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MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Four former Mount Vernon Nazarene University athletes were honored recently when they were inducted into the Cougar Wall of Fame as part of the annual Homecoming festivities on Friday, November 11, prior to the men’s basketball game versus Houghton (N.Y.) College.

Chip Wall, Carla (Shelly) Pennington, Eric Pennington, and Wendy (Rader) Owens were each honored for their performances during their careers at MVNU. The Cougar Wall of Fame inductees are selected by the members of Cougar Sports Associates, the school’s athletic booster club. This year’s class brings the total number of inductees to 35.

Wall, a former member of the MVNU men’s soccer team and a graduate of Sylvania Southview High School, played for the Cougars from 1988-1991. During his career, Wall scored a then school-record 45 goals and totaled 104 points. He now ranks third and fourth respectively on the school’s all-time lists in those categories.

For his efforts on the soccer field, Wall was named to the Mid-Ohio Conference First Team three times and is one of only two Cougar soccer players to accomplish that feat. He was also named to the MOC Second Team once, the NAIA District 22 First Team twice, and to the National Christian College Athletic Association All-American First Team as a senior in 1991. A standout in the classroom, Wall was also named to the NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete Team as a senior.

Carla Pennington, a former member of the MVNU women’s volleyball team and a graduate of Lakewood High School, played for the Lady Cougars from 1988-1991. During her career, she became the top setter in the program’s history as she compiled a then school-record 3,191 assists. In addition to still ranking sixth in career assists, Pennington also ranks sixteenth with 1,092 digs.

Pennington earned numerous honors during her career including being the first MVNU women’s volleyball player to be named NAIA National Player of the Week. She was named to the MOC Second Team twice as well as being the NCCAA District Player of the Year and only the program’s second NCCAA First Team All-American in 1991 as she led the Lady Cougars to their first trip to the NCCAA National Tournament.

Eric Pennington, a former member of the MVNU men’s basketball team and a graduate of Kenton Ridge High School, played for the Cougars from 1991-1995. As the point guard for the team, Pennington still holds every MVNU assist record - 823 for his career, 268 in a season, and 19 in a game against Walsh University. In addition, he scored 1,580 points and still ranks twelfth on the school’s all-time scoring list. He also ranks second in career steals (227), seventh in career free throws made (268), and tenth in career three-pointers made (212).

As a senior, Pennington led the Cougars to their first ever appearance in the NAIA Division II National Tournament as the team was ranked fifth in the nation and averaged a school-record and nation-leading 99.3 points. For his efforts that year, he became the first MVNU men’s basketball player to be selected as an NAIA Division II Honorable Mention All-American. He was also a two-time All-MOC pick. He joins his wife, Carla, as the second husband and wife Wall of Fame inductees.

Owens, a former member of the MVNU women’s volleyball team and a graduate of Elyria High School, played for the Lady Cougars from 1992-1994 after transferring to MVNU from Ashland University. She swatted 1,240 kills during her career and still ranks eleventh in school history in that category. She also holds the school records for kills per game in a season (4.37) and kills per game in a match (8.67).

Owens received numerous honors during her career at MVNU including being the first MVNU women’s volleyball player to be named the MOC Player of the Year in 1994. She was also an NCCAA First Team All-American, and she was the first MVNU athlete to be featured in Sports Illustrated in the "Faces in the Crowd” section on October 31, 1994. During her career with the Lady Cougars, Owens led the team to a 112-23 overall record that included a perfect 37-0 home mark. MVNU also captured its first MOC volleyball title in 1994.