2026 AWARDS DINNER
- May 18
- 3 min read
Published 5/18/26
"I didn't just run the 100 yards... I owned it!" proclaimed Gina Nelson-Holloway as she dazzled the crowd with her induction speech.
And so it was for her and all the other 17 inductees honored last evening at the Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame's 3rd annual induction event held at Mercer Oaks--an occasion to claim ownership of some of the greatest accomplishments in county track and cross-country history.
Over 180 attended last evenings ceremonies. There were friends, family, teammates, coaches and fans, all gathered to salute the members of the Induction Class of 2026.
Hall of fame president Anthony Genovesi delivered the opening speech and board member Mary Ann Tarr led the invocation. Emcees Andre Modica and Peddie head coach Tim Brennan guided the assembly through the inductions. Barry Federovich gave the closing speech and Scott Maughn from trackmercer.com was the event photographer.
This year's class contained graduates spanning the years from 1964 to 2016, with Dr. Gil Botvin--Peddie 1965--being the eldest to ever attend in-person to accept an athlete's induction. Grace Dwyer Cook--Nottingham 2016--was the youngest ever to accept induction.
Many of the honorees were firsts in Mercer history. The late Van Butler was inducted posthumously as he was the first county athlete to ever win a Meet of Champions title in 1971. Dorothea Smith was the first Trenton High School female to ever win a county championship when she took the 220 Yard crown in 1975. She was also the first Lady Tornado to win a state championship along with her teammate Nelson-Holloway when they both won gold in the sprints at the 1977 Group IV state meet.
1999 graduate Terrence Glover was not only Hamilton West's first ever inductee, he also holds the distinction as being the first and only male athlete in Mercer history to reach a career total of 5 Meet of Champions titles.
Peter Sharpless from Princeton High's class of 1981 was the first male athlete to ever repeat as an all-group champion when he took high jump gold in both '80 and '81.
One of Lawrence High's 3 inductees, Lori Dowers was the first athlete--male or female--to repeat as county champ in the short sprints when she won the double in both 1978 and '79. She helped lead Lawrence to it's first state team title in '79.
The first male and female hurdlers to ever win all-group titles were also inducted. PHS's Stephan Fletcher who won the first of his four M.O.C. hurdles titles as a junior in 1982, and TCHS's Donna Powell who won the 400 Hurdles in 1986.
According to President Genovesi, Trenton's Poppy Sanderson who was inducted as a special contributor was first full-time trainer in county high school history.
The festivities also included the announcement of a new award to be given out by the hall of fame committee starting in spring of 2027. The award is for "county athlete of the year" and will be named The Martin Trophy in honor of Steinert's Doug Martin. Martin was inducted last evening as a coach and championship meet director whose exceptional service in the sport spanned 40 years.
There were two scholarships awarded at the event as well. The George Wah Scholarship was awarded to Wilberforce's Laura Sallade and the Larry Ivan Scholarship was awarded to West Windsor South's Julius Kinsler.
Special thanks to Mercer Oaks, all the sponsors, and Aryan Hiray (Video Technician)
To view more photos from this year's banquet see the gallery page here.
To view detailed bios of this year's inductees or any inductees from past years, see the inductees page here.
© 2026 Mercer County Track & Field Hall of Fame
