Dec. 2, 2008

Contact: Brian McCann

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A two-time all-conference and two-time conference champion soccer player, an Eastern Wrestling League champion and a two-time conference champion cross country runner comprise the 34th class of inductees into the Cleveland State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Joining the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame are Paul Clark (soccer, 1985-89), Al DiGiovanni (wrestling, 1975-79) and Pat Joyce (cross country/track, 1988-93).

The class will be enshrined on Thursday, February 12 in a ceremony on the fourth floor of the Wolstein Center. The group will then be honored later that day at halftime of the Cleveland State men's basketball game against Milwaukee. Admission to the ceremony is free but there is a $15 charge for admission to a post-ceremony reception. Reservations can be made by contacting the CSU Varsity "C" Club at (216) 875-9692.

Clark, a native of Plymouth, England, earns the honor after setting a then CSU career record by playing in 77 matches. The Vikings were 46-27-7 (.619) during his four seasons, including a school record-tying 14-5-2 mark in 1989.

His contributions to the program are still apparent. Clark's 77 games are still second in CSU history and he is tied for third with 74 starts. He is also tied for ninth with 80 career points, 20 career assists and is 12th with 30 career goals.

As a sophomore, Clark led the Vikings with 10 goals and 23 points, scoring all of his goals in the last 11 games of the 1986 season. As a junior in 1988, he led the team with eight assists and 24 points while tying for the team lead with eight goals. In a game against Western Illinois in 1988, he tied a Krenzler Field record by scoring a career-high three goals. During his senior season in 1989, he was second on the team in goals (7), assists (5) and points (19). He received a medical redshirt for the 1987 season after being sidelined with a knee injury.

Clark earned all-conference honors three times in his career, picking up first-team honors in 1986, 1988 and 1989 while helping the Vikings to Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU) league championships in both the 1986 and 1988 (co-champion) campaigns. A two-time AMCU Player of the Week in 1998, he also earned academic honors twice during his career when he was named a first-team All-Conference Academic selection and a first-team All-Ohio Academic pick in 1989.

He was also recognized multiple times at the state and regional levels. After earning second-team All-Mideast honors in 1986, Clark was a third-team selection in both 1988 and 1989. He also earned first-team All-Ohio honors three times (1986, 1988, 1989). During his career, he picked up all-tournament honors twice, at the Cleveland State Tournament in 1988 and the Akron Tournament in 1989.

A four-time letter winner, Clark earned his degree in Business Administration in 1989.

A two-time NCAA qualifier in wrestling, DiGiovanni joins his brother, All-American wrestler Tony, in the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame. A native of Chagrin Falls and graduate of Kenston High School, DiGiovanni had an impressive career on the mat for the Vikings.

A four-time letterwinner, DiGiovanni qualified for the NCAA Championships in both 1977 and 1979 and won the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championship at 142 pounds in 1979. With his title, he became the first CSU wrestler to win that weight class.

DiGiovanni still holds the CSU season record for the best dual meet record from his 15-0 mark in 1979 and during the same season helped his team tie the school record with 15 wins and win a EWL Championship. In his career, DiGiovanni compiled a 57-20-2 overall individual record (29-6 dual record) while his teams went 53-8-4 during his career. He posted a perfect 15-0 dual meet record in 1979 to become the ninth CSU wrestler to go undefeated in dual meets and the first to go undefeated in more than 10 matches in a season. In 1977, he finished with a 10-3-2 dual record and received the team's award for Most Pins (8). During his first two seasons with the Vikings, DiGiovanni went 4-4 in dual meets and 15-12 overall with four pins.

A Dean's List student, DiGiovanni was a tri-captain in 1979 after sitting out the 1977-78 season due to injury and was named a mid-season All-American in 1977. He earned his degree in physical education in 1980.

A native of Burton and a graduate of Chanel High School, Joyce was a member of CSU's 1992 conference championship team in the final season of CSU cross country. He earned four varsity letters in cross country and three in track and field during his CSU career and was a three-time captain in both sports.

Named the AMCU Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 1990 and 1992 after winning conference titles each season, he was the Vikings' top runner in 19 career cross country races. He finished third at the 1992 Central Collegiate Cross Country Championships after seven Top-10 finishes in eight races including, a 53rd place finish at the NCAA Championships and was named the Ohio Cross Country Coaches Association's Athlete of the Year.

CSU's Most Outstanding in cross country in 1989, 1990 and 1992, Joyce joins Ted Rupe as the only three-time winner in CSU cross country history.

Joyce competed in the NCAA District IV Cross Country Championships in 1989, 1990 and recorded his best finish in 1992 (9th). In 1989, he finished 12th at the AMCU Championships. During his junior season he won the Tom Evans Invitational and at Findlay he clocked the same time as teammate Chuck Moore but was nosed out for the win.

In track, Joyce was an outdoor conference champion in the 10,000 meters in 1991 after a sixth-place finish in 1990 and was an indoor all-conference finisher in the 5,000 meters in both 1990 (4th) and 1991 (5th).

Joyce was the recipient of several awards and honors during his career including the AMCU True Value Scholar-Athlete Award (1993), CSU Presidential Scholarship, Dean's List (11 of 13 quarters), CSU's Athletic Academic Excellence Award (1990, 91, 92) and a member of BI, the Business Academic Honorary Society. He also served as a Varsity "C" Club representative and was active in CSU's Campus Ministry.

At the conference level, Joyce was the Athlete of the Month in October, 1992 and was a four-time conference Athlete of the Week in 1990 and picked up the honor twice in 1992. A member of the Conference All-Academic Team in 1989, 1990 and 1991, and the Golden Key National Honor Society, Joyce graduated from CSU with a degree in Business in 1993.

The addition of the 2009 class brings the membership in the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame to 115. Clark is the fourth soccer player while DiGiovanni is the fifth wrestler and Joyce the 10th cross country/track athlete to garner induction.