ALBANY — The 2019 Albany Athletic Hall of Fame induction took place Nov. 30 during Hall of Fame Night prior to the Albany-Brodhead boys basketball game.
The three newest members of the school’s prized wall of honor are softball coach Bill Davis, former athlete and coach Mike Armitage and 2005 graduate Jessie Meier.
Davis has led Juda-Albany’s softball team to two state appearances since 2012, when the two schools began a co-op. In 2017 Davis’ team brought home the WIAA Division 4 state championship. Davis has compiled a 149-57 record as well as producing 33 first-team all-conference softball players and one State Player of the Year.
Armitage graduated in 1993 and was a key member in the state-bound Comets boys basketball team that year. He still sits in the top 10 in program history in several categories, including points, assists, free throw percentage and career 3-pointers. He was also a prolific baseball player and football player, earning all-conference honors. In baseball, Armitage had 96 strikeouts as a freshman pitcher and was a unanimous first-team all-conference player as a senior, batting over .500 on the season while leading the Comets to the WIAA Sectional tournament. Following high school, Armitage has helped coach basketball, baseball and softball, including the Juda-Albany softball co-op.
Meier was a four-year letter winner in cross country, basketball and track. She ran in the state cross country meet and played a major role in 2002 as the Comets’ girls basketball team won its first conference title in 30 years. In track, she was a conference and regional champion and was part of the state runner-up 3,200-meter relay team, earning Team MVP in the process.
Albany Athletic Director Derik Doescher introduced all three, noting the humbleness of each honoree. He recalled how when he called Meier to inform her of the honor, she asked, “Why me?” Davis wanted his assistant coaches to share in the honor, while Armitage wanted to include his teammates from the 1992-93 state-bound boys basketball team.
