Daniel Zuniga
Special to the Artesia Daily Press
Albuquerque- The 2026 NMAA track and field state championships have come to a close, and the two-day event ended with both Artesia teams getting to hop on the podium to collect state trophies on May 16.
“We’re a top program in the state, and we’ve done that consistently for the past five years, so it means a lot to have this payoff,” first-year head coach Adrian Olivas said, who leads both teams. “Coming into this weekend, everything is done. We’ve already done all of the work all year, so it was time to come out and show what you’ve done. I’m proud of them, really proud of them,” Olivas said.
The boys scored 74.5 points en route to a second-place, 4A runner-up finish, while the girls finished in third place with 36 points.
“We came down here to compete. We weren’t really expecting the outcome we got. We did awesome, and I couldn’t be prouder. This is my last year, and we gave it our all,” Artesia senior Gabriela Aguilar said.
In total, Artesia had seven individual state champions.
“At the end of the day, it’s great to be a Bulldog, it’s great to be a part of this tradition, a part of this program, you’ve got to love it,” Artesia sophomore Ulises Montanez-Acosta said.
The boys team dominated the hurdling events. Artesia’s Tootie McNeil claimed the 300m hurdles state title (39.10) and was the state runner-up in the 110m hurdles. Artesia’s Marcos Ornelas won the 100m hurdles with a 14.79 time.
Artesia runner Tootie McNeil races at the state meet on Saturday.
“I am feeling ecstatic. That was a really great race. I had that Albuquerque Academy kid pushing me, as well as the Lovington guy. I am really glad I came out on top,” McNeil said. “Out of my blocks, I really wanted to get out fast, make up that stagger. And, on the curve, keep my stride going, no stuttering. Then, that last 100 is just everything you’ve got.”
Artesia’s Marco Soto secured the three-peat in the shot put and won the event with a 51 ‘7.75 ” toss. Teammate Derek Lopez was right behind Soto and finished in second place with a 50’4” throw.
In the javelin, senior Brant Usherwood had a throw of 173 ’11 “, which topped Portales’ Antonio Bonilla’s top throw of 173’01”. In fact, Artesia claimed four of the top five spots, joining Usherwood in the top five: Jayden Leyva (third place), Cael Houghtaling (fourth place), and Jett Whitmire (fifth place).
As for the girls, it was Ellie McGoughy who owned the pole vault runway; she would secure the state title by clearing 10’6”.
Like the boys, the Artesia girls went one, two in the shot put: senior Brooklynne Ivans took first place with a 37’9” throw, and sophomore Harper Murray took second place with a 36’6” throw. With the state title, Ivans has now won back-to-back state championships in the shot put.
Finally, senior Jenna Whitmire secured Artesia’s third individual state title by sailing the javelin down the green; her throw was marked at 135 ‘4″. Teammate and sophomore Gracen Kuykendall secured fourth place in the javelin with a 118 ‘0 ” throw.
Artesia had many track and field athletes on double duty Friday and Saturday. A few players also played for the baseball and softball teams that were competing in the state title games at the UNM fields right across the street.
“We’re doing a really good job of working with other coaches to get the boys and girls out here,” Olivas said. “Everyone’s 100% invested in it, and that’s just Artesia for you.”
Brant Usherwood and Jett Whitmire play for the baseball team, and Jenna Whitmire plays for the softball team.
Some other notable performances came from Cael Houghtaling, who was able to clear 6’0” in the high jump, which earned him third place. Houghtaling had a busy day and also finished as the runner-up in the triple jump (44’2.5’ mark).
The Artesia boys’ 4x200m and 4x400m relay teams had strong finishes and earned a couple of third-place medals. McNeil’s leg in the 400m was lightning quick and had the Bulldogs in first place before the hand-off.
Artesia relay runner Marlyn Corza runs in the relays at the state meet on Saturday. The Artesia girls would finish third at state.
The Artesia girls’ 4x200m relay team nearly edged Albuquerque Academy in the prelim round with a 4:15.79 time (just a second short of Academy). Then, in the finals, the Bulldogs finished in fifth place behind a 4:13.53 time, which wasn’t too shabby considering the amount of talent in the finals.
“This is my favorite relay that I’ve run with. I think we are very positive together, we push each other really hard, and we know what we can do,” Artesia sophomore Kaidence Hnulik said.
The 4x200m relay included Gabriela Aguilar, Marlyn Corza, Kaylee Berdoza, and Hnulik. Aguilar is the lone senior, while the rest are sophomores.