A former Pro Bowl punter is the headliner for Grand Island High School’s second athletic hall of fame class.
Brett Kern was a three-time Pro Bowl punter for the Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles from 2008-2022. Kern was a 2004 graduate of Grand Island, where he was an all-state performer who led the Vikings to the Section VI Class A championship in 2003.
Other inductees include Michael Blocho (2004), Joe Dunlop (1992), Michael Podlucky (1966), Jessica Remmes Davis (2006), Mike Rodriguez (1974), Julie Roth Neville (1996), coach Dick Bessel and H. David Myers, the school’s first athletic director.
Blocho was a two-time U.S. Lacrosse All-American who finished his career with 210 goals and 120 assists before starting 42 of 53 games for Canisius University. He also was a first-team all-state running back who ran for 2,210 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2003, finishing his career with 3,730 yards and 45 touchdowns.
Dunlop was a dominant runner for the Vikings, racing to the Class B state cross country championship in 1991 with a time of 15:49.7, which was 28 seconds faster than anyone else in the race. Dunlop went on to be an all-conference runner at the University of Notre Dame.
Remmes Davis was a three-time first-team all-state soccer player and a first-team All-American in 2005, guiding Grand Island to five sectional championships and four state semifinals. She then played collegiately for James Madison University.
Rodriguez was a standout baseball player for the Vikings who was drafted in the 18th round of the 1974 MLB draft by the Oakland Athletics. He played four seasons in the minor leagues from 1977-1981, including 172 games for the Ogden A’s, the Triple A affiliate of the Athletics, hitting .240 with 86 RBIs.
Roth Neville was a superb athlete who was the school’s first 1,000-point scorer in basketball, the all-time leader in tennis wins and an All-Western New York shortstop in softball. She went on to win 60 singles matches at Xavier and returned to the district to teach and coach before dying of breast cancer in 2018.
A titan in Western New York running circles, Bessel was the school’s first boys cross country coach and started the school’s girls cross country and track and field teams. He also coached multiple state champions before retiring in 1992.
Starting his teaching career at Sidway Elementary in 1948, Myers formed Grand Island’s athletic department and oversaw the construction of the school’s facilities over his 35-year career. When Grand Island added turf to its football, soccer, baseball and softball fields in 2016, the complex was named in his honor.
The ceremony is set during Grand Island’s homecoming weekend. The Vikings face Amherst at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 in a football game, with the hall of fame class introduced at halftime.
The induction luncheon is set for 11 a.m. Oct. 4 at Buffalo Launch Club on Grand Island. For tickets, contact Toniann Myers in the school’s athletic office at 716-773-8813.