BRISTOL, Tenn. – On October 1, 2022, four individuals and one team, representing some of the most elite athletes in King Athletics history, will be enshrined in the King Athletics Hall of Fame, representing the Class of 2022. The class includes Warren Payne '69 (men's basketball), Tyrell Cuffy '11 (track & field), Mark Dockery '11 (men's basketball), Tom Winspear '12 (men's soccer), and the 2007 women's soccer team.
The Class of 2022 represents the first new class to enter the King Athletics Hall of Fame since 2020. As a result of Covid-19, the formal induction of the
Class of 2020 did not occur until October 2021, and a new class was not selected for 2021. The Class of 2022 will be formally inducted on Saturday, October 1 at 6:00 p.m., during King Fest weekend.
"This class represents not only some of the finest athletes, but some of our most successful alumni, spanning six decades," said director of athletics
David Hicks. "These individuals embody the spirit of King University, having excelled in athletics as students, and served as successful leaders in their communities after graduation. I am honored to celebrate their legacies with their families and friends."
Warren Payne '69 enters the hall of fame as an individual, having already been inducted in 2017 as a member of the 1968-69 men's basketball team. That team earned King its first-ever Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC) title, posting an 18-4 overall record and 9-1 conference mark. Payne becomes the third member of that team to be inducted into the hall of fame as an individual, joining teammates Ballard Lee '72 and Randy Williams '70.
Payne was one of the most dominant inside players in Tornado history, but was also known for his ability to shoot from the outside. Statistics from his freshman and sophomore campaigns are incomplete, but he still ranks among King's all-time leaders in both scoring and rebounding. Despite having statistics from only 16 games during his first two seasons in Bristol, Payne has 929 career points, including his sophomore season when he averaged 14.2 points per game in the 11 games for which records exist. He is almost certainly amongst the 35 Tornado with 1,000 or more career points.
He averaged 15.4 points per game his junior season and followed that up with a 14.4 per game average on the 1968-69 VSAC championship team in his senior season. During that senior campaign, he posted the 11th-best single season field goal percentage in King history, knocking down 57.1 percent of his shots from the field.
Payne's impact on the floor was not limited to scoring, as he was a dominant force on the boards as well. In his junior and senior seasons alone, he pulled down 501 rebounds, which, if stats for his first two years were known, almost certainly places him in the top 10 at King all-time. His 120 offensive rebounds during his junior season still stands as King's best single season total in history.
Achieving a final NAIA national ranking of 15th, and advancing to the Sweet 16 in Daytona, Fla., the
2007 Women's Soccer Team featured five All-Americans, the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Player and Coach of the Year. The team finished with a 17-4-1 record, including a 6-0-1 mark on their way to the AAC regular season and postseason championships.
They posted an undefeated record at Parks Field, and all three of their regular season losses came at the hands of NCAA Division II programs. After a 2-3 start to the season, they rattled off a streak of 16 games without a loss, with a 1-1 tie with Covenant sandwiched between winning streaks of six and nine games. The historic season came to an end in Daytona in the Sweet 16 with a loss to fifth-ranked Martin Methodist.
Behind the strong play of third team All-American defenders Pua Coffman and Emma Wells, as well as honorable mention All-America goalkeeper Karmin Helton, the Tornado defense claimed 14 of their 17 victories by shutout, including seven in a row leading up to the season-ending loss to Martin Methodist. The Tornado gave up just 16 goals all season, including just six over their final 16 games.
Offensively, the Tornado were led by honorable mention All-America honoree and AAC Player of the Year Lisa Forgione, who tallied 20 goals to lead a balanced offense that saw four other players net five or more goals on the season. Maggie Lynskey, the 2007 team's third and final honorable mention All-America honoree, scored three game-winning goals on the season, the second-most on the team. Head coach Michael Swan was named both the AAC and Region Coach of the Year.
A five-time NAIA national champion,
Tyrell Cuffy '11 becomes the third Tornado track & field student-athlete inducted into the hall of fame. The Cayman Islands native won both the 2008 and 2009 NAIA national championships in the 100 meter dash, and claimed three NAIA national championships in the 200 meter dash (2007, 2008, 2009). As a result of King's transition to NCAA Division II, Cuffy was unable to compete during his senior season, halting his bid for four consecutive national titles in the 200 meter dash.
Cuffy earned NAIA All-American honors an amazing 13 times (indoor and outdoor) during his three years competing at the national championships. He claimed top five finishes in the 4x100 meter relay at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships all three years and a sixth place finish in the 4x400 meter relay in 2007. At the NAIA Indoor National Championships, he finished in the top five in both the 60 meter dash and 200 meter dash in both 2008 and 2009.
Cuffy is a member of three school-record relay teams, the 4x400 meter relay indoor, and both the 4x100 meter relay and 4x400 meter relay outdoor teams. His times in 60 meter dash (indoor) and the 100 meters and 200 meters outdoor are second only to his teammate, fellow Cayman Islander and Olympian Kemar Hyman. In 2007, Cuffy won a silver medal at the Pan American Junior Championships in Brazil in the 200 meter dash.
A native of Nicklesville, Va.,
Mark Dockery '11 joins a long tradition of men's basketball players to earn induction into the King Hall of Fame, and he ranks as one of the most prolific scorers to ever lace up his shoes for the Tornado.
Dockery poured in a then school record 684 points during his senior season, and graduated as King's all-time leading scorer with 1,881 points, with both marks eclipsed by Jordan Floyd in 2020. Dockery's 14.5 points per game average over his career ranks third all-time at King, and he holds King's record for three-point goals in a season with 141, as well as the career mark for three-point field goals with 388. In addition, he is third all-time in three-point field goal percentage (39.1) and free throw percentage at 80.3.
During his storied four-year career from 2007-11, the Tornado amassed an impressive .720 winning percentage, winning 95 games against only 37 losses. The only more successful consecutive four-year stretch of King basketball history started in 2006-07 and includes Dockery's final three seasons as a Tornado. During his career, the Tornado won the AAC regular season championship in 2007-08 and claimed the AAC postseason championship in both 2007-08 and 2008-09.
He earned AAC Freshman of the Year accolades in 2007-08 and was a first team All-AAC honoree before being selected AAC Tournament MVP as a sophomore in 2008-09. As a result of King's transition to NCAA Division II, the Tornado were without a conference home for his final two seasons, and not eligible for postseason competition in either the NAIA or NCAA.
Tom Winspear '12 rounds out the Class of 2022, joining the elite ranks as the only first-ballot hall of famer in this class. Winspear found the back of the net 67 times during his four seasons as a Tornado, a mark second only to the 70 goals of fellow hall of famer Lee Ramoon '88.
Winspear scored at least 13 goals in each of his four seasons, and is the only player in the NCAA-era to score 15 or more goals in a season. As a freshman in 2008, Winspear tallied a team-high 13 goals, leading the Tornado to a second place finish in the AAC, and their second consecutive AAC postseason championship. For his efforts, Winspear was named third team All-AAC in 2008.
Winspear's career, like many others, was impacted significantly by King's transition to NCAA Division II. During his sophomore and junior seasons, King had no conference affiliation and was not eligible for postseason play in either the NAIA or NCAA, limiting his opportunities for many individual and team accolades.
In King's first year as members of Conference Carolinas, Winspear made an immediate impact on the league, leading King to a 5-5-1 league record, finding the back of the net 15 times in 17 games. For his efforts, he was named first team All-Conference Carolinas and D2CCA All-Region first team. He remains the only player in King's NCAA history to earn first team All-Region honors.
