Eleven Enshrined in the Salem High School Athletic Hall of Fame
Camah, Bryant, Greenblatt highlight 11 former athletes, coaches, administrators and dignitaries
Salem News: Salem High honors latest athletic Hall of Fame inductees
SALEM (Nov. 27, 2023) – The Salem High School Athletic Hall of Fame inducted 11 former athletes, coaches, administrators and dignitaries on Tuesday night, Nov. 20 at Salem State University’s Veterans Memorial Hall.
The induction was the first since 2019 due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The SHS Hall of Fame Class of 2023 drew 28 nominations. The list of inductees included:
- Jasmine Bryant (2011) Soccer, Basketball, Track & Field
- Jamaal Camah (1996) Basketball
- Chris Felton (2001) Football, Wrestling, Baseball
- Jana (Mroz) Gauthier (2000) Soccer, Softball
- Robert J. Geswell Director of Athletics, 1986-2003
- Bethany Greenblatt Goodrich (1995) Soccer, Gymnastics, Track & Field
- Stephen A. Ingemi (1963) Football, Hockey, Gymnastics & Tumbling
- Sean Linehan (2010) Basketball, Baseball
- Jack O’Brien Basketball Coach, 1986-93
- Antonio Reyes (2011) Football, Basketball
- Tania (1982) and Edward Skeffington Meritorious Service
Jasmine Bryant (Soccer, Basketball, Track and Field)
A member of the Class of 2011, Ms. Bryant was a three-sport standout in soccer, basketball and track and field, and earned repeated all-star billing from the Northeast Conference and The Salem News in all three sports.
Ms. Bryant was a three-time All-NEC soccer standout and led the conference in scoring each year. As a senior she was named an Eastern Massachusetts all-star.
At the end of each fall, she cruised into basketball season seamlessly as a four-year starter for the Witches. Along the way, she emerged the team leader in blocked shots and rebounds her sophomore through her senior season and garnered All-NEC honors all three years.
Ms. Bryant’s track and field career saw her capture NEC triple jump championship as a junior and senior, as well as the 100 meter hurdles as a senior. She went undefeated in both the triple jump and 100 meter hurdles as a senior en route to capturing NEC Most Valuable Athlete honors.
Ms. Bryant shares the school records in the 100 meter hurdles and triple jump with 2015 Hall of Fame inductee Julie O’Donnell, and remains the school record holder in the heptathlon. She enjoyed a stellar career at Bryant University where she set school records in the indoor 55 meter hurdles and outdoor 100 meter hurdles and triple jump. She graduated in 2015 with a degree in international business.
In 2019, Ms. Bryant was named to The Salem News ‘Modern Marvels’ which honored the top male and female athletes of the 21st century.
Jamaal Camah (Basketball)
The current principal of Salem’s New Liberty Innovation School, Mr. Camah was a three-year standout for the Witches boys basketball team after relocating from his native Brooklyn, N.Y. As a junior, Mr. Camah was a key player in SHS’s greatest-ever season which saw the Witches go 25-0 and capture the MIAA Division 2 state championship.
That year he was named to the NEC all-star team and finished runner-up for NEC Player of the Year behind teammate Scoonie Penn. As a senior, he went on to average 21.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the Witches, and attended Notre Dame Prep for a postgraduate year, which saw him earn All-New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) honors and accept a full scholarship to Providence College.
During the offseason throughout high school, Mr. Camah played for the renowned Boston Area Basketball Club (BABC) and helped lead it to consecutive Boston Shootout titles and a No. 1 ranking among AAU teams in the country.
Mr. Camah attended Providence for three seasons before finishing his senior year at the University of New Haven, where he earned Northeast-10 Conference First Team status, and earned his undergraduate degree in business administration.
Mr. Camah has been an active coach and clinician since graduation, serving as an assistant boys coach at Charlestown High School (2005-14) and the assistant girls coach at Tech Boston Academy (2017-22). He co-founded Basketball’s Promise, an AAU basketball program which uniquely provided academic resources for Boston-area youths, which ran from 2008-14.
Mr. Camah continues to coach with North Star Basketball Training alongside former SHS and Salem State standout Tony Mataragas.
He lives in Danvers, Mass., with his wife, Michelle, and their five children.
