On Friday, September 11 at halftime of the Troy Athens vs. Oxford varsity football game, the Oxford High School athletic department will honor four very important contributors to the legacy of Wildcats athletics. The festivities will continue on the following day when a ceremony honoring the inductees will be held at the Oxford High School Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m.
‘The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to not only honor the achievements and contributions of others, but to serve as an example of what is possible for current and future OHS students,? remarked Andrew McDonald , hall of fame chairperson.
‘The hall of fame represents what is good about educational athletics and helps us continue to celebrate our long and proud athletic heritage at Oxford High.?
Nominations were solicited from alumni and the community and are voted on after preliminary research is conducted.
The 2015 class of the OHS Athletics Hall of Fame will include:
Willie Breyer (2001) ? This 8-time Wildcat letter winner led a resurgence of the Oxford football and wrestling programs in the early 2000’s. As a three-year starter on the varsity football team, Willie was a tenacious defensive end and tight end and was twice named all Flint Metro League.
His finest contribution to Oxford High School was with the wrestling program. As a sophomore, Willie went 42-13 and placed 4th in the 189 pound division 2 finals. As a junior and senior he captured league, district and regional championships.
As a junior, Breyer finished with a 50-2 record and was state runner-up. During his senior season Willie dominated the competition and added the Oakland County Championship to his impressive resume, one of the finest wrestling tournaments in the nation. At the state finals he won the 215 pound individual championship and finished with a 51-0 record. He lead the wrestling program to their first FML and Oakland County team championships, becoming the only division 2 school to reach this distinction.
In addition, Willie traveled to the national championships his senior year and placed third in the nation against the best wrestlers at his weight class. Breyer finished his career as the leader in wins (167), pins (117), season pins (31) and season wins (51).Breyer choose to attend University of Michigan to continue his education and earned three varsity letters in wrestling.
Willie qualified his senior year for the national championships at the 197 pound weight class and was ranked in the top ten in the nation at his weight class.
Bryer currently lives in Westlake, Ohio and is employed as a special education teacher and coaches football and wrestling.
Anthony ‘Tony’Lyssiotis (2003) ? Like Bryer, Lyssiotis earned eight varsity letters in two different sports during the early 2000’s. In football, Lyssiotis earned all FML honors his junior and senior season and served as a team captain his senior year.
An outstanding wrestler, Tony was 44-9 his junior season and placed 5th place at 189 pounds. As a senior he placed third at the Oakland County championships, won the FML, district, and regional championships. In the state tournament he made the unusual move of going up a weight class to 215 pounds to win the championship.
At the state finals with a record of 42-2 Tony won the 215 individual state championships, becoming the fourth individual state champion in school history.
Lyssiotis graduated high school with a 3.49 gpa and decided to participate
as a wrestler at Eastern Michigan University. He earned four varsity letters and was named captain of the team his junior and senior years. As a junior and senior he received the Mid-American Conference Academic award and placed 3rd at the MAC championships his senior year.
Lyssiotis graduated with a political science degree and currently works as a firefighter for the city of Westland.
Carianne Byrd (Meystrick) (1988) ‘Although she only ran for the Oxford track and field program for two years Carianne quickly learned under the guidance of head coach Ray Sutherland.
As a junior the track team finished 10-0 in the Flint Metro League and she was part of the winning 1600m and 3200m relay teams.
As a senior she captained the 1988 varsity track and field teams to a 9-1 mark and another FML crown. At the FML league meet she won the 800m run in 2:31.1 and anchored the winning 1600m and 3200m relay teams.
The highlight of her senior year was becoming the first female track athlete from Oxford to become an individual state champion when she ran a school record 2:18.9 at the state finals in 1988.
In addition, 1600m relay placed all state with an 8th place time of 4:08.9. She was chosen to represent the State of Michigan at the Midwest Meet of Champions in the 800m run.
Carianne continued her career as a student-athlete at Takio University in Kentucky earning a varsity letter and completing her degree at the University of Tennessee graduating Sum Cum Laude with an Arts and Science degree.
Carianne has enjoyed a successful career as a homeschool teacher and raising four wonderful children.
Tiffany Emenaker (Brown) (1988) ? One of the finest girls? basketball players to wear an Oxford basketball uniform, Tiffany earned three varsity letters for head coach Ian Smith.
The Wildcat basketball team had a career record of 62-11 while Tiffany played on the varsity. Emenaker’s career included two Flint metro league titles, back to back MHSAA district titles, and a regional champion ship in her junior year.
Emenaker ended her prep career with a school record of most points in a game (37) and third in career points (1077).
Tiffany also was named the Helen Smith most outstanding female athlete her senior year.
Emenaker entered Oakland University in the fall of 1988 and earned one varsity letter at Oakland University during the 1988-89 seasons.
The team won the GLIAC and played in the NCAAA tournament losing to St. Joseph’s (Indiana) in a regional final 80-59.
Tiffany currently lives in Romeo with her family and works in program management.