Rocky Mount, N.C. - Since 1999, North Carolina Wesleyan College has honored 51 former athletes, administrators, teams, coaches and contributors by enshrining them in its Athletics Hall of Fame.  These individuals have created a higher standard for Battling Bishop athletics and were selected based on their outstanding accomplishments and/or contributions to the College.  This year’s class meets these same standards and will comprise the 14th group of honorees.  The North Carolina Wesleyan Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that Misty Carneal of women’s basketball, Jennifer Foreman of women’s soccer and Mark Silletti of baseball have been chosen to comprise its 2012 Hall of Fame class.

“Our annual Hall of Fame ceremony is always an exciting event,” said Vice President for Athletics John Thompson. “It is always refreshing to bring back to campus those individuals who built such a great tradition of pride and success within our Department of Athletics.”

Misty Carneal enjoyed tremendous success as a member of the women’s basketball team from 1998 to 2002. A three-time First Team All-Conference selection, she twice garnered USA South Player of the Year honors (’01, ’02) before completing her four-year career as the Battling Bishops’ all-time leading scorer with 1,661 points.

The 2002 season was perhaps the best of Carneal’s career as she picked up her second straight Conference Player of the Year award en route to Kodak All-American honors.  Her senior season also saw the Louisa, Virginia native earn recognition as the USA South’s Don Scalf Award winner and NCWC Female Athlete of the Year. Just four years later, her impressive Wesleyan tenure earned Carneal a spot on the DIAC/USA South Conference’s Silver Anniversary Team.

A four-time Most Valuable Player for head coach John Brackett, Carneal helped lead her Battling Bishops to the 1999 Conference Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. She still holds single-game record for FG attempts (28), in addition to season records for points (531) and FG attempts (482).

"Words cannot describe how honored I feel to be selected as an inductee into the Hall of Fame,” said Carneal. “If not for my teammates, coaches, fans and the support of my mother, this honor would not have been possible. I offer my thanks to all of them and to NCWC Athletics, who saw fit to bestow this great honor upon me."

Carneal is a 2002 graduate of Wesleyan with degrees in Justice Studies and Psychology.

Jennifer Foreman was a standout soccer player for the Battling Bishops from 1996 to 1999 and was a four-time All-Conference selection and two-time Most Valuable Player. Foreman’s 1999 senior season saw her pick up the most notable accomplishment of her career when she became the first Wesleyan goalkeeper in history to achieve All-American status.  She later earned recognition as the NCWC Female Athlete of the Year that same season.

Foreman’s 1999 campaign remains one of the most impressive in history. Her program-record 16 shutouts was the 3rd highest total in NCAA history at the time, and it currently remains in the top-10 today.  She also completed her NCWC tenure that season with a program-record 49 career shutouts and 7,435 minutes played in goal, which ranked 2nd in NCAA history at the time and remains in the top-5 all-time.  Foreman, in fact, is still ranked in the NCAA’s top-25 in goals-against-average and shutout percentage.

Not only did Foreman enjoy individual success, but she was also a part of four conference championship teams that never lost a league match over her four-year career. She and her Bishops posted an impressive 58-15-10 overall record during that span and made three NCAA Tournament appearances.  Additionally, her 1999 team set program records for games played (23), most wins (17), most conference wins (7), consecutive wins (10), longest unbeaten streak (21), fewest losses (2), fewest conference losses (0), most ties (4), winning percentage (.895), shutouts (16) and consecutive shutouts (6).

Stated Foreman, “I am honored to be selected for this recognition.  I had a great four years at Wesleyan and want to thank Coach Rob Donnenworth for his superb coaching, though I didn't always appreciate it at the time! I was fortunate to have him as a mentor.”

A native of Wilton, Connecticut, Foreman is a 2000 graduate of the College with a degree in Biology. Like Carneal, she too was named to the DIAC/USA South Conference’s Silver Anniversary Team.

Mark Silletti made his mark from 1986 to 1989 as one of the most successful hurlers in the history of Wesleyan’s storied baseball program. The winning pitcher of the 1989 National Championship game, he helped lead his Bishops to a remarkable 150-37-2 overall record, two conference championships, four NCAA Tournament berths, two regional championships and two Division III World Series appearances during his four-year career.

After garnering All-American honors as a junior in 1988, the two-time All-Conference performer (’88, ’89) proceeded to turn in one of the most impressive performances in World Series history the following season.  Silletti won three of his teams five games there (23.2 of the team’s 53 innings), including both games of the championship set versus Cal State-Stanislaus.  His performance included a complete game four-hitter in the championship opener, followed by 6.1 innings of the relief work in the deciding game.

Upon his graduation, Silletti held the NCWC career record for innings pitched (313.2) and winning percentage (.871), having posted a solid 27-4 record over his four-year tenure. Additionally, Silletti’s All-American season saw him go a perfect 7-0 on the mound, which still ties for the best season winning percentage in program history (1.000). He posted 11 wins over 107 innings during that year, both of which were tops all-time upon his graduation and remain the 2nd highest season totals in program history.

“It is truly an honor to be inducted into Wesleyan’s Hall of Fame,” remarked Silletti.  “It will be great to be back at NCWC… it's such a special place where I shared a lot of wonderful memories with some amazing people.”

Silletti, who hails from Bethpage, New York, graduated from Wesleyan in 1990 with a degree in Business Administration.

The Department of Athletics extends sincere congratulations to each of the 2012 inductees, whose contributions to the overall mission of the College have been exhibited in their successes and accomplishments both on and off the court and field.  To these inductees, the Battling Bishops offer thanks and admiration by bestowing this honor upon them. 

A formal induction ceremony will be held during this year’s Wesleyan Weekend festivities on October 6th.