Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame Unveils 12-Member Class for 2025(Other Names/People that need to go into the Hall of Fame???)

Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame Unveils 12-Member Class for 2025

The Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame is adding 12 members with its Class of 2025.
This is the 20th class of athletes, coaches and contributors to be inducted into the Hall, which was created in 2005, and increases the membership to 219.

The newest inductees will be introduced at a press conference sponsored by the Greensboro Sports Council on Wednesday, May 28, at First Horizon Coliseum at 11 a.m. The Class of 2025 will be enshrined at an induction reception and banquet on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at First Horizon Coliseum.

Tickets for the reception and banquet are $100 and tables for 10 are $950. Table and ticket order forms will be available online at the GCSHOF website (gcshof.org) beginning June 1.

The GCSHOF was established in 2005 to honor the outstanding achievements of individuals in the sports arena from Guilford County. The inductees represent a wide range of sports from basketball to motorsports to baseball to sports journalism. Some of the honorees have been recognized by having stadiums or gymnasiums named after them while others are remembered mostly in the hearts of the athletes they have coached. Each honoree has left a unique footprint and represents the diversity and heritage of Guilford County.

The Class of 2025 consists of 11 laureates and one Legend, a designation which honors deceased members. They represent backgrounds in swimming, soccer, football, basketball, track and field and golf. Among the inductees is a triathlete, the first ever inducted into the Hall. Also included are an athletic trainer and two special contributors.

Their biographies follow, in alphabetical order.
Tom Berry – Swimming/Contributor
Tom Berry became the first student-athlete to earn a swimming scholarship to the University of North Carolina after a career at Grimsley High that included All-America honors, four state records and six state championship medals. A three-year letterman and team captain at UNC, Berry set school records in three events. He was a six-time ACC finalist and a national qualifier in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. For the past five decades, Berry has been at the forefront of North Carolina’s wildlife conservation efforts, earning appointment to the NC Wildlife Commission and chairmanship of the organization’s Land Use Committee. Berry has been recognized at the national, regional and state levels during his tenure, which has seen the Commission acquire more than 150 parcels totaling more than 65,000 acres of land for use by North Carolina citizens and protection of the state’s wildlife.

Barbara Blum — Soccer (Legend)
With the Blum family’s arrival from Atlanta in the early 1970s, the sports landscape in Guilford County changed forever. The late Barbara Blum pioneered the rise of soccer in the Greensboro area, stepping up when the sport was still in its infancy in the United States. Blum and others worked hard to introduce the game to the young athletes of Greensboro by organizing youth teams, creating youth leagues, training coaches and officials, and securing fields of play. She worked countless hours to raise money to provide uniforms and equipment for the initial teams of youngsters who wanted to play soccer in Greensboro. Blum was one of the founders of Greensboro Youth Soccer, and thousands have benefited from her leadership, tenacity, hard work and dedication as the sport has flourished. Blum was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame in 1999.

John Burney — Athletic Trainer
The first certified athletic trainer in the Guilford County school system, John Burney’s career at Southern Guilford High spanned 34 academic years (1975-2008). In addition to serving as the head trainer for North Carolina’s Shrine Bowl football teams from 1992-2004, Burney was the NCCA East-West All-Star trainer in 1984 and 1985. He served 21 years as an executive officer for the National Athletics Trainers Association, holding the positions of president, secretary and treasurer. During his tenure, he initiated the formation of licensing of athletic trainers in the state of North Carolina. Burney has worked as a trainer for the North Carolina State High School Wrestling Championships since 1976 (49 years). He was named the North Carolina Athletics Trainer of the Year in 1990. Burney, a Raleigh native, entered the North Carolina Athletics Trainer Hall of Fame in 2002 and the NC/SC Shriners Hall of Fame in 2015.

Karen Buxton — Triathlete/Coach
An accomplished multi-sport coach and athlete, Karen Buxton is a four-time Team USA Triathlon member and six-time Team USA Duathlon member. Currently the head women’s triathlon coach at Greensboro College, she has competed in more than 160 events and coached athletes through hundreds more. A native of Trenton, N.J., and a Greensboro resident for more than 30 years, Buxton was the founding field hockey coach at Greensboro Day School (1996-2012) and was named the 2002 NCISSA Coach of the Year. Buxton has also been part of the Ridgewood Swim Club, helping develop and implement a competitive summer swim program for 120 children. A breast cancer survivor, Buxton has also overcome devastating injuries to excel in race competition. She earned the 2007 silver medal in the Duathlon Long Course World Championships and owns 15 finishes in Ironman competitions, including the 2004 and 2014 World Championships.

Lem Cox — Contributor
Lem Cox’s long resume includes groundbreaking initiatives at nearly every level of Guilford County athletics. His 32-year stint as an administrator in the Greensboro City Schools included a leadership role in guaranteeing access to athletics for all students. He was also at the forefront in 1972, when the school system adopted a salary schedule ensuring equal pay for coaches of both genders. Cox was a founding member of Special Olympics North Carolina, as well as the Little 4 Invitational high school basketball tournament in 1975. He was the first director of Greensboro’s Camp Joy, an inclusive summer day camp for ages 5-and-up since the mid-1960s. Cox is a member of the Athletics Hall of Fame at Greensboro College, where he served as Director of Health & Safety Education & Athletics from 1993-2008. He is a 64-year YMCA member and received the organization’s award of Appreciation for Dedicated Service.

