AHS BASKETBALL
The Artesia High School basketball teams put forth great efforts Tuesday in the first round of the 2024-25 District 4-AAAA Tournaments but unfortunately came up just short of their opponents. The teams will now await the results of Sunday's Class 4A seeding and selection to learn where they'll fall in the impending state tournaments.
The State Seeding and Selection Show will be streamed live at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday, March 2, on the NMAA's website. Day passes are currently available for sale via the UNM ticketing office. Individual game tickets will be available soon.
Bulldogs
PICTURED: Braylon Vega puts up a running jumper for two in the final seconds of the third quarter Tuesday at Bulldog Pit.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
It was deja vu all over again for the Bulldog basketball team Tuesday at Bulldog Pit.
Teams in small districts know all too well the difficulties associated with the second season. By the time you prepare for and compete against the same squads twice over, along comes the district tournament to make you do it again. By that time, there are few, if any, surprises left -- except when it comes to outcomes.
In years past, Artesia's regular-season District 4-AAAA title and subsequent D4 Tournament top seed would've earned them a bye to the weekend's championship game. But the district opted this year to trim the tournament from three games to two, with all four teams engaged in Tuesday's play-ins. The 'Dogs' home game against No. 4 Portales was intended to be an earned advantage. But as was the case Friday, when Goddard handed Artesia its lone regular district loss on the road, the Rams had nothing to lose and came to fight.
With under a minute to go in the game and the score tied at 53-all, Braylon Vega had just hit what appeared to be a three-pointer to give Artesia back the lead. It was called as such by the referee just feet away from Vega but overruled as a two-pointer by an official on the opposite side. That point would turn out to be monumentally significant as the final seconds wore on.
The Bulldogs seemed to be turning the tide back in their favor when, with 39 seconds to go, Charlie Campbell drove into the lane and put a left-handed layup off the glass to make it 57-53. But Portales' Joel Lujan managed to hit a contested trey falling away to bring the Rams back within a point, 57-56, at the 23-second mark. Still, with possession and in the bonus, the 'Dogs had the advantage -- until Campbell executed a jump stop in front of the basket and was called for travelling.
Artesia had fouls to spend and used them and quick-handed defense to keep the Rams from setting up their offense as the final six seconds of the game began to tick away. But with two seconds to go, Portales was somehow able to get the ball in the hands of Lujan on an inbound pass. The senior guard had time only to lunge inside the three-point arc and shoot, but the shot went down as the buzzer sounded. And with that, the Bulldogs were eliminated from the district tournament, 58-57.
PICTURED: Clay Kincaid puts up a short-range baseline jumper to start the game.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
It was a frustrating end to what had been a wholly frustrating game for the boys in orange. Try as they might, the Bulldogs could never put significant distance between themselves and the Rams, a fact resulting largely from Portales' lights-out three-point shooting on the night. The Rams finished with 12 treys on the night, draining seven in the first half alone.
Vega did yeoman's work of his own from beyond the arc in the contest, hitting two longballs in the opening quarter to Portales sophomore Pierce Culpepper's three. Vega's second trifecta found the Bulldogs still trailing, 11-10, but a pair of late offensive putbacks and two from the free-throw line by Clay Kincaid helped send the 'Dogs into the second up by two, 17-15.
There, Artesia got old-fashioned three-point plays from both Campbell and Kincaid and another trey from Vega in the opening four minutes. But the Rams had delivered three of their four three-pointers in the quarter by that point to lead 27-26. From there, the 'Dogs got quality buckets from Vega, Kincaid and Cael Houghtaling, but Portales would continue to hold the lead at the break, 34-32.
The 'Dogs did a much better job of limiting the Rams' looks from downtown in the second half, but Lujan would still manage two for the boys in red to help keep it close despite Artesia's solid defensive effort. Kincaid continued to be a force in the paint with three baskets, Vega contributed two field goals -- including a last-second jumper -- and Campbell was 4-4 at the line to put the 'Dogs back up by three, 47-44, going into the fourth.
