The Classical High Hall of Fame inducted 12 new members and honored the 1992 boys track team at a dinner Saturday night at the Nahant Country Club.The newest members of the Hall of Fame are:Jay Alicudo, a member of the 1976 football team that won the Super Bowl. He was also a member of two Northeastern Conference championship teams.Katie Barber (1997) was the starting softball pitcher for the Rams. She finished her career with a school-record 45 wins before going on to play at UMass-Lowell for four years.James Cowdell (1979) pitched for the baseball team, leading the Rams deep into the state tournament in 1979. He went on to serve on the Lynn City Council and is now executive director of the EDIC for the City of Lynn.Kevin Debasitis (1978) was Lineman of the Year on the 1976 football team that won the Super Bowl. He went on to play at Yale, where his team won the Ivy League championship for three straight years.Joseph Gunning (1968) had a great hockey career at Classical, serving as captain his senior year. He taught in the Lynn schools for 35 years and for the past 40 years has been a member of the National Ice Hockey Officials Association. He coached a variety of different sports over the years and is currently an assistant coach for the Lynn Jets.Jack Harney (1942) played on the Classical football teams that won the state championship in 1940 and the state and New England championship in 1941. As part of honoring him, the Hall of Fame selection committee unveiled two state championship banners for 1940 and 1941 that will hang in the school gymnasium.Bruce D. Hogan (1959) made his mark at Classical as a football, basketball and track athlete. He was also a 38-year member of the Lynn Police Department before retiring in 2001. He was unable to be at the dinner.Howard Lavan (1957) was a terrific baseball player at Classical. He played in the Los Angeles Dodgers system for several years. When he returned home, he built a career making and selling jewelry.Richard Mikszenas (1951) played football and baseball at Classical. At the Classical-English Thanksgiving game his senior year, he intercepted three passes and deflected two more to help the Rams to a 13-6 win.Helen Ridley (2001) helped turn around a winless Classical basketball team the day she walked through the doors as a freshman. She went on to play Division 1 college basketball at Quinnipiac, where she is currently an assistant women’s basketball coach. Ridley scored over 1,000 career points at Classical with 52 of them (a girls school record) coming in a game against English her sophomore year.Gary Sverker (1968) played football, ran track and was captain of the swim team at Classical. He went on to play at the University of Rhode Island. He taught physical education in the Lynn schools and held many football, track and coaching positions over the years. He was head football coach at Lynn Tech for 19 years before stepping down after the 2009 season.Alexis “Lex” Thornton was a three-year football starter for the Rams and a member of the state championship track team (1992). He received a football scholarship to BU, where he was a four-year letterman. He currently works in law enforcement.James Twombly (1958) was captain of the Classical football team his senior year. He went on to play at the University of New Hampshire, after which he joined the Air Force, where he flew tactical support missions in Southeast Asia from 1966-1971. He went on to serve as a city councilor in Rochester, N.H., and a state legislator.The 1992 boys track team, which won a state title with only five runners, was also honored.
