ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Webster University Athletic Department has announced the 2023 Hall of Fame class. There will be four inductees into this year's class including Jaclyn Taylor Fearheiley (women's basketball and volleyball), Kaniela Aiona (men's basketball), Ally Niklaus (women's soccer), and Bryan Bernat (baseball).

"Webster University once again has an outstanding group of alumni selected for induction into the Gorlok Athletics Hall of Fame," said Director of Athletics, Scott Kilgallon. "I want to thank the hall of fame selection committee for all of their work and we look forward to celebrating the induction of Jaclyn, Ally, Kaniela, and Bryan into The Gorlok Hall of Fame."  

Jaclyn Taylor Fairheiley was a member of the women's basketball and volleyball team at Webster from 2000 to 2002. In basketball, she played in 52 career games and made 50 starts. She averaged 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free-throw line. In the Webster women's basketball record book, Fairheiley ranks fourth all-time in career assists average (3.4) and 13^th in steals average (2.1) while ranking tied for 13^th in both scoring average (10.3) and total assists (175). She recorded a team high 91 assists in the 2001-02 season which is tied for the ninth most in a single season in program history. In her two seasons with the team, the Gorloks went 40-13 overall and 23-5 in the SLIAC. She was named All-SLIAC in the 2000-01 season and then led her team to a SLIAC Regular Season Title, and a run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Tournament, in 2001-02. In volleyball, Taylor spent three seasons with the Gorloks and was a two-time All-SLIAC selection including Second Team All-SLIAC in 2001. She played in 252 career sets over 54 matches. She finished her volleyball career with 665 kills, 44 assists, 43 service aces, 521 digs, 230 total blocks, and 160 solo blocks. She ranks sixth all-time in the Gorlok record book for solo blocks (160) while ranking ninth in attack percentage (.286), ninth in points per set (3.58), 12^th in blocks per set (0.91), tied for 12^th in total blocks (230), 15^th in kills per set (2.64), 15^th in points (903.0), and 17^th in kills (665). In the 2001 season, Taylor recorded 97 solo blocks which ranks fifth all-time for a single season in program history. The Gorloks recorded a 48-37 overall record, and a 29-13 mark in the SLIAC, throughout her three years on the team. She graduated from Webster with a Bachelors of Science in Information Technology in 2003 and is currently working at Daugherty Business Solutions as a systems engineer. She is married to Jim Fearheiley and has two dogs. This was her third year on the ballot.

Kaniela Aiona was a member of the men's basketball team from 2001 to 2005. In four seasons with the Gorloks, Aiona appeared in 84 games and made 51 starts. He averaged 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while blocking 71 total shots. He shot 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from the three-point line while knocking down 76 percent of his free throws. He led his teams to two SLIAC Regular Season title ('02, '05) and an NCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Tournament appearance in 2001-02. He earned All-SLIAC honors in his final two seasons with the Gorloks and was twice named to the SLIAC Winter All-Academic Team. In his senior season, Aiona was named the team captain and earned the Webster Athletics President Award. In the men's basketball record books, Aiona ranks eighth in both blocked shots (71) and blocked shots per game (0.8) while ranking 16^th in total rebounds (387), tied for 17^th in total offensive rebounds (129), 19^th in field goals made (336), and 20^th in both points (852) and defensive rebounds (258). He blocked a career high 37 shots in his senior season which ranks ninth all-time for a single season in Gorlok history. Throughout his career, the Gorloks went 58-45 overall and 40-16 in the SLIAC. Aiona earned a Bachelors in Advertising and Marketing Communications from Webster in 2005 and immediately returned to Webster as the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach for the 2005-06 season. After one season, Aiona went on to spend time as an assistant coach at Central Methodist (Mo.) University (2006-08), Lake Forest (Ill.) College (2008-10), Benedictine (Ill.) University (2011-13), and Saint Leo (Fla.) University (2013-15). He was named the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Menlo (Calif.) College in 2015 and spent five seasons there before becoming the Head Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 2020. He is married to Kelly Aiona (Mitchell) and has two children. This was his fourth year on the ballot.

