The Artesia High School bowling team played host to a New Mexico High School Bowlers’ Association regular-season event this past weekend; however, there was nothing about the atmosphere that gave a hint of regular season.
For two days, families and fans of 35 Artesia Bulldogs as well as those of 135 other high school bowlers packed the Artesia Lanes to witness the best high school bowlers in the state compete for division titles.
“I am pretty sure we have hosted this tournament for 15 years, and I don’t remember any of them having the non-stop excitement that we had in the bowling center from Friday’s first squad, through the Friday night Dan Harvey Sr. Memorial, to the all-day Saturday squads,” said head bowling coach Ken Clayton.
The Artesia No. 1 Advanced team was prepared to show the home crowd that they were on top of their game. Beginning with a solid 1,008 game led by Payton DeMerritt’s 227, Tyler Romine’s 217 and Jace Mile’s 216, the Bulldogs found themselves trailing a strong Rio Rancho team by 29 pins.
Game Two saw freshman Miles finish his game with the final eight strikes for a strong 267 game, DeMerritt add a 232, and Hagen Murph roll a 186 and Chase Collins a 180 for the Bulldogs to post a 1,029 game and take a 29-pin lead to the Baker game portion of the tournament.
“Baker games are the place to make a move and to make some noise, and the Artesia No. 1 team had the house rocking,” said Clayton. With the first three Baker-game scores of 222, 237 and 220 the Bulldogs took a commanding lead they carried through the final four Baker games to claim the Artesia Invitational Advanced Division title by nearly 200 pins. Miles led the team with a 483 two-game series, followed by DeMerritt at 459.
Artesia High’s second Advanced Division team had some strong scoring and was led by Ayden Gomez (247-170-417), Brent McIntire (218-184-402), Brenden Depew (191-189-380) and Mason Jeter (190).
The Intermediate Division had nine strong teams competing, including three Artesia High teams.
“Our bowlers have such high averages it is hard to not be competing against each other in the top divisions,” said Clayton. “It really is a nice problem to have, and Coach Weddige and I are not complaining.”
Artesia No. 4 saw junior Kambry Collins jump out with a season-high 258 game, as well as games of 183 by Sebastian Gonzalez and 180 by Angelo Silvas. The high scoring continued in Game Two, with Silvas throwing nine strikes in his 269 game and Collins adding a 182 game to give Artesia No. 4 a solid division lead.
Baker games of 220-195 and 190 locked up the Intermediate Championship for the AHS bowlers. Silvas led the champions with his 449 two-game series, followed by Collins at 440.
“With 35 bowlers, we are barely able to field a Rookie Division team, although we officially have 15 rookies,” Clayton said. “I can promise you the kids at the bottom of the list work as hard as the kids at the top of the list. Coach Weddige works with the Rookie Division the most and has made them so much better.”
If anyone needed proof of the competitiveness of the Artesia Bulldog Rookie Team, a championship win by 384 pins would answer that question. Artesia No. 7 was led by Tyler Davidson (151-144), Elijah Miranda (143-123), Aaron Ortega (140) and Kaine McCall (114).
Additional Bulldog bowlers with strong performances included Beau Medley (200), Diego Molina (196), Jeremiah Chavez (190), Damian Lopez (189), Jacob Parrish (188), Aiden Dawkins (185), Justice Aragones (184), Maggie Morris (176), Ricardo Hueta (172), Talyn Pacheco (169) and Jackson Parker (160).
“We as a team cannot thank everyone enough for the support we have received,” said an emotional Clayton. “From our school administration, our parents, our sponsors, and Les and his staff at Artesia Lanes. Our kids and Coach Weddige and I are blessed, and I promise you with everyone’s help, we are changing lives.”
