AHS SWIMMING

PICTURED: Lady Bulldog senior Ann Greenwood poses with AHS swim coach Andrea Ciro at the State Swim Meet, where Greenwood delivered two runner-up finishes in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.
(Photo Courtesy Andrea Ciro)

The Artesia High School swim teams brought home a veritable medal haul Saturday from the State Swim Meet in Albuquerque.

On a day that saw the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs both place seventh out of fields of 28 and 30 teams, respectively, the program reached the medal finals in 11 events and the consolation finals in five more.

"It was a great meet!" said head coach Andrea Ciro.

Artesia finished as the New Mexico state runners-up in three events Saturday, with senior Ann Greenwood accounting for two of those silver medals. Greenwood was second to the wall in both the girls' 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke. The boys' 200 freestyle relay team of Eli DeHoyos, Andree Bautista, Layton Whitmire and Aidan Ciro also came in second overall, just eight-tenths of a second off Albuquerque Academy's state championship time.

Elsewhere for the Bulldogs in the medal finals, junior Ciro delivered fourth-place finishes in both the boys' 50-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly, and fellow junior DeHoyos placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke. The 200 medley relay team of Whitmire, DeHoyos, Ciro and Bautista were fifth in that event, and Whitmire came in eighth in the 50 free.

For the Lady Bulldogs, the 200 medley relay team of Johanna Padilla, Greenwood, Addisyn Hartman and Sarah Plotner placed fifth and the 200 freestyle relay group of Hartman, Padilla, Plotner and Greenwood sixth, and Hartman was seventh in the 100 butterfly.

The Lady 'Dogs swam the consolation finals in four events, with freshman Morgan Fisher finishing ninth in the 100 breaststroke; the 400 freestyle relay team of Padilla, Anikah Wisen, Fisher and Plotner placing ninth; Hartman coming in 11th in the 200 individual medley; and Padilla placing 13th in the 100 backstroke. DeHoyos was 13th for the Bulldogs in the 100 freestyle.

Ciro reported that school records were broken by both the girls' and boys' 200 medley relay teams; the boys' 200 freestyle relay team; and Greenwood in the girls' 100 breaststroke.

Full results and times from the state finals are listed below. Congratulations to the AHS swimmers on an awesome season!

MEDAL FINALS
• Girls' 200-Yard Medley Relay
- Artesia "A" (Johanna Padilla, Ann Greenwood, Addisyn Hartman, Sarah Plotner)
5th, 1:53.34
• Boys' 200 Medley Relay
- Artesia "A" (Layton Whitmire, Eli DeHoyos, Aidan Ciro, Andree Bautista)
5th, 1:40.29
• Boys' 50 Freestyle
- Aidan Ciro, 4th, 21.75
- Layton Whitmire, 8th, 22.59
• Girls' 100 Butterfly
- Ann Greenwood, 2nd, 59.52
- Addisyn Hartman, 7th, 1:01.32
• Boys' 100 Butterfly
- Aidan Ciro, 4th, 52.64
• Girls' 200 Freestyle Relay
- Artesia "A" (Addisyn Hartman, Johanna Padilla, Sarah Plotner, Ann Greenwood)
6th, 1:45.57
• Boys' 200 Freestyle Relay
- Artesia "A" (Eli DeHoyos, Andree Bautista, Layton Whitmire, Aidan Ciro)
2nd, 1:28.52
• Girls' 100 Breaststroke
- Ann Greenwood, 2nd, 1:06.99
• Boys' 100 Breaststroke
- Eli DeHoyos, 4th, 1:01.65

CONSOLATION FINALS
• Girls' 200 Individual Medley
- Addisyn Hartman, 11th, 2:21.67
• Boys' 100 Freestyle
- Eli DeHoyos, 13th, 51.32
• Girls' 100 Backstroke
- Johanna Padilla, 13th, 1:04.07
• Girls' 100 Breaststroke
- Morgan Fisher, 9th, 1:11.28
• Girls' 400 Freestyle Relay
- Artesia "A" (Johanna Padilla, Anikah Wisen, Morgan Fisher, Sarah Plotner)
9th, 4:00.10

AHS WRESTLING

PICTURED: Isabel Irvin smiles from the podium after placing second in the state in the girls' 100-pound weight class.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Wrestling)

For the second consecutive year, Lady Bulldog wrestler Isabel Irvin very nearly topped the field in the girls' 100-pound weight class, coming away from the State Wrestling Championships with the silver.

Irvin fell to Volcano Vista's Esperanza Gallegos in a battle royale following an impressive run through the championship bracket. Irvin's quest began with a win over Cleveland's Julie Thurgood via fall at 4:54, and she'd defeat Miyamura's Amber Gutierrez at 3:00 in the quarterfinals. Irvin took her semifinal match with a fall at 2:37 against Socorro's Arasely Moreno to set up the showdown with Gallegos, who won via fall at 2:34.

