Wellsville High School inducts 4 into Athletic Hall of Fame

Four new members have joined the Wellsville High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Inductees Ethan Lamphier, Valerie "Babe" Meyers, Alyssa (Smith) Wixson and Rayanna Anderson were honored by Athletic Director Erica Aftuck and the Hall of Fame Committee during halftime ceremonies of the Oct. 14 Wellsville Lions Homecoming football game against Mynderse Academy.

The Wellsville Athletic Hall of Fame honors the outstanding athletes, coaches and others who have had asignificant impact on the success of athletic programs at Wellsville High School and beyond.

Here's a capsule summary Wellsville HOF class of 2022:

Valerie "Babe" Meyers, class of 1975

A five-sport athlete (tennis, volleyball, basketball, track and field, softball), Meyers played in the first-ever Wellsville High School softball game, hitting a first-inning home run. She was the first to play several newly-introduced sports for girls. She was named team MVP of each sport as well as earning the Terry Norris Sportsmanship Award as a senior.

Meyers played during a time girls did not have uniforms and played in sub-standard gyms and on makeshift fields. But she never complained, paving the way for upcoming female athletes.

After graduation, Meyers was drafted into the National Women's Professional Softball League by the Buffalo Breskis/Bisons. After one season, she moved to Florida and played on the 1978 ASA National Championship Softball Team. She also played basketball in college.

She lives in Indiana today.

Alyssa Smith Wixson, class of 2015

Wixson is considered the greatest field athlete in the storied program at Wellsville High School. She competed at varsity level for five years, setting school, sectional and meet records that still stand.

Wixson led the Lions to two Section V titles in girls' track and field. She won six individual titles, three in shot put and three in discus. She went to the state championships two years in a row and placed second and sixth overall in the discus and third and sixth overall in the shot put among all public and private schools.

Wixson won the Salamanca Super 8, setting the discus record at 127-1. She set the Wellsville and Section V record in discus at 135-5 and the Section V shot put record with a 39' 6.25 throw. Her record-breaking discus throw at the 2015 Wellsville Spring Day still stands along with the other sectional and meet records.

Wixson was an All-Greater Rochester Track and Field selection as a junior and senior, and she won the prestigious Devin Snyder Outstanding Field Athlete Award from Section V in 2013 and 2014. She was the Super 8 Meet MVP, which is rare for a field competitor to achieve.

Wixson also played on the Wellsville varsity volleyball team for five seasons.

After high school, Wixson earned a Division I scholarship to the University of Louisiana-Monroe, where she competed in the Sunbelt Conference in the hammer, weight throw, shot put and discus in both indoor and outdoor track and field.

Today, Wixson makes an impact on the lives of students as a science teacher at Wellsville High School.

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Rayanna Anderson, class of 2016

A Great 8 Player of the Year and all-state selection in basketball, "Ray Ray" led the Lions to a Section V title in basketball in 2016 and was named MVP of the title game and Section V MVP.

She also played in the Ronald McDonald Senior All-Star game and was an All-Greater Rochester selection. She averaged 15.4 points a game, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals for the Lions, who went 20-4.

In college, Anderson played four years at Alfred State and the Pioneers went to nationals when she was a freshman. During her career, Anderson was named an ACAA All-American and led NCAA Division III in assists as a senior during the regular season. She is the career leader at Alfred State in 3-pointers, assists and minutes and is in the Top 10 for a season and career in 17 different categories. Anderson set the school record for most 3-pointers in a game with 9 and most assists in a game with 13 (twice).

In softball, Anderson first played varsity in seventh grade and became a starter at shortstop as a sophomore, earning an All-State honor as the Lions reached the Section V finals twice. She was an Olean Times Herald Big 30 selection four times in three sports.

As a senior, Anderson won the Sid Miles Award as the best female athlete.

Before high school, Anderson was a Little League baseball all-star and played running back and quarterback for six years in the youth football program.

In wrestling, she went to boys nationals twice and in the United States Girls Wrestling Association, she won five New York State Championships and two USGWA National Championships in Michigan. Her co-ed flag football team at Immaculate Conception School went to the Eastern Regional and played at the New York Jets training facility. Today, there are more opportunities for young girls to wrestle other girls and Section V has a girls flag varsity program.

Anderson resides in Buffalo.

Ethan Lamphier, class of 2010

The Wellsville wrestling program has produced Section V and state and national champions. At the top of the list for wins with 164 is Ethan Lamphier.

Lamphier started his career in the youth program in Wellsville, considered one of the best in the state, thanks to his parents, Larry and Ellen Lamphier, who volunteered for decades.

Lamphier left the youth program in seventh grade to start his varsity career. He placed in Sectionals in the eighth grade and moved on to the state qualifiers. He continued to place in sectionals and state qualifiers during his high school wrestling career.

As a senior, Lamphier went 39-4 and was honored by New York state with the Class BBB Sportsmanship Award. He was also named an Expressway Conference Most Outstanding Wrestler, first-team all-star and a Big 30 Wrestling All-Star.

In football, Lamphier's offensive line play helped turn the program around and reach the Section V finals. His unselfish play earned him an offensive MVP award in a 22-18 win over Wayland-Cohocton. During the Homecoming game in LeRoy, the Lions upset the powerful Oaktan Knights, 36-7. Lamphier not only played line, he ran the ball for a touchdown and was named game MVP.

Lamphier played two years of varsity baseball and his power-hitting ability earned him the nickname "Kong."

Lamphier attended Southern Lineman School in Trenton, Georgia, drilling training in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and is currently working for Nabors Drilling.

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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Four new Wellsville High School HOF inductees honored