A trio of local prep sports standouts made their college plans official during a letter-of-intent signing ceremony Thursday afternoon.

Spanish Springs High School seniors Dan Lide, Cody Clifford and Danielle Beebe all put pen to paper, announcing their intentions to continue their athletic careers beyond their days at SSHS.

Lide and Clifford are set to attend Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Ore. Lide will suit up for the school’s basketball team while Clifford will run track. Beebe will go to Vanguard University of Southern California and play volleyball.

Lide averaged just over 10 points per game and helped Spanish Springs to back-to-back playoff appearances, the first two in the eight-year history of the Cougars’

hoop program.

“I’m very proud of the things he’s done here and his commitment to the program,” SSHS boys basketball coach Kyle Penney said. “His hard work has paid off and he’s seeing the benefits of that right now. He’s helped put our basketball program on the map.”

Lide said he chose to go to SOU after communicating with coach Brian McDermott and visiting the school.

“It’s a nice town. The community is very cultured. It’s not dry. I liked that it was green,” Lide said. “It’s just the perfect distance away. I can still get home when I want to.”

Lide made quite the impression on his visit to Ashland to check out the Southern Oregon campus as well as meet the basketball team.

“One of the things that impressed me was after he played with us, four of my guys came up to me and said coach ‘you’ve got to get this guy,” said SOU coach Brian McDermott, who attended the signing ceremony. “All of my guys like how hard he plays and that he can do a lot of things.”

On the track front, Clifford will join Reed standout Zach Comphel in choosing to attend Southern Oregon. Clifford, the Cougars’ standout sprinter holds a handful of school records for Spanish Springs. He is attempting to qualify for the upcoming 4A Nevada State Track & Field Championships in four different events.

“Cody Clifford is the perfect example of what hard work and a good belief system can do for an athlete,” Cougars track coach Pat McGuire said. “It’s been my honor to be Cody’s coach the last four years. Southern Oregon is getting a great athlete.”

Clifford said he has been excited to attend SOU since communicating with the school’s coaches in recent months.

“I’m excited for college itself. I never thought I’d get the opportunity to play a sport in college,” Clifford said. “Since my freshman year, I’ve been working to get better and thinking about college.”

Beebe was a two-sport standout for Spanish Springs, excelling on the volleyball and basketball courts. She will continue her athletic prowess in college in the volleyball arena where she will compete for NAIA Division I Vanguard.

“She led our team in assists, kills and blocks. That’s really hard to do,” Spanish Springs volleyball coach Frank Sandomenico said, adding that the versatile 6-footer helped his team to its best record in its brief eight-year history.

Beebe said she chose Vanguard, which is located in Costa Mesa, Calif., because it was a good fit for her academically as well as athletically.

“I’m just so excited to go play at the next level,” she said. “I’ll be away from home, which will be a little nerve-racking, but I’m just so excited for all the new experiences.”