Chris Felton (Football, Wrestling, Baseball)
A 2001 graduate, Mr. Felton captained three sports – football, wrestling and baseball – during his years at SHS. He ended his career well-decorated, having earned the Hall of Fame Award in both football and and baseball, as well as team most valuable player honors in football.
As a junior, Mr. Felton emerged a starter and played in all three phases (offense, defense and special teams), to help lead the Witches to their first-ever MIAA Division 2 state championship. He was named the team’s most valuable player as a senior and played in the prestigious Agganis Game.
Wrestling in the 171-pound class, Mr. Felton was a three-year starter and highlighted his career finishing third in the MIAA Division 2 North Section Tournament. He cruised into baseball season which saw him bat over .400 as a senior enroute to All-NEC and team MVP honors
Despite the rigors of three sports, Mr. Felton was a model student, earning Honor Roll status and induction into the SHS National Honor Society.
He moved on to a four-year football career – three-year starter – as a defensive lineman at Bates College, from where he earned his degree in economics. He later earned his MBA at UMass Boston.
Jana (Mroz) Gauthier (Soccer, Softball)
A four-year standout in both soccer and softball, Mrs. Gauthier enjoyed a storied sports career both at SHS and on the club circuit. A central defender and a catcher, she was a four-year starter who earned NEC all-star honors in both sports.
Mrs. Gauthier also backstopped her U-16 Salem Youth Soccer team to the 1998 Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association (MYSA) State Championship under coach Mark Greenblatt, whose daughter, Bethany, is also a member of the 2023 hall of fame class. Mrs. Gauthier was also named the MVP of the Newcastle United FC women’s tournament in 1999.
An equally impressive student at SHS, Mrs. Gauthier graduated among the top 10 in the Class of 2000. She moved on to play soccer at Emerson College, from where she graduated magna cum laude in 2004.
Mrs. Gauthier is entering her 19th year as an executive for the New England Patriots and The Kraft Group. She remains an active volunteer with the Salem Little League and Salem Youth Soccer, and lives in Salem with her husband, David, and three children.
Robert Geswell (Director of Athletics, 1985-2003)
A 33-year veteran of the Salem athletics community, Mr. Geswell was an educator, coach and administrator covering arguably the most successful era of Salem High School. During his time, SHS captured two MIAA Division 2 state championships in boys basketball, baseball and the 1999 Super Bowl.
Mr. Geswell spent 13 years as an educator while coaching several different boys and girls sports. He then became the Director of Athletics and Physical Education, a role he held for 18 years which saw countless girls and boys conference and sectional championships. His impact is telling in two events:
- In 2003, he was asked by the senior class to deliver the commencement address.
- The field in front of SHS was named after him.
In 1990, Mr. Geswell co-founded the SHS Athletic Hall of Fame which has seen 240 athletes, coaches, administrators and dignitaries earn induction.
Bethany (Greenblatt) Goodrich (Soccer, Gymnastics, Track and Field)
A four-year varsity athlete in three sports – soccer, gymnastics and track and field – Ms. Goodrich earned a plethora of honors before graduating in 1995. A soccer standout, she was named the NEC Most Valuable Player in 1994 after winning the Conference scoring title, and moved on to earn All-Eastern Mass. and All-State status.
Ms. Goodrich was named an NEC all-star and an all-scholastic recipient by The Salem News her sophomore through her senior years. She enjoyed similar success in gymnastics, earning All-NEC and Salem News plaudits her junior and senior seasons.
A versatile track and field athlete, Ms. Goodrich was a member of Salem’s undefeated/NEC champion 4X100 meter relay team and set school records in the 100 meter hurdles and 300 meter dash. She qualified for the MIAA State Championship Meet her junior and senior seasons.
Ms. Goodrich moved on to a four-year soccer career at the University of Michigan, and helped the Wolverines to the 1996 Big 10 championship. She earned her degree in organizational studies as well as her MBA from the UMass Isenberg School of Business.
Ms Goodrich lives in North Hampton, N.H. with her husband, Matt and their two sons.
Stephen A. Ingemi (Football, Gymnastics, Hockey)
A name synonymous with SHS athletics, Mr. Ingemi was a four-year football player and three-year member of the hockey and gymnastics teams. His uncle, Stephen A. Ingemi, and older brother, Joe, were both gridiron standouts for the Witches.