In the boys' championship bracket, senior Hagan Crockett was unfortunately injured at the 2:51 mark of his opening-round match over St. Pius' Mycah Gachupin and forced to forfeit his first match on the consolation side. In the 160-pound class, Rylee Kelley came up short of his first-round opponent, Kirtland Central's Nathan Tom, by fall at 2:24 but very nearly battled his way into the fifth-place match from there. Kelley defeated Bloomfield's Delayne Luster via fall at 4:45 and Valley's Carlos Anaya at 2:42 before losing to Belen's Edward Freeman by 13-6 decision.

Edel Villa lost to Deming's Korbyn Harvey in the first round of the 172-pound weight class bracket by technical fall (18-3, 2:00) but got a win over Moriarty's Cody McGrotha at :56 before coming up short of Cobre's Donald Wofford via 11-8 decision. Alejandro Ontiveros also made a run at the fifth-place match in the 215-pound class after falling to Silver's Logan Aguirre at 1:42, defeating Moriarty's Joseph Pacheco at 3:22 and Del Norte's Mario Archuleta Jr. at 4:44 before falling to Daniel Chillimidos of Belen at 1:30. And in the 285-pound class, Ethan Shannon was defeated by Deming's Isaac Ledezma at 1:25 in the first round and bested Bernalillo's Joshua Washington at :11 before losing to Aztec's Clarence Keenom via 9-2 decision.

Congratulations to the AHS wrestling teams on a great season!

BULLDOG BASKETBALL

PICTURED: Corbyn Dominguez gets open in the lane for a shot.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

It took a rocket to finally hit the target on the Bulldogs' backs.

In an uncharacteristically low-scoring contest that saw the Class 4A top-ranked 'Dogs break 10 points in just one out of four quarters, the Artesia boys just missed their goal of an unbeaten run through regular District 4-AAAA play by way of a 45-40 loss to Goddard Friday on the road. But despite the defeat, the 'Dogs maintained the district crown and the No. 1 seed going into this week's District 4-AAAA Tournament.

Friday's game was undoubtedly a surreal one, with the Rockets essentially winning on the legs of two 17-point quarters, with nine of those 17 in the fourth scored from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs could never find their offensive rhythm on the night and gave up a number of baskets via turnovers.

Artesia got an opening three off the tip by Braylon Vega, but it would be five minutes before they'd score again on another longball, this time from Charlie Campbell. With the Rockets having no better luck on their home court, however, a pair from the stripe by Clay Kincaid at the 1:45 mark and a Trent Egeland shot off the glass in the final seconds of the quarter would still see Artesia leading 10-3 going into the second.

There, a quick old-fashioned three-point play from Campbell and a Kincaid layup had the boys in orange up by 12, 15-3. But as was the case at several points on the night, the 'Dogs were just unable to maintain that pace. Goddard proceeded to unleash a 15-1 run that included a trio of treys and seven points scored off turnovers to turn the tables as the first half fell under two minutes, 18-16. The shell-shocked Bulldogs managed to get a pair of jumpers by Vega prior to the break to tie it up at 20-all and essentially make the second half a start-from-scratch situation.

Once again, however, the 'Dogs would play down in the third quarter. While the Rockets managed just eight points, Artesia answered with only six of their own on a Cael Houghtaling three and a successful and-one from Egeland. That left the door open for Goddard in the final eight minutes, and they didn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

A pair of Vega treys and a bucket from Kincaid helped put Artesia in front by two, 35-33, with 3:38 to go in the game, but a basket and an and-one following a breakaway layup off the steal by Goddard's Kyle Mesquita gave the Rockets back a three-point edge, 38-35. Kincaid cut that to one with another shot in the paint, but as the game hit its final minute, the Rockets began to stall, and the 'Dogs were forced to begin sending them to the line. From there, Mesquita would go 1-2 and Isaiah Mestas 2-2 to make Goddard's lead four, 41-37. And despite a clutch three from Campbell that brought the 'Dogs within one, Josiah Castillo and Jose Porras would both go 2-2 from the stripe for the Rockets in the final seconds to secure the 45-40 win.

Vega and Goddard's Mesquita and Ezekiel Burrola would all share top-scoring honors on the night with 13 apiece, followed by Campbell with 10.

The Bulldogs (17-8, 5-1) will now be looking to shake off the upset as they head into the D4 Tournament Tuesday, Feb. 25. The #1 'Dogs will host the #4 Portales Rams at 6 p.m. at Bulldog Pit, with Lovington and Goddard meeting in the other semifinal. The winners of both bouts will then compete for the tournament championship at 6 p.m. Friday at the home of the higher seed.

Click here to purchase tickets to Tuesday's game.

