New London — 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 both 1995 and 1997. Fant won the Division III New England Championship in the high jump in 1995 and 1998 and was All-New England in the pentathlon in 1996. He was the Northeast Collegiate Athletic Commissioners Athlete of the Years in 1997-'98 and was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1996-'97.

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.

He was a first team All-FFC and ECAC linebacker during his senior season as he led the team in tackles and sacks and the Bears set the school record with nine regular season wins and finished the regular season 9-1.

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.

She is the school record holder in both the 100 breaststroke (1:05.08) and the 200 breaststroke (2:20.55) and she was undefeated in both of those events during the regular season in her career. At the 2000 NCAA Division III Championships, the Bears placed 21st as a team with Schlaht accounting for all of the points.

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).

He was an eight-time Division III All-New England runner between indoor and outdoor track and a three-time New England Champion winning the 1,000 meters outdoors in 2007 and the 800 meters outdoors in 2004 and the 1,500 meters outdoors in 2006. Flint was also a seven-time All-Division (I, II, III) All-New England selection during his outstanding career.

Flint was a four-time NEWMAC Champion in Outdoor Track winning the 800 meters in 2004, the 1,500 meters in 2005 and the 800 and 1,500 meters during the 2007 season.

He still holds the indoor school records in the 800 meters, 1,500 meters and the mile and the outdoor program records in the 800 and 1,500 meters as well as the Roland Hall Fieldhouse record in the mile.

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.

She led the Bears to the only championship in program history when the team won the 1998 ECAC Championship by registering a school record 25 wins to finish 25-5.

"We are looking forward to honoring another truly outstanding class to the CGA Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2019 inductees have proven themselves as elite performers both athletically and professionally.," said Dr. Dan Rose, interim Director of Athletics. "Each incoming member has etched their name in the CGA record books and distinguished themselves nationally in their respective sports. The fact that our five inductees represent both individual and team sports speaks volumes about the breadth and depth of CGA Athletics. Congrats to the class of 2019, we anxiously await your arrival at Billard Hall on October 3rd for your induction into the Otto Graham Hall of Athletic Excellence!"