Perhaps undersized as an offensive guard and linebacker at 145 pounds, Mr. Ingemi played beyond his size and was named Salem’s outstanding player in the 1961 and 1962 Salem-Beverly Thanksgiving games. It was an honor also bestowed upon Joe in 1954 and his uncle Stephen C., in 1941.
A gymnastics standout under coach Bob Chouinard – who was in attendance Tuesday night – Mr. Ingemi was a team captain and a rare gymnast who could perform the iron cross.
The Ingemi name in SHS athletics dates back nearly 100 years.
Sean Linehan (Basketball, Baseball)
As much as Mr. Linehan was a hall of fame caliber athlete, he was equally a hall of fame student. The valedictorian of the Class of 2010, Mr. Linehan earned several academic plaudits, including the coveted Paul J. Higgins Student-Athlete Scholarship as well as the Agganis Student-Athlete Award and Moynihan Lumber Student-Athlete Award.
Additionally, he maintained Honor Roll status throughout high school and was a member of the National Honor Society.
Throughout his high school career, Mr. Linehan maintained perfect attendance and was a volunteer at the Witchcraft Heights Elementary School’s Family Literacy Night. He was a finalist for The Salem News Student-Athlete of the Year Award.
A two-year captain on the basketball team, Mr. Linehan was an NEC all-star and the NEC 3-point field goals leader as a senior, helping lead the Witches to the MIAA Division 2 North Region Championship and the state tournament semifinal. He was later named to the Agganis All-Star Game.
He went on to earn All-NEC honors as a junior and senior as a starting pitcher, leading the baseball team to the MIAA Tournament. He returned to the Agganis All-Star Game at the end of the season.
Mr. Linehan graduated with honors from the College of the Holy Cross in 2014, dual-majoring in economics and political science.
Jack O’Brien (Boys Basketball Coach, 1986-93)
A legendary name synonymous with Massachusetts high school basketball, Mr. O’Brien got his start in coaching at SHS in 1986 and proceeded to compile a sterling 131-30 record (.814) over seven seasons. His influence went beyond his coaching years at SHS as the Witches captured four MIAA Division 2 North Section championships, a pair of Eastern Mass. titles and two MIAA Division 2 state championships from 1986-97.
Along the way, he mentored many standout players, including Rick Brunson, who enjoyed a nine-year NBA career with the likes of the Portland Trailblazers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers; and Scoonie Penn (Drafted by Atlanta, 57th overall, 2000), who enjoyed a stellar career at Ohio State and in some of Europe’s top leagues.
Following his time at Salem, Mr. O’Brien enjoyed a vastly successful run at Charlestown H.S., winning several state titles, and later became one of the main subjects in the book, “The Assist: Hoops, Hope, and the Game of Their Lives.”
Antonio Reyes (Football, Basketball)
Also named among The Salem News’ top athletes of the century, Mr. Reyes excelled in both football and basketball, and etched his name repeatedly in both programs’ record books.
In football, he was a four-year letterman and three-year starter on both sides of the ball and graduated as the program’s career leader in tackles, including 157 his senior year. He was a two-time NEC all-star – including the NEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 – and two-time Salem News all-scholastic standout.
A four-time NEC basketball all-star, Mr. Reyes currently ranks third among career scoring leaders with 1,586 points. As a junior he led the Witches to the MIAA Tournament North Region Championship and a bid to the MIAA Tournament semifinal.
As a senior, Mr. Reyes was named the NEC Most Valuable Player and a Boston Globe all-scholastic standout, and completed his varsity career having led the Witches to a four-year clip of 75-29 (.721).
Tania (‘82) and Edward Skeffington (Meritorious Service)
The parents of four SHS graduates, Mr. and Mrs. Skeffington were mainstays on the sidelines of Salem youth leagues and SHS Athletics.
A 1982 graduate, Mrs. Skeffington served as a paraprofessional for 17 years and currently assists SHS students with autism. Mr. Skeffington is a 1980 alumnus of Woburn and quarterbacked the Tanners to a Super Bowl triumph over Brockton.
Much of Mr. and Mrs. Skeffington’s time in the 1990s was spent coaching their children in the Cartoon and Recreational basketball leagues. Three of their children were multi-sport athletes at SHS.
Mr. and Mrs. Skeffington were heavily invested in the Salem Boosters and were active in many voluntary activities and fundraising efforts. They remained active long after their children graduated from SHS, particularly with Unified Sports at SHS.
