Fame Inductees

DYLAN CUMMINGS was a two-sport athlete (baseball and football) at Pennsville Memorial High School, finishing his senior season as the 2014 Salem/Cumberland County Male Athlete of the Year. In baseball, he was named two-time All-Conference and two-time All-South Jersey. In his senior season, the Pennsville Eagles won a South Jersey Championship, earning the top spot in the state baseball rankings. 

In football, he was named three-time All-South Jersey, All-State, South Jersey Times Player of the Year, and Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club Award winner. As the Eagles quarterback, he broke several South Jersey records including career passing yards (7,695), passing touchdowns (84), completions (498), total yards (10,083), and total touchdowns (126). He is currently the only quarterback in state history to throw for 30 touchdowns and run for more than 20, totaling 55 touchdowns in the same season. 

He continued his academic and athletic career at Methodist University, where he was a three-year football starter and two-time team captain, playing slot receiver for the Monarchs with 150 receptions, 1,250 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named USA South Academic All-Conference and Athlete of the Year. 

TYLER CUMMINGS competed at PMHS from 2007 to 2011, earning 10 varsity letters in cross country, and track and field. He captured nine Salem County titles and three South Jersey titles while being named to numerous All Tri-County, All-South Jersey and All-State teams. During his senior season, he earned the PEPAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and the PMHS Sportsmanship Award. He currently holds the individual school record in the 1600-meter run at 4:25 and is the first athlete in Salem County history to win three individual Salem County cross country titles. 

He continued his academic and athletic career at Coastal Carolina University, where he graduated with a degree in business administration and ran personal bests in the 1500-meter run (4:01) and 5K (15:42). Tyler also earned numerous Big South Conference academic and athletic awards.

AMY COKER McDADE started a passion for softball at a young age. Her Pennsville team qualified for the 1996 Little League World Series for the first time.  

A 2002 Pennsville grad, she was a three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball and softball).  A four-year softball starter, she collected more than 100 hits during her career. Her team won the 2002 softball state championship.  Amy was selected as Today’s Sunbeam player of the year. She earned first team All-Conference two years in a row. 

She continued with softball at Caldwell College and earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. In 2004, the Cougars were 45-7 and won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference’s regular and post-season championship. From there, her team won an NCAA regional title and advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series for the first time. Her softball team also was the CACC Champions in 2005 and 2006. She earned the CACC Tournament MVP in 2006 and was selected to the All-Tournament Team. In 2019, the Caldwell College 2004 Softball team was inducted into the college’s Athletics Hall of Fame. 

She currently works in the high school’s athletics department.

VICTORIA (TORI) NUGENT was a two-sport athlete at Pennsville. Her freshman year, she powered through a three-hour tennis match, coming from behind to win the deciding point in the state championship. Pennsville was 2012 state champions with Tori named the Salem-Cumberland County Player of the Year and Tri-County Player of the Year.

She won the Tri-County Conference singles title two years in a row, and earned First Team All-State, First Team All-Group I and All-South Jersey honors. She was the first person in school history to earn 100 wins in tennis, finishing her high school career with a record of 101-13-2. Aside from tennis, she also collected 100 hits in high school softball. She played one year of tennis at Monmouth University, then was undefeated at Rowan College Gloucester County, where she earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American, All-Region Team honors, and was the college’s Women’s Tennis Player of the Year. 

She went on to become the Head Tennis and Paddle Professional at Philadelphia Country Club. She is playing two new sports: platform tennis (currently ranked 85th on the APTA Women’s National Rankings) and paddle tennis (ranked 79th in the world on the USPA tour).

KATIE JACKSON SCULL was also a member of that 1996 Pennsville Little League softball team. She was a three-sport varsity athlete at Pennsville (soccer, softball and basketball), earning 13 varsity letters. Her first varsity letter was earned in eighth grade, as one of the managers for the varsity softball team. A four-year softball starter (outfielder and catcher), she earned her way into the 100-hit club and a Group I State Champion. She also reached the Group I State Championship in soccer as the starting goalie. During her senior year, she was named Today’s Sunbeam Co-Athlete of the Year. She was also a member of the National Honor Society and Golden Eagles Club. 

At Caldwell College (now Caldwell University), she was the softball team’s starting right fielder all four years.  She collected 189 hits, 19 home runs and 108 RBIs with a career batting average of .377. She held the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) record in walks for three consecutive years (2004-2006). She was also named to the first team All-CACC and All-Northeast Region first team all four years.  In 2004, she had the privilege of playing right field as the Cougars competed in Caldwell’s first Division II Women’s College World Series appearance.

