BULLDOG FOOTBALL
PICTURED: Bulldog captains, from left, Bryce Parra, Diego Lopez, Rafael Orozco and Grant Johnson take the field for the coin flip Saturday at Bulldog Bowl.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Bulldog football team made its 2024 state playoff debut in dominant fashion Saturday at Bulldog Bowl, dispatching #7 Lovington in the Class 5A quarterfinal round, 45-7. The 'Dogs now move on to face #6 Mayfield in next weekend's semifinals.
Tickets are on sale now via Artesia's GoFan page.
BULLDOG VOLLEYBALL
PICTURED: The 2024 Bulldog volleyball team poses with the state runner-up trophy Saturday at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
(Photo Courtesy New Mexico Activities Association)
Anybody overlooking the 10th-ranked Artesia volleyball team at this week's Class 4A State Tournament learned a valuable lesson: It's never safe to bet against the Bulldogs.
In a no-holds-barred charge that was the talk of the tourney, the girls in orange played giant-killer to team after team as they battled their way unbeaten into the state championship match. And while the top-ranked and defending-state-champion Sartans of St. Pius may have proven too much in the end, the 'Dogs' 2024 state runner-up finish was one to be incredibly proud of.
The Bulldogs entered the playoffs two spots from the bottom of the rankings, the third team from District 4-AAAA to be seeded. That saw them paired against seventh-ranked Valencia in Thursday's opening round at the Rio Rancho Events Center. Three games later (25-18, 25-16, 25-18), Artesia was moving on.
The teams that advance past the first round are often assumed to be easy pickings for the top-four squads that drew a bye, and #10 Artesia vs. #2 Albuquerque Academy certainly appeared to be a lopsided matchup on paper. But the 'Dogs closed out Day One of the tournament with a statement-maker, edging the Chargers 25-22 and 25-23 in the first two sets before bringing the hammer down in the third, 25-9.
As other, higher-ranked teams battled it out in the pre-semifinal double-elimination bracket, the Artesia girls earned a break until Friday afternoon. There, #3 Santa Teresa awaited, and the Desert Warriors would become the first team to take a game from Artesia, winning the opening set 25-20. The Bulldogs took control from there, however, winning the next three (25-21, 25-17, 25-17) to secure their spot in the semis.
Fifth-ranked Hope Christian would turn out to be the 'Dogs' toughest test yet Saturday afternoon. Artesia edged the Huskies 25-23 in Game One and came from behind for a win in extras, 26-24, in Game Two. But Hope rallied to tie the match at 2-all with wins in the third (25-22) and fourth (25-14) sets, forcing the deciding Game Five. The Bulldogs saw an early 5-0 lead dwindle into an 11-11 tie as the two teams fought for the right to vie for a title, but Artesia was not to be denied, fending off the Huskies for the 3-2 victory, 15-12.
Likely a bit fatigued, the 'Dogs turned their sights to a veteran and senior-heavy St. Pius Saturday evening, hoping to write one last W into their Cinderella story. Unfortunately, the Artesia girls could never find their footing against the Sartans, however, falling in three, 16-25, 10-25, 11-25.
It was a thrilling end to a great season nonetheless, as the 'Dogs finished with an overall mark of 16-12. They'll return a host of current juniors in 2025. They bid farewell to three key seniors in Hattie Harrison, Carmen Harvey and Tessa Yates.
AHS SWIMMING
PICTURED: The Bulldog and Lady Bulldog swim teams and head coach Andrea Ciro pose with some of the hardware they collected in Pecos, Texas.
(Courtesy Photo)
The Bulldog and Lady Bulldog swim teams headed to Pecos, Texas, Saturday for the Pecos Invitational, delivering another pair of impressive team performances. Both the Artesia boys' and girls' squads placed third overall out of fields of 10 and 11 squads, respectively, and both were the top-placing New Mexico schools behind Andrews and Monahans, Texas.
State-qualifying finishes included:
• Girls' 200-Yard Medley Relay
- Artesia "A" (Johanna Padilla, Ann Greenwood, Addisyn Hartman, Sarah Plotner)
1st, 2:00.24
• Boys' 200-Yard Medley Relay
- Artesia "A" (Aidan Ciro, Eli DeHoyos, Andree Bautista, Alec Ciro)
2nd, 1:49.82
• Girls' 200-Yard Freestyle
- Ann Greenwood, 1st, 2:07.28
• Girls' 200-Yard Individual Medley
- Johanna Padilla, 1st, 2:31.88
- Morgan Fisher, 2nd, 2:33.93
• Boys' 200-Yard IM
- Aidan Ciro, 1st, 2:06.53
• Girls' 100-Yard Butterfly
- Ann Greenwood, 2nd, 1:04.20
- Addisyn Hartman, 3rd, 1:04.67
• Boys' 100-Yard Freestyle
- Aidan Ciro, 1st, 49.76
• Girls' 500-Yard Freestyle
- Sarah Plotner, 1st, 5:46.54
• Girls' 200-Yard Freestyle Relay
- Artesia "A" (Ann Greenwood, Johanna Padilla, Sarah Plotner, Addisyn Hartman)
1st, 1:49.12
• Boys' 200-Yard Freestyle Relay
Artesia "A" (Andree Bautista, Dylan Florez, Eli DeHoyos, Aidan Ciro)
1st, 1:36.84
• Boys' 100-Yard Breaststroke
- Eli DeHoyos, 1st, 1:05.49
Other results included:
• Girls' 200-Yard Freestyle
- Sarah Plotner, 5th, 2:10.84
• Boys' 200-Yard Freestyle
- Alec Ciro, 19th, 2:21.19
• Girls' 50-Yard Freestyle
- Addisyn Hartman, T-1st, 27.24
- Evelyn Yeager, 48th, 41.91
• Boys' 50-Yard Freestyle
- Andree Bautista, 6th, 24.38
- Dylan Florez, 13th, 27.30
- Chaz Rogers, 26th, 30.11
• Girls' 100-Yard Butterfly
- Evelyn Yeager, 16th, 2:14.49
• Boys' 100-Yard Butterfly
- Javier Rodriguez, 13th, 1:09.33
• Girls' 100-Yard Freestyle
- Anikah Wisen, 6th, 1:05.44
• Boys' 100-Yard Freestyle
- Eli DeHoyos, 3rd, 53.31
- Javier Rodriguez, 16th, 1:01.38
- Chaz Rogers, 26th, 1:09.32
• Girls' 100-Yard Backstroke
- Johanna Padilla, 1st, 1:06.76
• Boys' 100-Yard Backstroke
- Alec Ciro, 8th, 1:10.52
• Girls' 100-Yard Breaststroke
- Morgan Fisher, 1st, 1:16.62
- Anikah Wisen, 4th, 1:24.32
• Boys' 100-Yard Breaststroke
- Dylan Florez, 13th, 1:22.91
• Boys' 400-Yard Freestyle Relay
- Artesia "A" (Andree Bautista, Alec Ciro, Dylan Florez, Javier Rodriguez)
6th, 3:53.62
The swim teams will now be off through the remainder of November, resuming their schedules Dec. 7 at the Bob Reid Invitational in Hobbs.