Marcus Gilchrist – Football/Basketball/Track
Gilchrist was recruited to Clemson following a banner high school athletic career at High Point Andrews. He was voted the Andrews football MVP and twice earned All-Conference honors as a defensive back, in addition to All-State accolades as kick returner. Gilchrist was a four-year starter in basketball, earning team MVP and All-Conference honors for the Raiders’ 2007 team that went 22-3 and reached the Western Regional Finals. He competed for four years in track and field, starring in four events. Gilchrist played in 49 games at Clemson with 191 tackles and 16 passes defended. He returned 59 kicks for more than 1,000 yards. A second-round draft choice of the San Diego Chargers in 2011, Gilchrist enjoyed a 10-year career with seven NFL teams. He started 98 of the 128 games in which he played and retired in 2020 with 502 tackles and 14 pass interceptions.

Christy Hedgpeth – Basketball/Tennis
At Westchester Academy, Christy Hedgpeth was an immediate success on the basketball court, earning recognition as team MVP, conference player of the year and academic all-conference, each for four straight years. She was the Guilford County player of the year in 1990, when she led her team to the state championship. Moving on to Stanford, Hedgpeth was a member of the 1992 NCAA championship team when she averaged 13.3 points. Among her accolades were all-conference and the most inspirational award as a senior. Although basketball was her main sport, Hedgpeth also played four years of tennis at Westchester, winning team MVP every year and two state doubles championships. After three years of playing pro basketball, she has enjoyed a successful career as a sports and consumer marketing leader, serving in the NBA, WNBA and as president and CEO of PlayFly Sports.

Eric Hicks – Basketball
As a basketball player at Dudley High and the University of Cincinnati, Eric Hicks just did not like to be scored on. At Dudley he blocked 210 shots in his senior season, still a state record. At Cincinnati, he ranks second all-time in blocked shots (256), first in blocks in a season (113) and first in blocks in a game (10). Not that he ignored the offensive end of the court. Hicks set a state record for field goals made by a senior (365), scored 40 points in a state 3A playoff game, made All-Guilford County three times and helped the Panthers finish as state 3A runners-up in 2000. Hicks helped Cincinnati to three straight NCAA playoff appearances and was Big East defensive player of the year in 2006. As a senior he averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game. He played professionally for many years in many countries overseas, helping his team with the Belgian League championship. Currently, he is an AirBNB property manager in Ohio and Kentucky.

Robert G. Kennerly Sr. – Contributor
Although born in Asheville, it has been in Greensboro that Robert G. Kennerly Sr. has left a major imprint. He graduated from Greensboro Senior High (now Grimsley), where he played basketball and golf and matriculated to Virginia Tech, where he played two years of basketball. He was extensively involved in coaching travel team basketball for boys ages 11-12, winning four national championships. He also coached boys and girls at the junior high and high school levels. In 1958 he partnered with John V. Sutton to form Sutton-Kennerly & Associates (SKA), a structural engineering firm. When the Greensboro Coliseum (now First Horizon Coliseum) underwent a major expansion in 1969, Kennerly played a huge role in in its renovation, as well as designing other facilities in the complex for the next two decades.

Theo Pinson – Basketball
Some players just know how to be a champion. As a member of the USA Basketball Under-16 team, Theo Pinson helped win a gold medal. His teams won two state titles during his high school days at High Point Wesleyan Christian Academy and an NCAA crown at UNC Chapel Hill. As a senior at Wesleyan, he averaged 23 points, was ranked as the No. 1 player in the state and played in several national showcase games, including the McDonald’s All-American game. In college, he overcame injuries to his right foot as a freshman and left foot as a junior, and helped the Tar Heels win the 2017 national title, totaling 6 points and 9 rebounds against Gonzaga. Undrafted by the NBA, he turned in some stellar seasons in the G League and eventually played in 127 NBA games over five years. In his final game, he recorded a triple-double for the Dallas Mavericks against San Antonio. Pinson began a career as a podcaster and a color analyst for ESPN, and plans to play pro ball in Puerto Rico.

Lee Porter – Golf
The game of golf has taken Lee Porter to events all over the world, as both an amateur and professional player. A Greensboro native, he attended Page High and Guilford College, where won six tournaments and was a two-time NAIA All-American. He won the 1989 Cardinal Amateur and the 1989 North and South Amateur. Turning pro, Porter played on the PGA Tour for six years, earning three top-10 finishes. He also competed on the Asian Tour, the European Tour and the Nationwide Tour, where he once made a then-record 20 consecutive cuts. As a pro he won the 1991 Venezuelan Open and four mini-tour events. Porter now competes in senior amateur events and has posted wins in the Society of Seniors Masters and the 2024 Carolinas Senior Amateur.

Damon Vaughan – Track & Field
It’s difficult to manage athletics and academics, but Damon Vaughan always excelled at both. At Northeast Guilford High, he was a team captain and MVP in basketball, ran cross country and was a standout in the long jump and triple jump, winning the latter in the state 3A meet as a senior. He also graduated with honors. Moving on to North Carolina A&T, Vaughan starred in indoor and outdoor track and field in the triple jump and, when dealing with an injured hamstring, he turned to the javelin, winning that event as a senior. He helped the Aggies to three MEAC championships, made Dean’s List all four years and graduated with honors in Electrical Engineering. Since then he has earned two master’s degrees, worked with branding portfolios for several Fortune 500 companies, holds two patents, founded two companies and is a published author.