Franklin Pierce Athletics Announces 2018 Hall of Fame Class

RINDGE, N.H. (April 6, 2018) – The backstop of the 2007 men’s soccer national championship team and a former National Player of the Year, James Thorpe ’08 headlines the four-inductee Class of 2018 for the Franklin Pierce University Athletics Hall of Fame. The Department of Athletics is proud to formally announce this year’s inductees, which include Thorpe, Nicole Cheadle Morris ’03, Hazel Harding ’89 and Jon White ’03.

The four will be inducted as part of the Department of Athletics’ annual year-end banquet, which is set for Sunday, April 29. Festivities will begin at 4 p.m. in the Fieldhouse, and the afternoon will feature segments honoring the Hall of Fame inductees and also the current generation of Ravens student-athletes.

Thorpe was a member of the 2007 men’s soccer team, which was inducted into the Hall of Fame a year ago, as they celebrated the 10-year anniversary of their national title. The goalkeeper of the national championship squad, Thorpe earned National Player of the Year honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for his work leading the team to the program’s first-ever national title. He finished his career as a three-time All-America selection and earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors from the Northeast-10 Conference for each of his four seasons in crimson and grey. Thorpe was drafted by D.C. United of Major League Soccer after the conclusion of his collegiate career.

Cheadle Morris, who played at Franklin Pierce under the name Nicole Cheadle, was a freshman on Franklin Pierce’s most-recent women’s soccer national championship team, in 1999. She earned Second Team All-Conference honors from the New England Collegiate Conference for her work during the 1999 season. Cheadle Morris would go on to earn four All-Conference selections in her career, as she earned All-Northeast-10 First Team honors in 2000, 2001 and 2002, after Franklin Pierce transitioned into the league. She added All-America First Team honors from the NSCAA in 2002, when she also earned Most Outstanding Player honors in the Northeast-10 Championship after guiding the Ravens to the title.

Harding was a three-sport athlete during a different era of athletics at Franklin Pierce. A majority of her time as a Raven prior to the institution’s NCAA membership, and she competed in volleyball, softball and women’s basketball primarily at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level. Notably, Harding will join a pair of her own coaches as a peer in the Franklin Pierce Athletics Hall of Fame. During her time in Rindge, Harding played basketball under 2017 inductee Steve Hancock and softball under current head Athletic Trainer and 2003 inductee Cindy Arman. Harding was a member of two 20-win women’s basketball teams at Franklin Pierce.

White was a senior starting pitcher on the first baseball team in school history to capture the NCAA Regional title, in 2003, starting an era of success for the program which has now lasted well over a decade. A two-time All-Northeast-10 pick, he earned First Team honors in 2002, when he also garnered All-Region accolades from the American Baseball Coaches Association. White was named to the All-Championship Team in 2003 while helping the Ravens capture the first of their now seven regional crowns. He still currently ranks second all-time in program history in innings pitched (257.1), and also ranks among the top-10 all-time in complete games and wins as well.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics’ official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics’ online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).