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Sara Whelehon to play softball at Cal State San Marcos

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Although the Cal State San Marcos softball program wasn’t able to provide Sara Whelehon an athletic scholarship for the 2016-17 academic year, she will still play for the Cougars.

“It made me really happy and ecstatic that it happened, because I wanted to stay home and play softball,” Whelehon said.

Whelehon made the decision to attend Cal State San Marcos in late May.

“They didn’t have any more money because it was so late,” she said. “It’s kind of like a walk-on, but the coach wants me.”

Cal State San Marcos is in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Whelehon was also considering Simpson University in Redding, Carroll College in Montana, and Lewis and Clark College in Oregon before deciding on the San Diego County school.

“I just really wanted to stay at home, and then this opportunity came,” she said.

“I’m so excited for her. I think it’s going to be a great fit,” said Ramona High School coach Kristina Wright. “She has so much to offer the program. I think she’s going to have a really successful career there.”

Whelehon was a month old when her family moved from Santee to Ramona. She attended James Dukes Elementary School and Olive Peirce Middle School before her four years at Ramona High School.

She is the youngest of three children. Her brother, Sean, played golf at Ramona High School before graduating in 2008. Her sister, Kim, is a 2012 Ramona High School graduate who followed her Bulldogs softball career with competition for Southern Arkansas University and completed her collegiate career this year. Whelehon’s father, Dan, did not attend high school in California but played football and baseball. Her mother, Pam, was involved in high school swimming and water polo in Orange County.

Whelehon began organized softball with the Ramona Girls Softball program and has played travel ball for the past six years, most recently with the Renegades Elite team.

After spending her freshman year on Ramona’s junior varsity team, Whelehon became a starter as a sophomore in 2014. Although the left fielder did not receive all-league recognition as a sophomore, she was named to the Valley League’s second team as a junior and this year she was not only a first-team choice but also the Valley League Player of the Year.

“I think my favorite memory was going to the CIF championship game my sophomore year, because it was just a really great experience,” Whelehon said.

Whelehon was also on Ramona’s varsity golf team as a junior and senior. In addition to her athletic activities, she was involved in Ramona’s Associated Student Body as a freshman and sophomore, and she was also a National Honor Society member who completed her high school studies with a 4.26 grade point average.

“The fact that I am now playing softball is basically a dream of mine and I’m just really excited for the season,” Whelehon said of playing in college. “I’m just extremely excited for the road ahead, and I’m really thrilled.”

“I think she’s ready for the challenge and I’m proud of her, proud of the work she put in,” Wright said.

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