LTCC men's soccer team to have seven South Tahoe High players

Five South Tahoe High seniors and graduates signed their letters of intent to play for the Lake Tahoe Community College Coyotes this fall.

Cesar Hernandez (class of 2017), Giovani "Gio" Yanez, Ignacio Vazquez, Andy Salazar and Oscar Villagrana (class of 2016) were all on hand with LTCC Soccer Coach Nick Arbelaez.

The five athletes were all born and raised in South Lake Tahoe and have a combined 55 years of soccer already under their belts.

"I'm very stoked," said Villagrana of his heading to LTCC to play at the college level.

"All of your hard work leads to this," Arbelaez told the his future players.

Arbelaez will have seven South Tahoe High graduates playing for him as he enters his fourth season as head coach. His teams have been in the Top 10 for the state of California and a nationally ranked 2015 team.

92 percent of those who play for Arbelaez have gone on to play at four-year colleges after graduating from LTCC. He said not only do they finish strong athletically, but also academically.

The five at Friday's signing ceremony will be joining STHS graduate Lex Merrifield (class of 2017), who played for the Coyotes in 2017, and STHS senior Brandon Estrada who was unable to attend Friday's signing.