Aug. 6, 2008

University of Dayton head softball coach Cara Clark today announced her completed 2009 recruiting class - her first since taking over the program last season. Paige VanHoose (Worthington, Ky.) and Sarah Wedel (Salina, Kan.) signed National Letters of Intent and will join the Flyers in the fall of 2008.

"We are extremely excited to complete our first recruiting class with the Flyers softball program. Our team is bolstered by the addition of talented athletes such as VanHoose and Wedel," said Clark. "We expect each of them to have a significant impact on this year's success."

VanHoose is a versatile athlete who pitched and played outfield for Raceland-Worthington Independent High School. She was selected as the Region16 Pitcher of the Year in 2007 and 2008, while also earning a spot on the all-Area team for three consecutive seasons (2006-08). VanHoose led her high school to back-to-back Regional championships and a state runner-up finish in 2007. She was twice named to the all-District and all-Region Tournament Teams, in addition to being selected to the all-"A" State Tournament team in 2007.

As a senior captain, she led the Rams with a .390 batting average and earned her 50th career win. The 2008 U.S. Army Reserve National Scholar Athlete Award winner was also a standout volleyball player.

Wedel was a standout pitcher at Salina South High School where she holds the single-game record for strikeouts with 21. She was a three-time Kansas 5A all-State pitcher, earning the honor from 2006-2008. Wedel was a first team all-Arch Valley Chisholm Trail League pitcher four consecutive years and was named Salina South's MVP in 2007 and 2008.

She was named to the adidas® Top 100 Softball Athletes in 2006. Like fellow incoming freshman VanHoose, Wedel was honored with 2008 U.S. Army Reserve National Scholar Athlete Award. Wedel also played for the Wichita Mustangs Gold, a nationally renowned club team that consistently sends teams to Nationals.

Clark and her staff inked Brandy Brown (Fortville Ind.), Raime Cronkhite (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Kristina Ortiz (Burbank, Calif.) all to letters of intent during the early signing period last fall and signed Courtney Kutsulis (Homer Glen, Ill.) and Lauren Nacke (Greenwood, Ind.) in April.

"This complete recruiting class, in combination with our returning players, will help this program take a big step toward our overall goals," said Clark.

In her first season at the helm Clark guided the 2008 edition of the Flyers to their first 20-win campaign in three years and more than doubled their Atlantic 10 win total from the 2007 season. In addition, Clark's 20 wins was the most by any first-year head coach at UD.