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Marching to remember those who lost their lives in the Philippines

Michael Smith
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Marching to remember those who lost their lives in the Philippines

White Sands Missile Range
For the Artesia Daily Press

More than 4K participants reported at 2026 Bataan Memorial Death March

More than 4,500 marchers participated in the 37th annual Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range on Saturday March 21, thanks to the hard work of the dedicated volunteers and support staff.

The Bataan Memorial Death March honors a special group of World War II heroes responsible for the defense of the islands of Luzon, Corregidor and the harbor defense forts of the Philippines. On April 9, 1942, tens of thousands of American and Filipino Soldiers surrendered to Japanese forces. The Americans were Army, Army Air Corps, Navy and Marines. Among those seized were members of the 200th Coast Artillery, New Mexico National Guard.

Col. Andrew “Drew” Morgan, Senior Commander of White Sands Missile Range, addressed the audience at the opening ceremony, encouraging everyone to reflect on this somber moment in history. He emphasized the importance of remembering Bataan and honoring the bravery and resilience of those who endured it.

“Eighty-four years ago, in the crucible of conflict, a terrible chapter in military history unfolded—the Bataan Death March—a trial of unimaginable suffering,” Morgan aid. “But it was also a testament to the unbreakable spirit of human will.”

Because of the forecast for sweltering temperatures, White Sands Missile Range leadership made the difficult decision to shift all participants to a 15.6-mile “Honorary Distance.” This change prioritized participant safety while preserving the essence of the event.

This decision to shift to the 15.6 mile distance reduced the number medical disqualifications to 79 with most related to foot care and leg cramps. In addition, no air or ground transports to local hospitals were required, and no accidents or injuries to the workforce or volunteers were reported.

McAfee U.S. Army Health Clinic Commander Lt. Col. Joseph J. Pavelites said there were no serious injuries and no medical evacuations to hospitals needed.

“Weather reports combined with heat injury modeling techniques informed the commander on risks so that he could engage optimal mitigation strategies,” Pavelites said.

These heat injury risk mitigation strategies included shortening the course to the Honorary Route only, providing ice immersion tanks along the route to help lower core body temperatures, ice sheets, water misters on the route, numerous hydration points and increasing medical personnel during the event.

Organizations that contributed to Bataan 2026 were McAfee Army Health Clinic, BorderRac, University of New Mexico Hospital System, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas, 1st Armored Division, New Mexico Department of Health, Sierra Vista Hospital, Future Healthcare Professionals, American Medical Response.

Morgan and Col. Don Mozer, WSMR Garrison Commander, presented medals to the following teams:

The first place ROTC Heavy Division went to Norwich University Alpha Team, second place ROTC Heavy Division went to Norwich University Bravo Team, and third place ROTC Heavy Division went to Texas State University Alpha Team. The first place ROTC Light Division went to University of Minnesota. The first place for Junior ROTC went to New Mexico Military Institute.

Mozer also recognized those who work behind the scenes to include the close to 2,000 volunteers who help make the event possible.

“I want to thank all the amazing volunteers who step up every year to help. Without them this event would not be possible,” Mozer said.

He also recognized the WSMR FMWR team for all their hard work.

“To our sponsors, our medical and security teams as well, thank you all for the job well done.”

Of the 1,241 support staff and 466 volunteers; 429 were medical service related, 149 were emergency services related, 64 were Garrison operational support, nine were Mission Command Support, four were White Sands Test Center Range Operations for Air Space Coordination, 40 were New Mexico State University ROTC Army, 20 were NMSU ROTC Air Force, 10 were WSMR Navy, 25 were 1 AD Fort Bliss, Texas, two were Holloman Air Force Base Aviation refueling team, 23 Mesilla Valley Ham Radio Operators.

David Grousnick: Be careful online

Michael Smith
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David Grousnick: Be careful online

David Grousnick

First Christian Church

We’re less than three months away from high school and college graduation season, a very exciting and stressful time for students, teachers and parents.

There’s an online company called BrandYourself that claims it has the perfect graduation gift for high school and college students. It’s called the “Student Makeover.” It’s an online service for cleaning up your social media profiles. For $99 or more, the company will scour all your social media profiles and remove what it calls, “risky online references to sex, alcohol, drugs, politics, religion and more.”

The company also does an in-depth search of the Internet to compile a “reputation score” for each client that shows you how “clean” or “questionable” your online reputation is, and what steps you can take to delete troubling posts or pictures.

College and job recruiters use a young person’s social media accounts to decide if they’ll offer you college admission or a job, so cleaning up your social media account is big business these days.

Most of us know what it’s like to do some foolish or crazy stuff in our younger years. Those of us who grew up before social media can leave our regrets in the past because there aren’t a lot of photos or posts about it.

But these days a person’s whole life, every random thought, emotion, insensitive joke and embarrassing picture, can wind up online. And it’s nearly impossible to take this stuff back, unless you hire a company like BrandYourself to delete most of it.

So be careful.

Kate Eichorn wrote a book about the dangers of the online world called The End of Forgetting. In her book she says our online information means we can’t ever forget the past or distance ourselves from it.

In an interview, she said, “My point is that there is something liberating about being able to forget the past and reinvent yourself in the present. Much of growing up, I would argue, is about reinventing yourself multiple times, and that requires being able to forget who you were six months ago, three years ago, or 10 years ago. So forgetting is ultimately about freedom.”

Forgetting is ultimately about freedom. There’s truth to her statement. In what ways does our past define us? In what ways does it inspire us or hold us back? And what does it mean to be set free from our past?

A Mercedes-Benz TV commercial showed one of their cars colliding with a concrete wall during a safety test. Someone then asks a Mercedes engineer why their company does not enforce their patent on their car’s energy-absorbing car body. The Mercedes’ design has been copied by almost every other car maker in the world in spite of the fact that they have an exclusive patent.

