Ravenscroft Athletic Director Ned Gonet has announced the hiring of new head coaches for three programs in 2024-25: varsity field hockey, varsity girls soccer and varsity baseball.

“I would like to thank Coach Meegan Horn and Coach Rob Smith for their dedication to their respective teams. We appreciate all they have done to further our programs. I’d also like to thank Coach Jim Gibbons for his many years of leadership to the baseball program,” Gonet said. “As we look ahead, we have been able to attract and hire some of the most knowledgeable, passionate and successful coaches in our area to take over these programs. Please join me in welcoming them to Ravenscroft, and thank you for providing your ongoing support for our teams!” 

Varsity Field Hockey

Meg Cline has been hired as the new varsity field hockey coach. Cline was an All-State player in high school and a four-year letter winner at Davidson College. She has coached at the high school level for 17 years and served as the Field Hockey Coaches Association President in Northern Virginia. 

She has also attained a Level 2 USA Field Hockey Certification.

Cline is married to Joseph Cline ’08, who also went to Davidson College and is an orthopedic surgeon for Duke Orthopedics in Raleigh. They have two young sons.

Cline had a successful season coaching Ravenscroft’s Middle School girls lacrosse team this past spring. “I am looking forward to leading the field hockey program at Ravenscroft and getting to know the school my husband grew up going to!” she said.

Varsity Girls Soccer

Paul Dinkenor returns to Ravenscroft as the varsity girls soccer coach. He was born in Manchester, England, and played soccer for the famed Manchester Grammar School in the 1970s. As a junior and senior in high school, he was selected to the England Public Schools’ team, which competed in the National County Soccer Festival in England and toured outside the country. He won a varsity soccer letter during all three undergraduate years at the University of Cambridge. He captained the Light Blues in a 2-1 victory over Oxford at Wembley Stadium in 1978. 

Dinkenor began coaching at the 400-year-old Charterhouse School in Surrey, England in 1980.  Throughout the 1980s, his coaching resume also included North Carolina schools Ravenscroft, Forsyth Country Day School and North Forsyth High School. In 1993, he started both the boys and girls soccer programs at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh and took six teams to the 4A state championships, winning five titles. As a staff coach for the CASL organization, Dinkenor’s U-14 Girls team won the 1995 State Cup. His coaching record is 924-358-107; his teams have won 25 conference championships/conference tournament titles and have produced numerous All-American and All-Region selections. He has received many professional honors, including induction into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame and this past October into the WCPSS Hall of Fame for Athletics.  

Paul’s wife, Heather, had a 30-year teaching career at Leesville High School. They have two children: Chelsea, an NC State graduate, and Camden, a UNC-Chapel Hill student, both of whom played for the Leesville soccer teams. 

“I am very excited to be joining the Ravenscroft School, family, and community in the fall. I have admired the athletics program and the leadership of Coach Gonet for some time now,” Dinkenor said. “I have been passionate about soccer all my life and cannot wait to step into a new coaching arena where each and every day presents a learning experience and a chance to improve.”

Varsity Baseball

John Whittenberg has been hired as our new varsity baseball coach. He is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, where he was an outstanding pitcher for his high school team with a record of 17-0 and a 2.00 ERA. Whittenberg played baseball at Biscayne College in Miami, Florida, before transferring to the University of Louisville to finish his degree. He then proceeded to play and coach in the New Jersey Semi-pro league for 10 years. 

Wittenberg continued his coaching career at Bernardsville High School in Bernardsville, New Jersey, as well as locally at Panther Creek High School and Green Hope High School in Cary. He has been part of many championship teams over the years and coached some of the most established summer-league teams in our area. 

Whittenberg has attained his NFHS Accredited Interscholastic Coach (AIC) and Certified Interscholastic Coach (CIC), as well as NFHS Level 3 certifications. 

He and his wife, Cheri, reside in Cary and have two children, Alexis, a graduate of NC State, and Riley, a qualified pilot. “I am very excited to be a part of the Ravenscroft family as I embark on coaching the baseball team!” Whittenberg said.