An opening three-pointer from Vega and a Trent Egeland offensive putback finally gave Artesia eight points of breathing room, but it was short-lived. Portales would go on a 7-0 run before eventually tying things up, setting the stage for the dramatic final minute.
Vega led all scorers on the night with 23 points, which included four treys, and Kincaid ended with 19. Lujan had 21 for Portales, with 15 of those points coming from beyond the arc.
STAT BOX
Portales 58
Artesia 57
Artesia (17-9, 5-2): Braylon Vega 9, 1-2 23; Clay Kincaid 8, 3-3 19; Charlie Campbell 2, 5-5 9; Trent Egeland 1, 1-2 3; Cael Houghtaling 1, 0-0 2; Corbyn Dominguez 0, 1-2 1
Totals: 21, 11-14 57
Portales (12-14, 2-5): Joel Lujan 7, 2-4 21; Pierce Culpepper 6, 0-0 17; Carson Pfaffenberger 4, 0-2 9; Patrick Alvarado 1, 2-2 4; Elijah Tellez 1, 0-0 3; Jacoby Bamforth 1, 0-0 2; Aiden Mestas 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 21, 4-8 58
Field Goals: Artesia 21; Portales 21
Three-Pointers: Artesia 4 (Vega 4); Portales 12 (Culpepper 5, Lujan 5, Pfaffenberger 1, Tellez 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 11-14 (79%); Portales 4-8 (50%)
Turnovers: Artesia 13; Portales 13
Fouls: Artesia 9; Portales 14
Fouled Out: None
Lady Bulldogs
Anything can happen in four quarters, but sometimes just one winds up spelling the difference in a game.
For the Lady Bulldog basketball team Tuesday against Lovington, that lone quarter turned out to be the very first. Following a three-pointer off the tip by Lady Wildcat Malaiya Castro, Avery Frederick put a shot off the glass to make it 3-2. But from there, try as they might, the Lady 'Dogs could muster no offense, and Lovington headed into the second with a 15-2 lead.
Artesia leaned harder on its defense in that quarter, and the offense soon began to follow. Forcing five turnovers and limiting the Lady 'Cats to just six points, the girls in orange were able to make up some ground despite a number of un-called fouls that made every Lady Bulldog bucket a battle. A Jenna Whitmire shot in the paint was followed by treys from Kailee Padilla and Brookelyn Thacker, and Padilla added a breakaway layup off the steal to bring Artesia back within seven, 19-12, with a minute to go in the half. A baseline jumper from Lovington's Carli Knapp and a Padilla free throw would end the first half with the Lady Bulldogs down by eight, 21-13.
Unfortunately, that gap would widen in the early goings of the third, with nine unanswered from the Lady 'Cats expanding their lead to 17, 30-13. But the Lady Bulldogs once again buckled down and fought back. Artesia finally got on the board in the quarter with a Gracen Kuykendall bucket and a trey off the bank by Carmen Harvey. They'd then close out the period with a 9-1 run that included baskets from Whitmire and Ashton Craft and a big Craft three, trailing by just six, 33-27, going into the fourth.
The Lady Wildcats kicked off the final eight minutes with a three, and back-to-back buckets from Hattie Harrison and a Whitmire offensive putback were all answered in kind by Lovington. Whitmire was able to fight her way through a few fouls to put another shot off the glass to make it 42-35, but following an Artesia turnover, Lovington began to move into stall mode. With just over a minute remaining in the game, Harvey would nail another clutch three that made it a four-point game, 42-38, and the Lady 'Cats missed both their free-throw attempts following a quick foul. But both a layup try in traffic and an attempted offensive putback were off the mark for Artesia, forcing another foul. This time, Castro went 1-2, and the Lady 'Dogs were unable to answer in the final seconds, falling 43-38.
Lovington's Ashelynn Borunda was high point with 12 in the low-scoring contest, while Whitmire finished with eight for Artesia.
STAT BOX
Lovington 43
Artesia 38
Artesia (10-16, 2-5): Jenna Whitmire 4, 0-2 8; Kailee Padilla 2, 2-5 7; Carmen Harvey 2, 0-0 6; Ashton Craft 2, 0-0 5; Hattie Harrison 2, 0-0 4; Gracen Kuykendall 1, 1-2 3; Brookelyn Thacker 1, 0-0 3; Avery Frederick 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 15, 3-9 38
Lovington (16-11, 4-3): Ashelynn Borunda 4, 3-4 12; Carli Knapp 4, 1-2 10; Malaiya Castro 3, 1-2 8; Aubrey Aranda 3, 0-0 7; Leslie Corral 1, 0-0 2; Jbree Rios 1, 0-4 2; Abigail Shouse 1, 0-4 2
Totals: 17, 5-16 43
Field Goals: Artesia 15; Lovington 17
Three-Pointers: Artesia 5 (Harvey 2, Craft 1, Padilla 1, Thacker 1); Lovington 4 (Aranda 1, Borunda 1, Castro 1, Knapp 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 3-9 (33%); Lovington 5-16 (31%)
Turnovers: Artesia 12; Lovington 20
Fouls: Artesia 12; Lovington 10
Fouled Out: None
BULLDOG BASEBALL
The Bulldog baseball team kicked off its 2025 season Saturday afternoon with a pair of big wins over a same-class opponent.
The 'Dogs travelled to Grants for a noon and 2 p.m. double header, sweeping the host Pirates by finals of 5-1 and 12-6.
It took both squads a bit to get going in their season openers, but Grants got on the board first in Game One with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Artesia responded with two in the fifth, however, and would tack on their final three in the top of seven. The 'Dogs outhit the Pirates 8-3 on the bout, with Frankie Galindo going 3-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI and Kaden Beauregard 2-3. Junior Daelon Pacheco got the win on the mound with three hits, no earned runs, and nine strikeouts through six-and-two-thirds innings.
The teams got off to a quicker start in Game Two, with Artesia taking a 2-1 lead out of the first and expanding it to 6-4 in the second. The Pirates would make it a one-run game in the fourth, 7-6, but the 'Dogs held them scoreless from there while adding two more runs in the fifth, one in the sixth, and two in the seventh en route to the 12-6 final. Artesia was led at the plate in that contest by Galindo, 3-4 with one RBI, and Pacheco and Jett Fuentes, who both went 3-5 with a double and two RBI. Jett Whitmire, Brant Usherwood and Diego Morales all got on the hill in the game, giving up a combined six hits and five earned runs while striking out nine.
The Diamond 'Dogs (2-0) will next head to Alamogordo Thursday, March 6, for a 6 p.m. game against the Class 5A Tigers.
AHS TRACK & FIELD
To say the Artesia High School track and field teams came off the blocks strong for the start of their 2025 season would be an understatement.
The Bulldogs topped the 10-team field Friday at the RISD Early Bird in Roswell, while the Lady Bulldogs tied for second overall. The 'Dogs also picked up six early state qualifications at the meet. The boys' 400-meter and 3200-meter relay teams punched their tickets with respective first-place times of 42.98 and 8:34.67. Elsewhere on the track, Marcous Ornelas topped the field in the 110-meter hurdles with a qualifying time of 16.13. Qualifications in the field included Parker Jarratt in the high jump with a 6'4", and Derek Lopez and Marco Soto in the shot put with throws of 45' and 44'3", respectively.
Full results included:
TRACK
• Boys' 100-Meter Dash
- Haden Harcrow, 4th, 12.29
- Miguel Soto, 7th, 12.36
- Fabian Moya, 8th, 12.45
- Ayden Kenyon, 16th, 12.78
• Boys' 200M Dash
- Haden Harcrow, 3rd, 24.40
- Enrique Barrera, 7th, 24.94
- Fernando Lira, 10th, 25.27
• Boys' 400M Dash
- Jayden Soto, 5th, 56.00
- Branden Almanza, 11th, 59.09
- Santos Calderon, 19th, 1:01.36
• Boys' 800M Run
- Aden Garcia, 2nd, 2:10.06
- Hector Maldonado, 10th, 2:20.89
- Edwin Villarreal, 26th, 2:43.38
• Boys' 1600M Run
- Cameron Devenport, 4th, 5:05.04
• Boys' 3200M Run
- Ethan Johnson, 5th, 12:28.69
- Edwin Villarreal, 9th, 12:59.53
• Boys' 110M Hurdles
- Marcous Ornelas, 1st, 16.13 *
- Jayden Soto, 8th, 19.69
- Josiah Carrillo, 10th, 21.30
- Xavian Hernandez, 11th, 21.36
• Boys' 300M Hurdles
- Marcous Ornelas, 2nd, 42.58
- Xavian Hernandez, 11th, 48.92
- Josiah Carrillo, 13th, 49.83
- Demitrius Aguilar, 15th, 49.98
• Boys' 400M Relay
- Artesia "A", 1st, 42.98 *
• Boys' 800M Relay
- Artesia "A", 2nd, 1:36.76
• Boys' 1600M Relay
- Artesia "A", 1st, 3:35.06
• Boys' 3200M Relay
- Artesia, 1st, 8:34.67 *
• Girls' 100M Dash
- Charlotte Combs, 6th, 14.74
- Braelynn Gurrola, T-14th, 15.31
- Ailyn Lopez, 23rd, 16.04
• Girls' 200M Dash
- Braelynn Gurrola, 12th, 31.08
- Ailyn Lopez, 21st, 32.83
- Swayzee Folmar, 30th, 35.22
• Girls' 400M Dash
- Charlotte Combs, 14th, 1:15.18
- Swayzee Folmar, 21st, 1:23.79
• Girls' 800M Run
- Sorrel Sheffield, 2nd, 2:45.99
- Esmeralda Sorrells, 5th, 2:52.49
- Mckenna Drake, 14th, 3:04.49
• Girls' 100M Hurdles
- Kenzie Padilla, 3rd, 19.42
• Girls' 300M Hurdles
- Kenzie Padilla, 3rd, 55.41
- Brinley Plaster, 6th, 57.52
- Kacy Neel, 7th, 57.59
• Girls' 1600M Run
- Esmeralda Sorrells, 5th, 6:24.01
• Girls' 400M Relay
- Artesia "A", 2nd, 52.66
• Girls' 800M Relay
- Artesia "A", 2nd, 1:51.32
• Girls' 1600M Relay
- Artesia "A", 1st, 4:25.34
• Girls' 3200M Run
- MacKenzie Norton, 1st, 14:07.58
FIELD
• Boys' High Jump
- Parker Jarratt, 2nd, 6'4" *
• Boys' Long Jump
- Fabian Moya, 4th, 18'10"
- Ulises Montanez-Acosta, T-7th, 18'5"
- Esiah Sais, T-7th, 18'5"
• Boys' Triple Jump
- Dylan Quiroz, 2nd, 40'
- Cris Pando, 3rd, 38'2.25"
- Fernando Lira, 8th, 37'1"
• Boys' Pole Vault
- Ulises Montanez-Acosta, T-4th, 8'6"
- Damian Perches, T-7th, 8'
• Boys' Discus
- Derek Lopez, 6th, 92'4"
• Boys' Shot Put
- Derek Lopez, T-2nd, 45' *
- Marco Soto, 4th, 44'3" *
• Boys' Javelin
- Jayden Leyva, 1st, 138'2"
- Miles Love, 8th, 95'5"
- Jordan Gonzalez, 14th, 86'9"
- Eli DeHoyos, 19th, 76'10"
• Girls' Pole Vault
- Kenzie Padilla, T-1st, 7'6"
• Girls' Discus
- Natalie Medrano, 6th, 70'5"
• Girls' Long Jump
- Swayzee Folmar, 8th, 11'7.5"
• Girls' Triple Jump
- Charlotte Combs, 5th, 29'3.5"
• Girls' Shot Put
- Brooklynne Ivans, 3rd, 32'3.5"
- Lily Klingshirn, 4th, 29'
• Girls' Javelin
- Makaylee Morillon, 1st, 91'8"
- Natalie Medrano, 5th, 57'8"
- Emma Navarrette, 6th, 57'
* denotes state qualification
On Tuesday, the City of Champions hosted the Artesia Junior High School Invitational at Bulldog Bowl and Morris Field, with both the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs coming in first out of fields of 13 and 14 teams, respectively. Full results included:
TRACK
• Girls' 100M Dash
- Arianny Avitia, 6th, 14.75
- Morgan Hunter, 8th, 15.13
- Isabel Cruz, 13th, 15.27
- Annaly Zuniga, 20th, 16.05
- Jacelyn McWhirter, 23rd, 16.12
- Jazlene Tovar, T-24th, 16.13
- DeLynn McCauley, 29th, 16.25
- Andrea Luna, 36th, 17.49
- Alexa Hernandez, 39th, 18.28
• Girls' 200M Dash
- Annaly Zuniga, 5th, 31.03
- Maddi Arispe, 7th, 31.60
- Syriana Williams, 8th, 31.84
- Jacelyn McWhirter, 10th, 32.27
- Mariela Tovar, 15th, 34.16
• Girls' 400M Dash
- Jaelynn Stroud, 3rd, 1:10.00
- Luisa Gutierrez, 4th, 1:15.00
- Quinley Murray, 12th, 1:21.91
• Girls' 800M Run
- Jocelynn Stroud, 2nd, 2:55.35
- Bridget Arellano, 8th, 3:09.36
- Alison Rodriguez, 9th, 3:09.96
- Daisy Jimenez, 14th, 3:21.00
• Girls' 1600M Run
- Daisy Jimenez, 9th, 6:51.76
- Norie Larsen, 19th, 7:38.52
• Girls' 100M Hurdles
- Adianez Renteria, 4th, 21.57
- Nevaeh DeLaRosa, 8th, 22.09
- Tynlee Whitmire, 12th, 23.33
- Renata Jimenez, 17th, 23.74
• Girls' 300 Hurdles
- Katherine Lewis, 7th, 1:03.49
- Alexia Leyva, 9th, 1:03.95
- Demri Box, 13th, 1:05.81
• GIrls' 400M Relay
- Artesia "A" (Yaretzi Gomez, Molly Mathews, Mariela Tovar, Arianny Avitia)
1st, 58.34
• Girls' 800M Relay
- Artesia "A" (Yaretzi Gomez, Arianny Avitia, Isabel Cruz, Molly Mathews)
4th, 2:09.00
• Girls' 1600M Relay
- Artesia "A" (Bridget Arellano, Katie Miller, Morgan Hunter, Luisa Gutierrez)
2nd, 5:11.17
• Girls' Medley Relay
- Artesia "A" (Quinley Murray, Jocelynn Stroud, Jaelynn Stroud, Adianez Renteria)
4th, 5:22.85
• Boys' 100M Dash
- Christopher Martinez, 19th, 13.78
- Isaac Madrid, 29th, 14.03
- Zayden Archuleta, 31st, 14.18
- Darey Pinon, 35th, 15.01
- Dez Perez, 36th, 15.02
- Jayce Herron, T-37th, 15.61
- Christian Valdoria, 39th, 15.80
- James Felker, T-40th, 15.81
- Atley Starnes, T-40th, 15.81
- Nate Leyva, 43rd, 16.77
- Jesse Johnson, 45th, 17.60
- Tanner Beadle, 47th, 17.78
- Ayden Carnero, 48th, 18.37
• Boys' 200M Dash
- Andrew Riley, 12th, 27.90
- Isaac Madrid, 16th, 28.56
- Kolton Hamilton, 20th, 29.41
- De'Angelo Catano, 22nd, 29.85
• Boys' 400M Dash
- Jonathan Corza, 5th, 1:01.00
- Zayden Archuleta, 10th, 1:03.72
- Jack Worley, 26th, 1:13.63
- Daven Osburn, 35th, 2:07.00
• Boys' 800M Run
- Noel Ceniceros, 6th, 2:35.26
• Boys' 1600M Run
- Aaron Allison, 4th, 6:00.72
- Azael Luna, 7th, 6:08.63
- Ty Thompson, 10th, 6:14.39
- Grayden Washichek, 16th, 6:34.49
• Boys' 110M Hurdles
- Braxton Norman, 3rd, 19.98
- JC Apodaca, 14th, 22.73
- Ty Thompson, 15th, 22.86
• Boys' 300M Hurdles
- Ever Najera, 9th, 53.70
- Colten Plaster, 13th, 55.79
- Milo Schoonmaker, 14th, 56.98
• Boys' 400M Relay
- Artesia "A" (Andrew Riley, Chance Hocker, Logan Rodriguez, Kai Greathouse)
1st, 49.19
• Boys' 800M Relay
- Artesia "A" (Logan Rodriguez, Cruz Hernandez, Joshua Archie Jr., Chance Hocker)
1st, 1:46.00
• Boys' 1600M Relay
- Artesia "A" (Chance Hocker, Aaron Allison, Noel Ceniceros, Kai Greathouse)
2nd, 4:10.20
• Boys' 1600 Medley Relay
- Artesia "A" (Daven Osburn, Cruz Hernandez, Ty Thompson, Azael Luna)
6th, 4:50.18
FIELD
• Girls' High Jump
- Mariela Tovar, T-6th, 3'8"
- Adianez Renteria, T-6th, 3'8"
- Jocelynn Stroud, T-6th, 3'8"
• Girls' Pole Vault
- Katie Miller, 2nd, 5'
• Girls' Long Jump
- Molly Mathews, T-3rd, 12'
- Arianny Avitia, 6th, 11'10"
- Mariela Tovar, T-11th, 10'11"
- Jazlene Tovar, T-21st, 9'9"
• Girls' Triple Jump
- Quinley Murray, 3rd, 28'4.5"
- Jaelynn Stroud, 6th, 26'4.5"
- Adianez Renteria, 7th, 25'10"
• Girls' Shot Put
- Deni Jensch, 1st, 34'2"
- Bridget Arellano, 4th, 29'5.5"
- Katie Dowell, 24th, 22'5"
• Girls' Discus
- Katie Dowell, 6th, 55'7"
- Leila Irvin, 7th, 54'7"
- Brylan Taylor, 9th, 51'1"
• Boys' High Jump
- Kai Greathouse, T-3rd, 5'2"
- Noel Ceniceros, T-18th, 4'6"
• Boys' Pole Vault
- Chance Hocker, 1st, 8'
- Logan Rodriguez, 2nd, 7'
- Andrew RIley, 3rd, 6'6"
• Boys' Long Jump
- Logan Rodriguez, 2nd, 16'11"
- Isaac Madrid, 19th, 14'6"
- Ty Thompson, 26th, 13'5"
• Boys' Triple Jump
- Kai Greathouse, 1st, 38'5.5"
- Kaden Chavarria, 7th, 32'0.5"
- Noel Ceniceros, 8th, 31'3.5"
• Boys' Shot Put
- Daniel Cortez, 3rd, 36'11"
- Kolton Hamilton, 7th, 34'10"
- Nathanael Medrano, 17th, 30'2.5"
• Boys' Discus
- Kolton Hamilton, 3rd, 91'11"
AHS CHEERLEADING
The Artesia High School cheerleaders had another successful outing Saturday at the Lea County Spirit Classic at the Lea County Event Center in Hobbs.
The Artesia girls came away with a trio of trophies, including the biggie: All-Girl Cheer Grand Champions. They also claimed first place in Cheer With Music and second place in Game-Day Cheer. Congratulations, ladies!
Click here to view video from today's competition. The cheerleaders will next travel to Bernalillo Saturday, March 15, for the SXW N.M. Cheer and Dance Competition.