During her junior year, she was named the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II National Player of the Week. In her senior year, she was the first Caldwell Cougar in history to be named the CACC Player of the Year. In 2006, she graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, elected to the Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society, Dean’s List accreditation, New Jersey Society of CPAs Scholar’s Institute Participant, Academic All-American and CACC All-Academic Team.

TA’RIQ D. THOMAS was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, and track and field) at Woodstown High School. During his senior year of football, he tied for first with three others for the most interceptions (eight) in New Jersey. He was selected playoff player of the week by the South Jersey Touchdown Club and selected to the Diamond Division first team.

He also was a two-year starter for the Wolverines basketball team and a four-year letter winner in track and field. During his sophomore year, he placed third in the triple jump at the Group II Sectional Championships. He was Group II Sectional runner-up in the long jump during his junior year and was selected first team All-Tri-County. In his senior year, he was the South Jersey long- and triple-jump Group II Sectional Champion, placed third in the long jump and sixth in the triple jump at the Group II Championship. 

He went on to compete in football and track and field at Delaware Valley University. After playing varsity football as a freshman for the Aggies, he chose to solely commit to the indoor and outdoor track and field teams. He was a two-time Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) rookie of the year (indoor and outdoor), three-time MAC field athlete of the year (one indoor, two outdoor), and a nine-time MAC champion (six triple jump and three long jump). 

He still holds the MAC record for long jump and the fourth-longest mark in NCAA Division III history (25-9.5). He also holds school records in both triple jump (49-10) and long jump and is a seven-time NCAA All-American. He graduated from Delaware Valley with a degree in criminal justice.

Community Service Awards

LOUISE FOLEY graduated from Pennsville after being a three-sport athlete (field hockey, basketball and tennis). She received the MVP award in tennis and was a member of the 1970 field hockey team that was Tri-County champion under Salem County Hall of Fame Coach Betsy Salberg.

In 1981, she became program director at the YMCA of Salem County. One of her favorite responsibilities was teaching swim lessons to all ages. For 34 years, she and the other instructors under her guidance taught the children of Salem County how to swim. Many of those children went on to join the YMCA swim team and compete on college swim teams. It is unknown exactly how many people learned to swim under her direction but suffice to say “countless,” including three generations in some families. 

Now retired, she volunteers with the Rotary Club of Penns Grove and Salem County Meals on Wheels, and is a Salem County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Academy Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Instructor.

MIKE HARTMAN has been a significant figure in Salem County scholastic sports for 40 years. He played football, basketball, baseball and golf at Pennsville Memorial High School. When he began his teaching career in 1983, he also started his coaching career.  

At Woodstown High School, Mike coached freshman football for 11 years and boys’ basketball for several years, including six years as varsity head coach. He was named the Al Carino All-Star Basketball Coach in 1990. He also devoted 15 years to helping coach Woodstown’s baseball team and coached Salem High’s varsity boys’ basketball for six years. In 2016, he took the reins of the Pennsville girls’ basketball program and spent five years as varsity head coach. He is credited with turning it into a winning program.  

As his children played youth sports, he was active with the Pennsville Little League, Pennsville Babe Ruth and Pennsville Youth Basketball Association (PYBA). He served as a PYBA board member.   

He taught Industrial Technology at Woodstown for 39 years. He received the Governor’s Teacher Recognition Award twice (1993 and 2000). He is currently an instructor of Technical Drawing and CADD at Salem Community College and also works at Random 8 Woodworking in Pedricktown.

Mike’s rapport with past athletes is his legacy, and it means the world to him.  Whether it was football, basketball or baseball — scholastic or youth league — he contributed countless hours and much of his heart to Salem County sports. To the benefit of his student-athletes, his influence carries on.

LOUIS (LOU) PRIEST was a star three-sport player at St. James High School that won multiple state championships in football (1959-1962), basketball (1962-63 season) and baseball (1961-1963).

His greatest individual achievement was his .640 batting average in 1962. This record has stood for more than 60 years as the highest in Salem County history and third highest for all of South Jersey.He batted over .425 during his career and was selected Honorable Mention to the South Jersey Baseball All-Century Team.

Owing to his success as a three-sport athlete, he was named St. James’ 1963 Male Athlete of the Year.

He played semi-pro baseball in the Tri-County Baseball League on the Penton Cubs. His success led to an invitation to try out for the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor league system.

He coached in Pennsville Little League, Babe Ruth and soccer, winning multiple championships, and helped coach several all-star teams. He played men’s softball in Pennsville for many years and has served as an umpire for more than 15 years in Salem County.