One Olympian among the Class of 2026
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Ten individuals will join the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony in October. The class of 2026 includes former hockey student-athletes Colin Murphy, Darcy Way, and Wayne Weller, former football players Andy Bonk and Mike Horan, former basketball players Lucy (Dernovsek) Slowik and Jason Marcotte, volleyball player Sarah (Nash) Hurley, endurance athlete Deedra Irwin, and Scott Kieser, who played football and basketball for the Huskies.
The new inductees to the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame will be enshrined at a ceremony on campus on October 16. They will also be honored on October 17 when the football Huskies host Northern Michigan for the Miner’s Cup game and the hockey team hosts Alaska at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.
Below is a brief biography of each of the inductees.
Andy Bonk was a defensive back for the football team from 2001-04. He was a three-time All-GLIAC First Team selection and ranks 11th all-time with 268 tackles. During the historic 2004 season, Bonk was an All-American with 75 tackles, helping lead the Huskies to a 9-2 overall record, a GLIAC Championship, and the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Bonk received the Fred Baird Memorial Award as the team’s most outstanding defensive player three times and was a two-time team captain. He received Tech’s Defensive Back of the Year honor in 2004 and had a career-best 93 tackles during the 2003 season.
Lucy (Dernovsek) Slowik played basketball for the Huskies from 2007-11, appearing in 127 career games and tallying 656 points and 472 rebounds. She ranks third in career three-point percentage (.426), fourth in rebounds in a season (300), and fifth in career games played. The Huskies went 112-21 overall and 70-11 in the GLIAC over her four seasons with four GLIAC Regular Season Titles and a trip to the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship. The Black and Gold won a pair of GLIAC Tournament Championships and appeared in the Elite Eight her final three seasons. As a senior, Slowik was an All-American, All-Midwest Region First Team selection, and All-GLIAC First Team pick while also being named the GLIAC Tournament MVP. She received the Raymond L. Smith Award and Team MVP as a senior and was named the team’s outstanding freshman in 2008.
Mike Horan was a four-year letterwinner on the football team from 1971-74, playing running back and defensive back. He earned All-NIC Honorable Mention honors in 1974 when the team went undefeated at 9-0 and won an NIC Championship. Horan led the team with 42 points during the 1973 season. Horan is the owner and CEO of Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, LLC and has been a major supporter of Michigan Tech Football.
Deedra Irwin was a three-sport athlete for the Huskies from 2010-15, competing in cross country, Nordic skiing, and track and field. She was a three-time NCAA qualifying skier during the 2012, 2013, and 2015 seasons while also being all-region three times and two-time All-CCSA. Irwin was All-GLIAC in the steeplechase in 2011 and received the department’s Terry Wilson Award in 2011 as the top freshman and the Raymond L. Smith Award in 2015 as the top senior. Irwin competes on the Team USA Biathlon team and had the best American Olympic result with a historic 7th-place finish in the women’s 15km individual event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She has competed for Team USA at four World Championships and two Olympics. As a sergeant in the Vermont Army National Guard, Irwin was honored as the 2021 Vermont Soldier of the Year.
Scott Kieser was a two-sport athlete at Michigan Tech, playing quarterback for the Huskies from 1991-95 and as a guard on the men’s basketball team from 1993-96. In his career, he threw for 23 touchdowns and 2,800 yards. As a senior, he had 13 touchdowns and 1,605 yards passing. He received the team’s Bill Hausser Memorial Award as the Outstanding Spring Player in 1992 and the Alan Bovard Award as the Team MVP and Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award in 1995. On the hardwood, Kieser played in 55 games over two seasons, scoring 406 points and adding 192 rebounds and 83 assists. He was named to the All-GLIAC Defensive Team in 1995-96 and was an GLIAC All-Academic Team member. Kieser received the department’s Raymond L. Smith Award as the top senior student-athlete in 1996
Jason Marcotte played basketball for the Huskies from 2001-05, appearing in 120 games and tallying 1,521 points, 433 assists, 357 rebounds, and 112 steals. The Huskies went 94-24 in his four years with three NCAA Tournament appearances, two GLIAC Regular Season Titles, and two GLIAC Tournament Championships. He ranks 13th in program history in scoring, third in assists, and 11th in steals. Marcotte also has the third-highest career free throw percentage (85.7) and the sixth-highest season free throw percentage (90.9). Marcotte was a three-time All-GLIAC Honoree, including twice being named to the First Team. He was twice named to the All-GLIAC Defensive Team and was named the 2002 GLIAC Freshman of the Year while also being named to the National Division II Bulletin All-Freshman Team. Marcotte also earned Second Team All-Midwest Region in 2004, GLIAC All-Academic honors, and was the 2002 recipient of the Terry Wilson Award as the outstanding male freshman student-athlete at Tech.
Colin Murphy played hockey for the Huskies from 2001-05, appearing in 154 games and tallying 152 points on 54 goals and 98 assists. He holds a program record for the most assists by a right wing with 42 during the 2004-05 season and ranks 13th overall in points. During his senior season as the team captain, Murphy was a Hobey Baker Finalist, All-American Second Team, All-WCHA First Team, GLI All-Tournament Team, and Winter Carnival MVP. He scored a pair of hat tricks in his career and was twice named team MVP, earning the Merv Youngs Award. Murphy also was twice the team’s Gary Crosby Leading Scorer, received the Wildcat Slayer Award twice, and was the team’s top freshman with the Norbert Matovich Memorial Award. He played eight seasons of pro hockey with five seasons in the AHL and four overseas in the DEL, the top German league.
Sara (Nash) Hurley was a middle blocker for the volleyball Huskies from 1991-94. Tech went 81-53 over her four seasons and 57-10 over the final two seasons, twice going to the NCAA Tournament as regional finalists and winning the GLIAC Regular Season and GLIAC Tournament in 1994. Alongside three All-Americans, Nash received AVCA All-Region and All-GLIAC Second Team honors in 1994. She ranks fourth in career blocks (398) and fifth in career blocks per game (0.97). During the 1994 season, she had the third-best hitting percentage in a season (0.37), fourth most blocks per set in a season (1.32), and sixth most blocks in a season (139). Hurley earned the team’s Scholastic Achievement Award in 1992 and was a two-time GLIAC All-Academic Team member.
Darcy Way was a goaltender for the hockey Huskies from 1978-82, appearing in 28 games and going 15-10-2. He was named All-WCHA Honorable Mention in 1980, and totalled 751 career saves with a 4.29 goals-against average and .871 save percentage. Way worked for Michigan Tech in a variety of roles. He was a Hockey Assistant Coach from 1988-2000, Michigan Tech’s Director of Alumni Relations from 1990-98, the Director of Athletic Development from 1998-2001, and an Advancement Officer from 2015-23.
Wayne Weller played hockey for the Huskies from 1964-67, winning the 1965 NCAA Championship and appearing in 91 games with 123 points on 59 goals and 64 assists. Weller ranks 42nd in career points at Tech and scored twice in the 1965 National Championship Game while adding an assist. The Huskies went 65-22-4 in his three seasons and won a WCHA Regular Season Title and WCHA Tournament Title. Weller twice led the team in scoring and earned All-WCHA Second Team honors in 1966, and All-WCHA Honorable Mention and NCAA All-Tournament Team honors in 1965.