Ally Nikolaus was a three-year letter winner for the Gorloks women's soccer program from 2011 to 2013. In three seasons with the Gorloks, Nikolaus appeared in 59 games and made 57 starts. She scored 28 goals and added 19 assists for 75 total points throughout her career. She recorded a career high 32 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in the 2012 season and followed that up with 27 points (10 goals, 7 assists) in the 2013 season. She currently ranks eighth in the Gorloks record book in shots per game (2.71) while ranking tied for eighth in game winning goals (10), 11^th in both points per game (1.27) and goals per game (0.47), 13^th in both total points (75) and total goals (28) and tied for 14^th in total shots attempted (160). She was a three-time First Team All-SLIAC selection, a two-time National Soccer Coaches Association All-Central Region honoree, a three-time SLIAC All-Tournament Team selection, the 2012 SLIAC Tournament MVP, the 2013 SLIAC Women's Soccer Player of the Year, and the 2013 Webster Athletics Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She concluded her playing career as the programs all-time leading scorer among midfielders while leading the team to a 47-16-1 overall record and 23-2 mark in the SLIAC. She lifted the Gorloks to two SLIAC Regular Season Titles and two SLIAC Tournament Titles while guiding the team to two NCAA Division III Women's Soccer National Tournaments. In the classroom, Nikolaus was named to the NSCAA Academic All-Region Team in 2012 and 2013. She graduated from Webster in 2014 with a Bachelor's in Speech Communication and currently works as a legal assistant and an independent filmmaker and writer. Her debut memoir will be published in the summer of 2023. This was her second year on the ballot.

Bryan Bernat was a member of the baseball team from 2002 to 2005 while also competing on the golf team in 2004. In four seasons with the baseball team, Bernat made 39 appearances on the mound while also recording 82 at-bats. He went 19-9 on the mound throughout his career with a 3.88 earned run average and 161 strikeouts in 187.2 innings pitched. He recorded 11 complete games throughout his career while also posting a save in the 2004 season. At the plate, Bernat recorded a .305 batting average while posting 25 hits, one double, one triple, two homeruns, and 11 RBI. He currently ranks tied for third in the Webster record book for complete games (11) while ranking tied for seventh in total wins (19), tied for eighth in shutouts (1), 11^th in innings pitched (187.2), 12^th in strikeouts (161), and 15^th in strikeouts per nine innings (7.72). In 2005, Bernat won nine games and had a 1.83 earned run average which ranks tied for seventh and eighth, respectively, in the Gorlok record book for a single season. Following his senior season, Bernat was named First Team All-SLIAC, to the SLIAC All-Tournament Team, First Team All-Central Region, and became the first Gorlok to be named the SLIAC Baseball Player of the Year. He led his team to their first ever SLIAC Regular Season, and Tournament, Title in 2005 helping the team qualify for their first ever NCAA Division III Baseball National Tournament. He served as the team captain in 2005 and earned the Coaches Award twice. In 2022, he was named to the SLIAC Baseball All-Decade Team (2000-09). He also competed in two golf tournaments in the fall of 2004 including the Webster Fall Invitational and the Clarke Tournament. For his efforts on the baseball field and on the golf course his senior year, Bernat was named the 2005 Webster Athletics Male Student-Athlete of the Year. After graduating with a Bachelor's of Business Administration from Webster in 2005, Bernat became the first Gorlok to sign a professional baseball contract as he signed with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League. Following his baseball career, Bernat went on to serve as an Account Director at Jordan Lawrence and spent the past 13 years at evolve24 before taking on the Product Owner role at Transactly. In 2011, Bernat lost his mother to cancer and soon after he started the Cindann M. Bernat Cancer Awareness Golf Tournament. As of 2021, the tournament has raised over $42,000 for the Siteman Cancer Center. Bernat is married to fellow Webster Hall of Famer Melanie Bernat (Klingelhoefer) who was inducted in 2019. They have two children and a chocolate lab. This was his 10^th year on the ballot.          

The induction ceremony is set to take place on Saturday, February 17^th.