STAT BOX

Goddard 45
Artesia 40

Artesia (17-8, 5-1): Braylon Vega 5, 0-0 13; Charlie Campbell 3, 2-3 10; Clay Kincaid 3, 1-2 7; Trent Egeland 2, 1-1 5; Cael Houghtaling 1, 2-2 5
Totals: 14, 6-8 40

Goddard (11-14, 3-3): Ezekiel Burrola 5, 1-2 13; Kyle Mesquita 5, 2-3 13; Josiah Castillo 2, 2-2 6; Isaiah Mestas 1, 2-2 5; Eli Barncastle 1, 0-2 3; Jose Porras 0, 3-4 3; Joaquin Sanchez 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 15, 10-15 45

Field Goals: Artesia 14; Goddard 15
Three-Pointers: Artesia 6 (Vega 3, Campbell 2, Houghtaling 1); Goddard 5 (Burrola 2, Barncastle 1, Mesquita 1, Mestas 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 6-8 (75%); Goddard 10-15 (67%)
Fouls: Artesia 9; Goddard 11
Fouled Out: None

LADY BULLDOG BASKETBALL

PICTURED: Brooklyn Fuentes goes in for a layup ahead of Goddard's Jazmin De Leon.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

Winless in the district since an opening victory over Lovington at the end of January, the Lady Bulldog basketball team had been hindered since by turnovers and missed shots, seeming always on the verge of an offensive explosion that just wouldn't come.

But on Friday at Ground Zero, with a third-place finish in regular District 4-AAAA play on the line, the Lady 'Dogs finally put it all together, and the result was a 56-41 win over Goddard on their home court.

It was the Lady Rockets who jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first quarter, but Artesia would respond with nine unanswered: an old-fashioned three-point play from Kailee Padilla and a bucket and free throw apiece by Hattie Harrison and Avery Frederick. Following another four-point run by Goddard, the Lady 'Dogs reeled off seven more -- a basket and three free throws by Padilla and a Harrison offensive putback -- to lead 17-10 going into the second.

After a Brooklyn Fuentes layup was followed by four more Lady Rocket points, Padilla proceeded to answer every Goddard score until Gracen Kuykendall was able to double up late on a battle to the basket to help Artesia maintain its seven-point margin at the half, 27-20.

The girls in orange came out gangbusters for the second half, with baskets from Frederick and Padilla sandwiching back-to-back three-pointers by Brookelyn Thacker and Ashton Craft to quickly propel Artesia's lead to 17-, 37-20. A five-point run by Padilla and a late basket and a free throw from Harrison saw the Lady Bulldogs outscore the Lady Rockets 18-6 in the period to lead by 19, 45-26, going into the fourth.

With five more points from Padilla, three by Harrison, and another trey from Craft, the Lady 'Dogs were able to bump their lead to 20 with two minutes remaining and would cruise from there to the 56-41 decision.

Padilla led all scorers on the night with a whopping 26, followed by Harrison with 11. Jazmin De Leon posted 18 for Goddard.

As the #3 seed, the Lady Bulldogs now travel to #2 Lovington for a 5 p.m. game Tuesday, Feb. 25. The winner will advance to meet the victor of #4 Goddard at #1 Portales this Friday at the home of the higher seed.

STAT BOX

Artesia 56
Goddard 41

Artesia (10-15, 2-4): Kailee Padilla 8, 10-15 26; Hattie Harrison 4, 3-6 11; Ashton Craft 2, 0-0 6; Avery Frederick 2, 1-4 5; Brookelyn Thacker 1, 0-0 3; Brooklyn Fuentes 1, 0-0 2; Gracen Kuykendall 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 19, 14-25 56

Goddard (13-13, 1-5): Jazmin De Leon 6, 5-5 18; Aubrie Bolanos 3, 1-2 8; Carmen Grado 3, 0-0 6; Keauna Thomas 1, 1-4 3; Natalie Hardwick 1, 0-0 2; Andi Israel 0, 2-2 2; Faith Perez 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 15, 9-13 41

Field Goals: Artesia 19; Goddard 15
Three-Pointers: Artesia 3 (Craft 2, Thacker 1); Goddard 2 (Bolanos 1, De Leon 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 14-25 (56%); Goddard 9-13 (69%)
Fouls: Artesia 14; Goddard 16
Fouled Out: None

AHS CHEERLEADING

The Artesia High School cheerleaders hosted their home competition Saturday at Bulldog Pit. On an exciting day of action, the varsity squad, pictured above, came in second place in Cheer with Music, while the junior varsity, pictured below, took top honors in Cheer with Music and second in Game Day Cheer. Congratulations, cheerleaders! Artesia's next competition -- the Lea County Spirit Classic -- is coming up Saturday, March 1, at the Lea County Event Center in Hobbs.

(Photos Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)