Posted: Sep 23, 2024
Mitchell, S.D. - The Dakota Wesleyan University Athletic Department will induct six individuals
into the DWU Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. The Dakota Wesleyan inductees include
Kardel Miller '94, Anthony Muilenburg '13, Nicole Court- Menendez Porter '16, Darrin Mebius '98, Scott Loveless '04
and coach John Hemenway.
Miller, who played football for the Tigers, finished second in the conference in 1990 in net
punting yardage as a quarterback and a punter. He was named All-Conference First Team in 1993, as
well as an All-American Honorable Mention. That same year he led the team in tackles and
interceptions, recording two of those interceptions against Black Hills State University. During
his playing years, the team achieved an undefeated regular season in 1992 and were named South
Dakota Intercollegiate Conference champions. Miller lives in Frisco, Texas, where he is the
director of maintenance and operations at the Prosper Independent School District. He and his wife,
Kim, have two sons, Mitchell and Grant.
Muilenburg was the first DWU football player to earn All-GPAC accolades, while also having multiple
All-GPAC honors afterward. He set a record for the longest reception ever – 99
yards in 2011. He had the longest kickoff return for a touchdown at 88 yards in 2009 and
recorded a career high in receiving yards in a game with 251. Muilenburg is third all time in
career receiving yards with 2,825 and is third all time in single season receiving yards with
1,002. He finished with the most receptions in a career (225) from 2009 to 2013 and was fourth all
time in single season receptions with 65. Muilenburg was named AFCA All- American First and Second
Team and was listed on the Beyond Sports Network Third Team. He achieved first-team honors at two
different positions in the same year: wide receiver and punt return specialist. During his time at
DWU, he was voted team captain and received Most Outstanding Wide Receiver. He also earned Most
Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Player of the Week nods, along with multiple offensive and
special team accolades. Muilenburg is the assistant business manager at American Horse School. He lives in Allen, S.D.,
with his fiancée, Shawna; his sons, Myles and Mikhail; and his daughter, Mesa.
Court-Menendez Porter, a 2016 Dakota Wesleyan graduate, was named the first-ever indoor track
All-American in school history, while also holding several school records. She has the most
All-American designations by a female track and field athlete with five citations. Court-Menendez
Porter was an eight-time national qualifier in outdoor and indoor racewalking from 2013 to 2016
with times of 14:59.6 in the 3,000-meter indoor, 26:38.2 in the 5,000-meter outdoor and 59:29.37 in
the 10,000-meter outdoor. She is ranked No. 2 and No. 3 on the all-time list for the outdoor
4x800-meter relay, No. 7 all time for the indoor 1,000-meter run, and No. 2 and No. 5 all time for
the indoor 4x800-meter relay. She received a 2013 Junior Championship in the 10,000-meter racewalk,
placing seventh. In 2015, she finished in fourth place in the USATF one-hour racewalk.
Court-Menendez Porter lives in Omaha, Neb., with her husband, Daniel. She works as an athletic
trainer for the Omaha Public Schools.
Mebius was a four-year starter for the Tiger men's basketball team. During his career, he tallied
1,329 career points and 345 career assists and is ranked as the 29th all-time leading scorer in DWU
history. Mebius collected several awards while playing on the basketball team, including Tiger
Rookie of the Year, Tiger Team Hustler, Tiger Best Defensive Player, SDIC All-Conference First and
Third Teams, and NAIA Division II All-American Honorable Mention. The 1995 team was named SDIC
champions. In addition to competing for the basketball team, Mebius was a part of the golf team for
three years and the baseball team for one year. During his time playing DWU golf, the team was
named fall 1995 SDIC champions. That team qualified for the national tournament in the spring of
1996, a first in team history. In 1997, Mebius was named Most Valuable Player for Tiger golf. Mebius lives in
Hartford, S.D., with his wife, Heidi, and their three children, Connor, Chase and Caralina.
Loveless was a two-time national qualifier for wrestling. He was a first-time All-American athlete
and was voted Most Valuable Wrestler in his senior year. Before his time ended at DWU, he coached
for one season while student teaching and finishing his degree. Loveless lives in Elkhorn, Neb.,
where he is a teacher and coach at Millard Public Schools. Irvin and his wife, Rachel, are parents
to their daughter, Brianna, and their son, Austin.
Hemenway served at DWU as head men's basketball coach from 2005 to 2010. He came to Dakota Wesleyan
after serving as an assistant coach at Morningside College, Chaminade University and the University
of South Dakota, his alma mater. Hemenway had a successful run as the Tigers' head coach. He
compiled a win/loss record of 115-49 over five seasons, and his 28-6 final season record was the
best team record in DWU history up to that time. The 2009-10 team won the GPAC Tournament title and
earned its fourth straight trip to the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The
Tigers came in as the No. 7 seed and secured their first national tournament win since 1947 and
made it to the Sweet 16. Hemenway left DWU for the head coaching job at Berea College, a position he held until 2022.
As part of his nomination, one of his players, Brady Wiebe '11, submitted the following:
"Outside of my parents, I don't know of another person who has had a bigger impact on my life.
Coach Hemenway taught my teammates and me so much more than how to play the game of basketball. He
taught us to have accountability and ownership for our actions. He taught us how critical it was to
not go too high or too low in stressful situations. He expected so much of his players, but that
expectation was welcomed because we knew how much he put on his own shoulders. He gave literally
everything he could as a coach and a mentor. Coach Hemenway led by example. I'm so grateful that
Coach Hemenway took a chance on me 17 years ago. It resulted in many great memories and many
lifelong friendships that I treasure to this day."