Seven Named to MTU Sports Hall of Fame

From MTU Athletics:

Seven individuals will be inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame on November 11. Former head coaches Tom Kearly and Kevin Luke, former football players Jim Grimes and Lee Marana, former hockey player Pat Mikesch, former women’s basketball player Katie Wysocky, and former Nordic skier and runner Roger Pekuri make up the induction class of 2022.

Jim Grimes

Jim Grimes was a member of the Michigan Tech football team during the 1965 season and the wrestling team in 1966-67. Grimes was instrumental in the revival of the football program in 2003, organizing and hosting alumni meetings in Michigan and Florida. He also supported and promoted the Bash at the Big House–the greatest MTU Alumni event ever.

Grimes remains an active Football Fundraising Contributor and has been a member of the Huskies Club and Football Advisory Council. In 1969, he received the university’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award after serving as the Vice President of Kappa Delta Psi, on the President Interfraternity Council, and as the Chair of the Winter Carnival Queen Committee throughout his time at Tech.

Tom Kearly

Tom Kearly was the Head Football Coach at Michigan Tech for 11 seasons from 2005-16. He is second in program history with 70 wins and finished his career with a 70-44 overall record and 68-42 mark in conference games. Kearly was named the 2010 GLIAC Coach of the Year and led the Huskies to the 2012 GLIAC North Division Title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2014.

Kearly began his career at Tech in 1980 as the Defensive Secondary Coach. He returned to Houghton to be the Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator from 2000-05, helping lead the Huskies to the NCAA playoffs in 2004. Tech’s combined record during Kearly’s full 17-year tenure was 103-72 dating back to the 2000 season. The Huskies’ offense flourished under his leadership, averaging nearly 30 points per game and producing 29 All-GLIAC First Team players.

Kevin Luke

Kevin Luke was the Head Men’s Basketball Coach for 27 seasons from 1994-2021. He accumulated 471 wins which is the most amongst all Michigan Tech Division II coaches. During his tenure, the Huskies made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and won three GLIAC North Division regular-season titles (2011-12, 2012-13, 2020-21) and three GLIAC Tournament titles (2001-02, 2002-03, 2019-20). He was named the 2002-03 Basketball Times National Coach of the Year in 2002-03 after leading his squad to a 29-3 record and a No. 1 national ranking in the final regular-season poll. He was also named the NABC Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2001-02 and 2002-03. The Huskies set school records for wins (29), winning percentage (.906), home wins (15), and consecutive wins (15) in 2002-03. They also made GLIAC history by winning 17 regular season league contests and becoming the first conference team to host an NCAA Regional. He was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year five times.

In addition to his basketball responsibilities, Luke served as Michigan Tech’s Associate Athletic Director, a post to which he was named in May of 2005. He was also the Head Cross Country Coach for the Huskies from 1987-93 and was named the 1993 Women’s GLIAC Coach of the Year. He was instrumental in getting a full-time head coaching position for cross country and track and field when he was named Head Men’s Basketball Coach in 1994.

Luke played three seasons of basketball for the Huskies from 1977-80 where he accumulated 513 points and 262 rebounds.

Lee Marana

Lee Marana was a running back for the Huskies from 2003-06. He was named a Harlon Hill Award National Finalist in 2004 while also being honored as an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American, Football Gazette Third Team All-American, the GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year, and on the Daktronics Division II All-Northwest Region First Team. The 2004 Huskies were GLIAC Champions and went to the program’s first NCAA Tournament.

Marana is one of only two players in program history to be named to the All-GLIAC First Team for three seasons while also being honored on the All-GLIAC Second Team as a freshman. He holds the Tech record for most touchdowns in one game (6) and ranks second all-time in career rushing yards (4,865) and third all-time in career scoring (57 touchdowns). Marana twice received the Alan Bovard Award as the team MVP and was a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Team member. He was also a D2Football.com All-American Honorable Mention in 2006.

Marana served as Strength and Conditioning Graduate Assistant with the Huskies for a year after his playing days were over. He has also been active as a football fundraising contributor.

Pat Mikesch

Pat Mikesch played hockey for the Huskies from 1992-96. He is seventh all-time at Tech in career scoring with 169 points and sixth in career assists (112). Mikesch was named to the 1992-93 WCHA All-Rookie Team and played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships that season. He served as a team captain as a senior and was a two-time recipient of the Gary Crosby Leading Scorer Award.

Mikesch went on to play eight years of pro hockey in AHL, IHL, ECHL, and Germany and then returned to Michigan Tech as an assistant coach from 2004-11.

Pat’s father Bob Mikesch was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of the 1962 NCAA Championship Team.

Roger Pekuri

Roger Pekuri was a seven-time cross country, Nordic skiing, and track and field letterwinner at Michigan Tech from 1969-72. Pekuri was a cofounder of the cross country running program in 1969 and the Nordic ski team in the winter of 1969-70.

Pekuri and the Huskies placed second at the NIC Cross Country Championships in their first season and also competed in three NCAA Central Skiing Championships, two NCAA Skiing Championships, and two NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Pekuri received the 1969-70 CISA outstanding skier award and was a 1970-71 Cross Country Ski Captain. Pekuri won the US Ski Association Central Division Championship during the 1971-72 season and went to the Olympic Trials in 1972 and 1976.

A lifelong endurance athlete, Pekuri was the silver medalist at the 1976 U.S. National Ski Championships 50 km and competed in the American Birkebeiner Elite Wave competitor for 24 years. The finish line at the annual Paavo Nurmi Marathon is named in his honor as the Roger Pekuri Finish Line. He is a six-time Minnesota Voyageur Ultra champion and was named the 2002 Minnesota State High School Nordic Ski Coaches Association Volunteer of the Year.

Katy Wysocky

Katy Wysocky is the most decorated women’s basketball player in Michigan Tech history. She played for the Huskies from 2006-10 and is the all-time leader in scoring (1,943) and rebounding (1,231). Wysocky ranks first, second and third in rebounds in a season and holds the school record for points in a season (609). She is also third in career field goal percentage (54.9 percent).

During the 2009-10 season, Wysocky was named a First Team All-American, the Midwest Region Player of the Year, and the GLIAC Player of the Year. The Huskies set a school record for wins (31) and won their second straight NCAA Midwest Regional Title. Tech won three straight GLIAC Regular Season Championships and a pair of GLIAC Tournament Championships.

Wysocky was a four-time All-GLIAC Selection with first-team honors in her final three seasons. She was a two-time All-Midwest Region and was a Third Team All-American in 2008-09. Wysocky was the 2007 GLIAC Freshman of the Year.