Five former student-athletes will be inducted into the Nebraska-Kearney Athletic Hall of Fame during ceremonies on Homecoming weekend this Oct. 11-12.
The 2024 Hall of Fame members are golfer Jen (Deines) Hansen (’02), runner Tom Magnuson (’95), wrestler Kurt Karjalainen (’01), outfielder David Pratt (’77), and setter Cola (Svec) Henderson (’11).
The Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11, in the new Regional Engagement Center (Gala Rooms). A dinner follows at 6:15 p.m. with the induction ceremony afterwards. Tickets are $35 per person and $15 for youths 12 & under ($40 starting on Sep. 3 & $45 starting on Oct. 3). Reservations can be made on the UNK Alumni Association website. Event registrations are electronic-only and no paper tickets will be issued. On Saturday, Oct. 12, the class will be recognized at half time of the football game vs. Pittsburg State. That kicks off at 2 p.m.
Hansen, a Cairo native, is one of the most accomplished women’s golfers in school history as she is one of three All-Americans and one of three Lopers to individually qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships.
A member of several nationally ranked teams, Hansen was a 2002 Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) honorable mention All-American. She posted an 80.26 stroke average that season which, at the time, was the second-best mark in school history. The mark still ranks in the UNK Top 10. Hansen also remains among program leaders in career rounds (64), rounds in a season (23), 36-hole score (151) and 18-hole score (70).
Playing professionally for six years after graduation, she was 24th at the 2001 NCAA meet and 25th the following spring. She was married to the late Sgt. Jeff Hansen, also a UNK graduate, and currently resides in Lincoln with her children; Elizabeth, Eldyn and Emmit and her significant other, Tom DeFreece. Holding a master’s degree from UNK as well, she serves as Chief People Officer for L.O.V.E Restaurant Group.
Karjalainen, a Washington native, was one of the building blocks for UNK wrestling as he and his teammates helped transform the program and help turn it into the national powerhouse that it is today.
A two-time All-American (134 and 141 pounds), he was national runner up in 2000. At the time, he was the seventh second place finisher in team history; that tally is up to 22. Karjalainen also was the seventh two-time All-American; that number is up to 21. Finally, the 1999-00 squad finished eighth at the NCAA Championships, an improvement of 27 places from the year before. It also marked the program’s second highest finish at an NCAA meet.
Going 49-15 in his two-year Loper career, Karjalainen was a 2000 West Region champion at 141 pounds, and helped the Lopers win their first-ever Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) title. He resides in Kearney with his wife, Jolene, and their children, Claire, Cathryn and Cain. He is Owner and President of the PAI/Premier Merchants Group, LLC.
An O’Neill native, Magnuson joins former teammate and Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Brindamour as the only Lopers to be a three-time cross country All-American. On the track, he was part of four school records.
One of just 10 NCAA Division II UNK men’s cross country All-Americans, he was part of one of the most success team runs in school history. The Lopers finished national runner up in 1991, was third in 1992 and fourth in 1994. Part of the school’s transition from independent status to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), Magnuson helped the 1994 team finish as region runners up and had the opportunity to run the NCAA Championships at Kearney Country Club that fall.
He still ranks in the UNK top five in the mile with the time (4:08.24) the school record for 18 years. Magnuson also held marks at two miles (9:27.40) and the 1,500 (3:52.20), is currently tied for seventh in the 1,000 (2:30.16) and was eighth in the 800-meter run at the 1995 NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis.
Magnuson resides in Omaha with his wife, Amy, and their children, Nolan and Laney. Amy also is a UNK graduate. Magnuson is President and General Manager of a K&M Telephone Company.
Pratt, from Riverdale is among the top players in Loper baseball history. One of six two-time All-Americans, he never hit below .321 in his career and finished up at .342.
In a time when Kearney State routinely played games against Division I competition, Pratt helped the Lopers win 89 games and a District title. An outfielder, he was tabbed as an honorable mention All-American in both 1974 and 1976. He ranks ninth all-time in career stolen bases (44) and totaled 200 putouts and 13 assists in the field.
Drawing 75 walks and totaling 278 bases over four years, Pratt had a career offensive state line of a .342 average, six triples, 19 home runs, 29 doubles and 92 runs batted in. He is currently retired and lives in Lincoln with his wife, Christy. They have two children, Charley and Callie (Gale), and four grandchildren; Preston, Brynlee, Kegan and Kenzie.
Henderson is one of just 12 Loper volleyball players to be a two-time All-American, being a second team pick in 2010 and tabbed honorable mention in 2008. A four-year starter at setter, her play helped UNK go 129-17, win four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) titles and twice reach the NCAA Sweet 16.
In addition to her All-American honors, Henderson was a four-time RMAC pick, a three-time All-Region, RMAC Setter of the Year, and RMAC All-Tournament honoree and a two-time All-NCAA Regional tournament team member. The Elkhorn native currently ranks third in UNK history in both career assists (5,675) and assist average (12.02) while being 14th in digs (1,427). Finally, Henderson earned both Academic All-District and All-RMAC honors during her career and then played professionally in Croatia.
She lives in Omaha with her husband, Colby, and their children, Reece and Rhett. She is Founder and Operations Director for Mylo Brand Studio.
