More than 100 local high school athletes gathered at the San Diego Hall of Champions Wednesday to sign their National Letters of Intent committing to the colleges of their choice.
The local athletes hailed from 12 different sports, including girls’ and boys’ soccer, football and cross country and track.
The sports with the most signees Wednesday were football players and girls’ soccer players, with 32 athletes in each sport signing letters of intent.
While a few local athletes signed letters of intent to attend far-off universities such as Harvard and Yale, many student athletes committed to staying in San Diego with local universities such as San Diego State, Point Loma Nazarene and University of San Diego.
Star athletes who plan to stay local include:
- Christian Courtnie Marshall (Girls’ Soccer -- Point Loma Nazarene)
- Carlsbad’s Erika Leal (Girls’ Soccer -- SDSU)
- San Pasqual’s Victoria Manfredonia (Girls’ Soccer -- USD)
- Mira Mesa’s Ariel Oriarte (Girls’ Soccer -- Point Loma Nazarene)
- Westview’s Danielle Gonzales (Girls’ Soccer -- USD)
- Del Norte’s George Liang (Football -- USD)
- Calvary Christian’s Justin Harrison (Football -- USD)
- Mira Mesa’s Trey Lomax (Football -- SDSU)
- Lincoln’s Fred Melifonwu (Football --SDSU)
- Cathedral Catholic’s Michael Turner (Boys’ Soccer -- USD)
- Cathedral Catholic’s Parker Price (Boys’ Soccer --USD)
- Valhalla’s Andrea Hughes (Girls’ Cross Country/Track -- USD)
In total, the SDSU Aztecs landed two dozen recruits from all over the country during National Letter of Intent Day. This includes 21 incoming freshmen and three upperclassmen.
Among those recruits SDSU’s head coach Rocky Long said they signed a half-dozen defensive backs, five linebackers and a trio of tight ends, wide receivers, a runningback and offensive lineman.
Coach Long said the new recruits are from 12 different states, including Florida and Hawaii.
One of SDSU’s top local recruits is Lincoln High School’s Fred Melifonwu.
Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego