The five inductees into the Oxford Sports Wall of Fame this year illustrate that it’s possible to make important contributions to sports in different ways and at different stages of life. 

Jean Brubaker taught at Oxford for 24 years and coached girls’ field hockey and basketball before going on to be a standout participant in the Senior Games. Michael Fazio was a conference champion in swimming at Towson University. Jim Gordon coached and assisted several local teams and several different sports, and then highlighted local athletes through his work at the Oxford Tribune. He has also photographed all the inductees to the Oxford Sports Wall of Fame for more than two decades. Thomas “Chuck” Paxson was a four-sport athlete at Oxford and was recruited to play football. Lakeisha Fairley Lemons was a record-breaking track star in college.

This year’s inductees will be honored at the annual Oxford Sports Wall of Fame banquet at Oxford Area High School’s auditorium on Monday, October 13. The accomplishments of each inductee will be highlighted during the evening. 

Fazio was a top swimmer in the state during his career at Oxford Area High School. In 2017, he placed fourth in the PIAA championships in the 200-freestyle with a time of of 1:39.64. Two years later, he placed fifth in the PIAA championships in the 100-freestyle and third in the 50-freestyle. 

He went on to compete at a very high level for Towson University’s swimming team. Fazio was the CAA Conference Champion in the 50-freestyle in 2022, with a time of 19.82. In 2021, he was the CAA Conference Champion in the 100-freestyle, and in 2023 he placed second in the 200-freestyle in the CAA Championships.

Brubaker may be the most decorated athlete entering the Oxford Sports Wall of Fame this year. She grew up in nearby Drumore Township in southern Lancaster County and attended Solanco High School. After graduating from the West Chester State College in 1965, she taught at Oxford schools for 24 years. At the time she started working at Oxford, there were only three girls’ sports teams. Brubaker coached field hockey for many years and also utilized her talents leading the girls’ basketball team.

After she retired from teaching in 1989, Brubaker started competing in the Lancaster Senior Games in events like the shot put, the discus, and the javelin. Through the years, she earned more than 200 medals and awards at the state Senior Games and the national Senior Games, including gold medals in 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2004. She was selected as the AARP Senior Athlete of the Year for Pennsylvania in 2004. 

Gordon, a 1969 graduate of Oxford Area High School, has been making contributions to the local sports scene for decades. He coached baseball at all levels for Oxford Little League, including coaching girls’ softball. He was an assistant and scorekeeper for the American Legion team. He was an assistant coach for the high school girls’ volleyball team. He wrote about sports and took many sports photos for the Oxford Tribune. When the Oxford Sports Wall of Fame started more than two decades ago, Gordon photographed the class of inductees and has done that every year since then.

Lakeisha Fairley Lemons’ path to becoming a 2019 Teacher of the Year selection started in Oxford schools when she was a student. While at Oxford Area High School from 1998 to 2001, she was the Class President for all four years. She was a cheerleader and competed in cross country and track and field.  She anchored the 4 X 400 relay team.

That set the stage for a record-breaking career at Albright College, where she was a standout in both indoor track and outdoor track and field events. She made history as the first female athlete to run under a minute in the indoor track and field 400m at Albright College and in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championships.

From 2002 to 2004, she was the MAC Indoor Track and Field Champion in the 400m. She placed 10th in the Eastern College Athletic Conference indoor Track and Field Championships in 2003 and earned a spot on the All-Conference Second Team.

She was named the Most Outstanding Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year for three consecutive years and received the National Student Athlete Award for her commitment to excellence in academics, athletics, and community service from the National Consortium for Academic and Sports. She became the first African American to be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Albright College in 2017.  She’s now an award-winning kindergarten teacher for the Washington DC public schools.

Paxson was a four-sport athlete during his time at Oxford Area High School—he earned three varsity letters in football, and also competed in baseball, wrestling, and track and field. In 1987, his junior year at Oxford, he placed first in shot put and second in discus at the Southern Chester County League Relays.

In his senior year, Oxford started an indoor track program. Paxson was undefeated in local meets. He went on to compete at the Meet of Champions in Lehigh University where he placed second in the state. He was a First Team All Star in the shot put and discus. In the District Championships in 1988, he placed first in shot put, second in discus, and third in javelin.

As a member of the football team, he played mostly on the offensive line and defensive line. His work on the football field drew the attention of two Division II colleges, and he was recruited to play football at Shippensburg University. While at Shippensburg, he played football and also competed in the shot put, the discus, and the javelin. He went on to transfer to the University of South Florida, where he earned a degree.

The induction ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be offered starting at 6:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria.