BULLDOG BASKETBALL

PICTURED: Cael Houghtaling puts up a jumper during Artesia's Jan. 21 game against Roswell High at Bulldog Pit.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

When you're the top dog, you get everyone's A game. That's a given in the world of sports, and the Runnin' 'Dogs certainly got Lovington's Friday in Wildcat Country. But the Class 4A top-ranked Artesia boys buckled down in the second half and turned a 27-27 halftime tie into a 13-point win, 59-46, in their 2024-25 District 4-AAAA opener.

The Bulldogs got off to a quick start against the 'Cats in a raucous Lovington gym, as Charlie Campbell followed a short-range jumper by Clay Kincaid with an old-fashioned three-point play before Kincaid put an exclamation point on a 7-0 lead with a dunk. But Lovington would outscore Artesia 17-6 from there -- with the help of a trio of three-pointers -- to lead 17-13 going into the second.

On six points from senior guard Kayle Covington, the Wildcats bumped their lead to eight, 23-15, early in that period. Artesia was finally able to put together an offensive run in the final four minutes of the half, however, knotting the game at 27-all on a jumper and a trey by Braylon Vega, a bucket and a free throw from Campbell, and a Jack Byers offensive putback.

Campbell had a big third for the Bulldogs, popping a three to kick off the third quarter and following it up with a successful and-one. He'd chase another bucket with one from beyond the arc later in the quarter, and that -- combined with a basket each from Kincaid, Trent Egeland and Byers -- had Artesia up by nine, 44-35, going into the fourth.

Lovington briefly trimmed their deficit to six as Mika Pando drained a wide-open three-pointer in the opening seconds of the final period, but the 'Dogs were able to begin putting the contest out of reach from there. Six unanswered -- four from Campbell and two by Egeland -- gave Artesia a double-digit lead, and Campbell would tack on six more in the final minutes to lead the boys in orange to the 59-46 district-opening win.

The junior Campbell led all scorers on the night with 27 points, followed by Kincaid with 13. Covington finished with 18 for the Wildcats.

The Runnin' 'Dogs (13-7, 1-0) will now prepare to take on the district's other 1-0 team, Portales, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, at Bulldog Pit. The Rams (11-9) opened their D4 slate Friday with a 54-38 win over Goddard at home.

Get your tickets online now and come out Tuesday to support Artesia basketball!

STAT BOX

Artesia 59
Lovington 46

Artesia (13-7, 1-0): Charlie Campbell 11, 3-4 27; Clay Kincaid 6, 1-1 13; Braylon Vega 3, 0-0 7; Jack Byers 2, 0-0 4; Trent Egeland 2, 0-0 4; Corbyn Dominguez 1, 0-0 2; Cael Houghtaling 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 26, 4-5 59

Lovington (13-8, 0-1): Kayle Covington 7, 4-5 18; Danny Criswell 4, 0-0 9; Mika Pando 3, 0-0 9; Donnivan Gomez 2, 2-2 7; Eijah Rivero 1, 0-2 3; Ondalis Cardenas 0, 0-2 0
Totals: 17, 6-11 46

Field Goals: Artesia 26; Lovington 17
Three-Pointers: Artesia 3 (Campbell 2, Vega 1); Lovington 6 (Pando 3, Criswell 1, Gomez 1, Rivero 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 4-5 (80%); Lovington 6-11 (55%)
Turnovers: Artesia 19; Lovington 11
Fouls: Artesia 12; Lovington 8
Fouled Out: None

LADY BULLDOG BASKETBALL

PICTURED: Avery Frederick prepares to go up in the paint during the Lady Bulldogs' Jan. 21 game against Roswell High at Bulldog Pit.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

Going 0-4 through the final four games of regular-season play -- with three of those losses coming against tough Class 5A competition -- the Lady Bulldogs were looking for a fresh start in the second season. And Friday in Lovington, they got just that. The girls in orange came out strong and held tough down the stretch in their District 4-AAAA opener, and the result was a big 41-37 win over the Class 4A eighth-ranked Lady Wildcats.

Lovington got a game-opening three from Malaiya Castro that was answered in kind by Kailee Padilla, but from there, both teams struggled to put points on the board amidst a slew of turnovers. Artesia found its offensive groove in the latter half of the quarter, however, posting 11 unanswered on an offensive putback and breakaway layup off the steal by Padilla, a Carmen Harvey trey, and a bucket each from Ashton Craft and Avery Frederick.

That put the Lady 'Dogs up 14-4 going into the second, and they continued to lead by 11, 20-9, as the half fell under six minutes thanks to a longball from Brookelyn Thacker and a Hattie Harrison putback. But the Lady 'Cats were able to swiftly erase that deficit as their shots began to fall from beyond the arc. Aubrey Aranda delivered back-to-back three's and Ashelynn Borunda added one to make it a one-shot game, 20-18, with 2:30 still to go in the second. An old-fashioned three-point play by Lovington's Abigail Shouse would've turned the tables, but it was sandwiched by another putback and a pair from the free-throw line by Harrison to keep Artesia up by three at the break, 24-21.

The Lady 'Dogs were able to hold Lovington to single-digit scoring once again in the third, and it gave them another needed boost. Forcing seven Lady Wildcats turnovers, the girls in orange got two buckets and a free throw from Jenna Whitmire, a pair of shots in the paint from Frederick, and a coast-to-coast layup from Padilla to outscore the 'Cats 11-5 and take a 35-26 lead into the fourth.

There, the Lady Wildcats made a run, scoring six quick points on Artesia turnovers. Harrison did their best to fend them off with a three and a shot on an inbound pass under the basket, but Lovington was still able to get back within a shot, 40-37, on a trifecta from Borunda with just over a minute to go. Artesia was able to chew the clock down to 19 seconds as the 'Cats ran through the final fouls they had to give, but the Lady 'Dogs would throw the ball out of bounds to give Lovington one last chance. The missed three-point attempt was rebounded by Whitmire, and Padilla was fouled with five seconds remaining in the game. She went 1-2 to ultimately round out the final, 41-37.

Harrison and Borunda tied for high-point honors with 11 each for their respective teams, while Padilla finished with 10 and Whitmire and Frederick six each.

The Lady Bulldogs (9-11, 1-0) will now join the Bulldogs in hosting Portales Tuesday, Feb. 4, at Bulldog Pit. The Artesia girls will tip off at 5:30 p.m. against the 4A seventh-ranked Ramettes (11-9, 1-0), who also opened district with a win Friday over No. 9 Goddard, 54-40 in Portales.

Get your tickets online now and come out Tuesday to support Artesia basketball!

STAT BOX

Artesia 41
Lovington 37

Artesia (9-11, 1-0): Hattie Harrison 4, 2-2 11; Kailee Padilla 4, 1-2 10; Avery Frederick 3, 0-0 6; Jenna Whitmire 2, 2-4 6; Carmen Harvey 1, 0-0 3; Brookelyn Thacker 1, 0-0 3; Ashton Craft 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 16, 5-8 41

Lovington (12-9, 0-1): Ashelynn Borunda 4, 1-4 11; Aubrey Aranda 3, 0-0 9; Malaiya Castro 2, 2-2 7; Abigail Shouse 2, 2-2 6; Carli Knapp 2, 0-0 4
Totals: 13, 5-8 37

Field Goals: Artesia 16; Lovington 13
Three-Pointers: Artesia 4 (Harrison 1, Harvey 1, Padilla 1, Thacker 1); Lovington 6 (Aranda 3, Borunda 2, Castro 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 5-8 (63%); Lovington 5-8 (63%)
Turnovers: Artesia 23; Lovington 19
Fouls: Artesia 13; Lovington 17
Fouled Out: None

AHS BOWLING

PICTURED: The Artesia High School bowling team poses with their Class 4A state runner-up trophy Saturday in Albuquerque.
(Photo Courtesy Ken Clayton)

The Bulldog bowling team was once again the program to beat at the New Mexico High School Bowling Association (NMHSBA) state championships. And everyone knew it.

The possibility of taking down the favorite is a powerful motivating factor, and as fate would have it Saturday at Silva Lanes in Albuquerque, it saw the Valley Vikings through what looked on paper like too tall an order. The Vikings had to beat the Bulldogs not once but twice to take the Class 1A-4A title, and on strike after strike, they got it done.

While the Artesia bowlers came just a few pins short of hoisting their 10th blue trophy, their dominance over the course of the season leaves no doubt about their status as champions. The Bulldogs also made Artesia proud by earning scholarship funds through cumulative season awards from the NMHSBA. Award winners included:

PICTURED: Brenden Depew, left, and Ayden Gomez pose with their certificates. Depew was the NMHSBA's High-Average Male for the 2024-25 season with an average of 205, earning him a $500 scholarship, and Gomez the Second High-Average Male with a 203, earning him a $400 scholarship.
(Photo Courtesy Ken Clayton)

PICTURED: Kambry Collins poses with her certificate as the NMHSBA's Second-High-Series Female for the 2024-25 season. Her 396 series earned her a $200 scholarship.
(Photo Courtesy Ken Clayton)

PICTURED: Kambry Collins, left, and Hagen Murph pose with their patches and certificates as Class 4A All-State Team selections. Both received $200 scholarships.
(Photo Courtesy Ken Clayton)

PICTURED: Mason Jeter, left, and Payton DeMerritt pose with their certificates. DeMerritt was the NMHSBA's Third-High-Series Male for the 2024-25 season with a series of 475, earning him a $175 scholarship, and Jeter the Fourth-High-Series Male with a 474 series, earning him a $150 scholarship.
(Photo Courtesy Ken Clayton)

Watch Artesia compete in the opening rounds of the tournament by clicking here, and watch the state championship match here.

AHS SWIMMING

The Artesia High School swim teams competed well against some of their fellow top-tier squads Saturday at the Tom Casey Memorial in Albuquerque. In their final regular-season competition of the year, the Bulldogs came in fifth overall and the Lady Bulldogs seventh out of the meet's stacked 16-team fields.

The Artesia teams racked up 17 state-qualifying times at the meet, with Ann Greenwood placing first in the girls' 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.73 (qualifying mark: 1:14.59), Eli DeHoyos tying Centennial's Joshua Campion atop the podium with a time of 1:00.77 (qualifying mark: 1:07.09) in the boys' 100 breaststroke, and the boys' 400 freestyle relay team of DeHoyos, Aidan Ciro, Andree Bautista and Layton Whitmire besting their competitors with a top time of 3:25.43 (qualifying mark: 3:46.39).

All state-qualifying swims included:

• Girls' 200-Yard Medley Relay
- Artesia "A" (Johanna Padilla, Ann Greenwood, Addisyn Hartman, Sarah Plotner)
4th, 1:57.06
• Boys' 200 Medley Relay
- Artesia "A" (Layton Whitmire, Eli DeHoyos, Aidan Ciro, Andree Bautista)
2nd, 1:42.14
• Girls' 200 Individual Medley
- Ann Greenwood, 3rd, 2:17.75
- Addisyn Hartman, 6th, 2:22.72
- Johanna Padilla, 15th, 2:30.97
• Boys' 200 IM
- Aidan Ciro, 3rd, 2:04.28
• Boys' 50 Freestyle
- Layton Whitmire, 3rd, 22.56
- Eli DeHoyos, 6th, 22.91
• Girls' 100 Butterfly
- Addisyn Hartman, 4th, 1:02.49
• Boys' 100 Freestyle
- Aidan Ciro, 4th, 48.88
• Girls' 500 Freestyle
- Sarah Plotner, 9th, 5:54.95
• Girls' 200 Freestyle Relay
- Artesia "A" (Addisyn Hartman, Johanna Padilla, Ann Greenwood, Sarah Plotner)
7th, 1:47.97
• Boys' 100 Backstroke
- Layton Whitmire, 5th, 59.61
• Girls' 100 Breaststroke
- Ann Greenwood, 1st, 1:07.73
- Morgan Fisher, 6th, 1:14.26
• Boys' 100 Breaststroke
- Eli DeHoyos, T-1st, 1:00.77
• Boys' 400 Freestyle Relay
- Artesia "A" (Aidan Ciro, Andree Bautista, Layton Whitmire, Eli DeHoyos)
1st, 3:25.43

All other results included:

• Girls' 200 Medley Relay
- Artesia "B" (London Acosta, Morgan Fisher, Anikah Wisen, Carly DeHoyos)
16th, 2:14.24
- Artesia "C" (Tynlee Whitmire, Amanda Murphy, Ella Thomas, Aylin Yescas)
28th, 3:01.90
• Boys' 200 Medley Relay
- Artesia "B" (Alec Ciro, Dylan Florez, Javier Rodriguez, Chaz Rogers)
17th, 2:01.09
• Girls' 200 Freestyle
- Sarah Plotner, 10th, 2:09.54
- London Acosta, 19th, 2:29.39
• Boys' 200 Freestyle
- Dylan Florez, 13th, 2:13.82
- Javier Rodriguez, 17th, 2:16.50
• Girls' 200 IM
- Anikah Wisen, 24th, 2:43.48
• Girls' 50 Freestyle
- Amanda Murphy, 59th, 32.49
- Tynlee Whitmire, 70th, 34.08
- Aylin Yescas, 84th, 45.58
• Boys' 50 Freestyle
- Andree Bautista, 18th, 24.39
- Chaz Rogers, 53rd, 28.02
• Boys' 100 Butterfly
- Javier Rodriguez, 12th, 1:07.78
• Girls' 100 Freestyle
- Morgan Fisher, 9th, 1:00.62
- Anikah Wisen, 16th, 1:03.58
- Ella Thomas, 47th, 1:26.25
- Evelyn Yeager, 51st, 1:37.45
• Boys' 100 Freestyle
- Andree Bautista, 15th, 54.67
- Chaz Rogers, 36th, 1:03.41
• Girls' 500 Freestyle
- Carly DeHoyos, 21st, 6:39.84
• Boys' 500 Freestyle
- Alec Ciro, 13th, 6:29.13
• Girls' 100 Backstroke
- Johanna Padilla, 12th, 1:07.37
- London Acosta, 22nd, 1:17.07
- Tynlee Whitmire, 37th, 1:26.12
- Ella Thomas, 44th, 1:42.23
• Boys' 100 Backstroke
- Alec Ciro, 15th, 1:08.80
• Girls' 100 Breaststroke
- Carly DeHoyos, 14th, 1:20.44
• Boys' 100 Breaststroke
- Dylan Florez, 12th, 1:15.10
• Girls' 400 Freestyle Relay
- Artesia "A" (Carly DeHoyos, London Acosta, Anikah Wisen, Morgan Fisher)
11th, 4:22.23

The Bulldog and Lady 'Dog swimmers will now be chasing district titles against Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Centennial, Clovis, Gateway Christian, Hobbs, Las Cruces High, Lovington, Mayfield and NMMI at the District 3-4 Meet. The meet is set to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, in Hobbs.

AHS WRESTLING

PICTURED: Esmeralda Sorrells, top, and Hagan Crockett have their arms raised after defeating their Alamogordo opponents Thursday at the old boys' gym.

The AHS wrestling teams hosted their final regular-season duals Thursday at the old boys' gym, with the Lady Bulldogs coming out on top over Alamogordo, 42-12, and the Bulldogs coming up just short of the visiting Tigers, 45-30.

In girls' action, Isabel Irvin, Anna Lee Sorrells, Kylie Rodriguez, Esmeralda Sorrells and Peyton Stone all defeated their Lady Tiger opponents in the 100- through 126-pound weight classes, while Katie Dowell and Mattie Smith also added six points each for Artesia with their wins. On the boys' side, Alamogordo swept the 107- through 133-pound and 160- through 189-pound weight classes, but the Bulldogs got victories from Hagan Crockett (139-pound), Samuel Fodge (145-pound), Coby Roark (152-pound), Alejandro Ontiveros (215-pound) and Ethan Shannon (285-pound).

The Artesia boys then headed to Ruidoso Saturday for the Distirct 4 1A-4A duals. In boys' round robin competition, the 'Dogs came in second overall behind Socorro, defeating Cobre 48-15 and Goddard 42-33, and coming up short of Ruidoso 36-40 and Socorro 30-42. Against the Indians, the Bulldogs got wins from Jaedon Smith (133-pound), Crockett (139), Masen Petersen (189), Ontiveros (215), Fodge (145), Roark (152) and Shannon (285). Versus the Rockets, victories were recorded by Smith (133), Crockett (139), Edel Villa (172), Fodge (145), Deion Loya (160), Atley Starnes (121) and Drake Thurman (127). Villa, Petersen, Ontiveros, Roark, Loya and Shannon won their matches against Ruidoso, and Smith, Crockett, Villa, Petersen and Ontiveros got Ws versus Socorro.

The Lady Bulldog JV, meanwhile, spent their Saturday at Mark Pratt's Girls' Oil Patch Invite in Hobbs, with the following results:

• 100-107 Pounds
- Anna Lee Sorrells def. Alayna Petersen (Artesia), 1:16
fell to Allyson Teel (Hobbs), DEC 7-2
def. Lyla Woolsey (Artesia), TF 18-0
fell to Jarelly Navarret (Clovis), :34
def. Petersen (Artesia), MD 9-0 (Third-Place Match)
finished third
- Alayna Petersen fell to Anna Lee Sorrells (Artesia), 1:16
def. Xeomara Garcia (Clovis), 1:32
fell to Allyson Teel (Hobbs), :51
fell to Sorrells (Artesia), MD 9-0 (Third-Place Match)
finished fourth
- Lyla Woolsey fell to Jarelly Navarret (Clovis), :30
fell to Sorrells (Artesia), TF 18-0
• 114 Pounds
- Kylie Rodriguez fell to Zulehiny Mendoza (Clovis), :41 (Round One)
fell to Cerena Fullerton (Clovis), 1:43 (Round Two)
fell to Paisley Landrum (Hobbs), 2:50
finished fourth
• 165 Pounds
- Mattie Smith def. Claudia Puga (Clovis), 2:22
def. Adrianna Carrasco (Carlsbad), 2:38
def. Jayda Padilla (Hobbs), :47
fell to Annika Villanueva (Hobbs), :33
finished second
- Katie Dowell fell to Jayda Padilla (Hobbs), 2:45
def. Adrianna Carrasco (Carlsbad), FF
fell to Annika Villanueva (Hobbs), 1:02
fell to Jayda Padilla (Hobbs), 3:54
finished fourth

Next up for the Artesia teams is the Class 1A-4A Region 2 Tournaments. The girls' event is set for Friday, Feb. 7, in Belen and the boys' for Saturday, Feb. 15, in Albuquerque. Region 2 includes Albuquerque Academy, Belen, Bernalillo, Chaparral, Cobre, Del Norte, Deming, Goddard, Grants, Highland, Legacy Academy, Ruidoso, Santa Teresa, Silver, Socorro, St. Pius, Tierra Encantada, Valencia and Valley.