He ran for more than 2,300 yards in his Irvington career, accumulating 25 touchdowns. Barr had a single-season school rushing record of 1,604 yards and a single-game rushing total of 373 as a senior.
IRVINGTON — The Irvington High School Athletic Hall of Fame will hold its induction ceremony for their 2025 and 2026 classes on Saturday, May 9, from 3-6 p.m. in the Irvington High School gymnasium, located at 1253 Clinton Ave. Irvington.
For details and to purchase tickets to the event, call the IHS athletic department at 973-399-6897.
The following are the inductees:
Class of 2025
- Cynthia Roth (1988 graduate): Distinguished Service.
- Waynelle Gravesande (2007): football and track.
- Mark Glover (1980): football.
- Willie Barr (2015): football and track.
- 2005 indoor shuttle relay track and field team: National Scholastic indoor champions: Adenford Jean-Phillipe (2006), Michael White (2006), Kwasi Sekyi Nyamekye (2005) and Alixon Byron (2006) in a meet-record 20.82.
Glover, a 1980 graduate, played all four years at IHS and was a three-year varsity letterwinner.
As a sophomore, Glover was second team all-conference. In his junior year, he was first-team all-conference, first team all-county and second-team all-state.
As a senior, Glover was first-team all-conference, all-county and all-state, and was named the defensive player of the year in the county.
Barr, a 2015 graduate, ran 2,328 yards in his IHS career, accumulating 21 touchdowns. He had a single-season school rushing record of 1,604 yards and a single-game rushing total of 373 yards in the 34-33 loss to Woodbridge in the North 2, Group 4 state sectional playoffs first round in his senior year. Barr was first team all-conference from 2012-14, first team all-group 4 and all-defense as a senior.
Barr also was a standout track runner. He was the 55-meter indoor conference champion, the 100-meter sectional champion, 100-meter county runner-up and 200-meter sectional runner-up. Barr attended Montclair State University, where he was a productive member of the football team. He is currently an assistant coach for the IHS football team and also coaches for the Irvington Golden Knights Pop Warner program.
Gravesande was a senior on the 2006 football team that advanced to a state sectional championship game for the first time in program history. A wide receiver, Gravesande excelled both on the playing field and in the classroom and community. He earned statewide recognition, as well as all-county and all-conference in both his junior and senior years.
Gravesande went on to continue his football and academic career at Purdue University where he excelled at wide receiver and as a punt returner. He graduated from Purdue with a bachelor of science in sociology and a minor in information technology. Today, he is a family man with his wife and three children, giving back to his community by coaching baseball and soccer.
The 2005 shuttle hurdle relay team ran a meet-record 20.82 at the indoor National Scholastic Championships.
Class of 2026
- Mikai Gbayor (2021): football All-State and All-American.
- Raheem Morris: former NFL head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons; and current defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers.
- 2020 boys basketball team: state sectional and North region state champions, under current head coach and 2006 IHS graduate Elias Brantley.
Morris won Super Bowl rings with the Buccaneers in 2003 as an assistant coach and with the Los Angeles Rams as a defensive coordinator in 2022. He also was a Falcons assistant coach when they went to the Super Bowl in 2017. He was the head coach of the Buccaneers from 2009-2011 and the Falcons head coach from 2024-25.
Gbayor went on to play Division 1 at Nebraska and North Carolina, and is currently entering his first year at Florida State. At Irvington, he was the 2019 IHS Defensive Player of the Year, 2020 IHS Male Athlete of the Year, 2020 National Maxwell Football Club Player of the Year and 2020 USA TODAY All-American First Team Defense selection.
The 2020 boys basketball team defeated Colonia 71-37 in the North 2, Group 3 state sectional final at IHS and defeated North 1, Group 3 sectional champion Ramapo 68-51 to be declared as the North Group 3 regional champions. The Group 3 state championship against South Jersey sectional champion Timber Creek was canceled due to the COVID–19 pandemic. Irvington finished with a 28-3 overall record.
Photos Courtesy of Irvington Varsity Club
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