Newest Coast Guard Academy Athletic Hall of Fame inductees are announced

The Coast Guard Academy will add five members to its Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 3 at the annual Hall of Fame Banquet held in the Otto Graham Hall of Athletic Excellence in Billard Hall as part of Homecoming Weekend.

The class of 1998 has a pair of All-American athletes that will be inducted in Josh Fant (track and field) and Ed Hernaez (football). They will be joined by national champion swimmer Darby Schlaht (class of 2003), cross country and track and field standout All-American Mike Flint (2007) and women's basketball's all-time leading scorer and rebounder Melissa Martinelli (2010).

Fant earned All-America honors in the high jump placing fourth in 1998. He was a three-time NCAA qualifier and two-time New England and ECAC champion in the high jump. Fant holds the school record with a jump of seven feet, set in 1997. He was the All-Division New England Champion in the high jump in 1997 and the ECAC Champion in 1995 and 1997.

Hernaez was a National Football Coaches Association (NFCA) first team All-American linebacker in 1997, one of only four football All-Americans in program history. He was a starter on both the 1996 and 1997 teams which won back-to-back Freedom Football Conference (FFC) Championships and made the only two NCAA tournament appearances in school history.

Schlaht was the NCAA Division III national champion in the 100 breaststroke and runner up in the 200 breaststroke as a freshman in 2000. She is the most decorated female women's swimmer at the Academy earning eight All-America honors. Schlaht was an two-time New England champion and ten-time New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) champion earning NEWMAC Swimmer of the Year honors in 2000.

Flint was a four-time All-American in track placing fourth in the mile indoors in 2006 and seventh in 2017 while during the outdoor season he placed seventh in the 1,500 meters in 2006 and eighth in 2007. He was a three-time All-New England and NCAA qualifier in cross country from 2004-2006 and four-time All-NEWMAC selection and two-time conference champion and NEWMAC Runner of the Year (2005 and 2006).

Martinelli is the Bears' all-time leader with 1,853 points and 906 rebounds. He holds the school record for career field goal percentage (.507) and points per game (17.5). She was a three-time All-NEWMAC first team selection, one of only two players in program history to earn first team honors for three straight seasons. She was also named the 2006-'07 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year.