The engineer replies in a clipped German accent, “Because in life, some things are just too important not to share.”

Wow! What a great statement. Some things are just too important not to share.

As Christians we believe that the good news of Jesus Christ is one of those things that is too important not to share. No, that is an understatement. We believe that Jesus Christ MUST be shared with our friends, our neighbors, the world.

The work of sharing the news of Jesus Christ we call evangelism. The Christian faith has been advanced through the ages by people who were willing to take upon themselves the responsibility of being evangelists – those who spread the good news of Christ.

In John 4:5-42, we meet an unexpected evangelist. That nameless Samaritan woman, the first unexpected evangelist, is revered in many cultures.

In southern Mexico, La Samaritana is remembered on the fourth Friday in Lent, when specially-flavored water is given to commemorate her gift of water to Jesus. The Orthodox know her as St. Photini, or Svetlana in Russian.

Her name means “equal to the apostles,” and she is honored as apostle and martyr on the Feast of the Samaritan Woman.

Can you do what she did? Invite friends and neighbors? Of course, you can. And we are counting on it at First Christian Church. Bring a friend with you and check us out.

We gather for worship at 10:30 am on Sundays at 11th and Bullock. All are welcome!

Four Artesia Bulldogs named to the All-State team

JT Keith
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Four Artesia Bulldogs named to the All-State team


JT Keith
On Saturday, the New Mexico High School Coaches Association announced that it had selected four members of the Bulldogs’ starting five for the All-State first or second team.

The first team selected starting guards Charlie Campbell IV and Braylon Vega, who joined Nico Sanchez and Juan Limas of reigning state champion Highland. Ely Malakhai of Taos also earned first-team honors.

The committee selected Bulldogs center Clay Kincaid and forward Trent Egeland for the second team, along with Francois Satchivi of Del Norte, Jerry Moody of Highland, and Brayden Giron of Hope Christian.

Artesia opened the season ranked No. 1 and held the top spot until a 64-63 road loss to Portales dropped the Bulldogs from the rankings. Highland remained No. 1 for the rest of the season.

It marked the second straight first-team selection for Campbell. Kincaid repeated as a second-team pick, while Vega had been an honorable mention in 2025.

Bulldogs coach Michael Mondragon said he had never coached a team with four All-State players in the same season.

“I am extremely proud and excited for all four guys,” Mondragon said. “Having all four players selected says everything about what we’re building as a program.”

Each of the four shined throughout the season, but their performances at The Pit in Albuquerque stood out.

Vega scored 40 points in the quarterfinals against Gallup, knocking down 9 of 12 shots from 3-point range.

Artesia center Clay Kincaid makes a shot against Highland center Jerry Moody on Saturday during the state championship game. JT Keith | Artesia Daily Press

Kincaid had 24 points against Hope Christian and followed that with 18 points in the championship game against Highland.

“It is a huge blessing to be named All-State,” Kincaid said. “I am extremely grateful for the last few years. I really appreciate my teammates, coaches, and the community for all the love and support. I hope we have helped build a stronger basketball culture for the upcoming Bulldogs.”

Egeland scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Hope Christian.

“It means a lot,” Egeland said. “None of this would have been possible without the hard work I put in over the last three years. I’m glad I was recognized and that other coaches around the state recognized my talent.”

Campbell, the reigning District 4A Player of the Year, led the Bulldogs’ offense throughout the season.

Mondragon said the recognition reflects more than individual talent.

“This speaks to the consistency, the culture, and the commitment our guys bring every single day,” Mondragon said. “This is not just about individual talent — it’s about accountability, teamwork, and doing things the right way.”

Annie Jung: New Mexico is open for doctors

Michael Smith
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Annie Jung: New Mexico is open for doctors

Annie Jung

If you have ever waited six weeks to see a specialist, driven an hour each way to find a doctor who takes your insurance, or been told your community clinic is closing, you already understand the stakes of physician recruitment and retention. It is not an abstract policy debate. It is your health, and your family’s health, on the line. New Mexico has faced a physician shortage for years — and this session, our state took the most significant action in a generation to fix it.

No single issue has driven more physicians out of New Mexico — or discouraged more from coming — than our medical malpractice environment. For years, the liability climate here was among the most hostile in the country. Punitive damages were being sought in roughly 92% of malpractice cases, creating enormous uncertainty for physicians, independent practices, and the hospitals that anchor care in our communities. Good doctors were leaving. Others simply would not come.

Against all odds, this year the Legislature passed House Bill 99. This was possible only because of the Governor’s support and prioritization of physicians and their patients. Before this law, physicians practiced under constant threat of outsized lawsuits — cases that sought not just compensation for harm, but additional punishment-based damages that bore little relationship to what actually happened in the exam room. HB 99 changes the rules. Lawsuit damages are now more tightly tied to actual costs and real harm. Hospitals are permanently protected within the state’s malpractice fund. The result is a state where physicians can focus on caring for patients rather than practicing defensively.

HB 99 was the centerpiece, but the New Mexico Medical Society has spent years working alongside legislators to address nearly every barrier making our state a difficult place to practice. We tackled the basic economics: doctors treating Medicaid patients — roughly

two of five New Mexicans — were often paid less than it cost to deliver care. We fixed that. Physicians were being taxed on money collected on behalf of insurers. We eliminated that tax. New tax credits make New Mexico more competitive with neighboring states for physician recruitment.

We cut red tape. Insurance credentialing that once took months now takes thirty days. Physicians licensed in other states can begin practicing here far more quickly than before. And we invested in the pipeline — securing over $100 million in loan repayment funding over five years, with awards up to $300,000 over four years, now available to specialists for the first time. For a young physician carrying $250,000 in medical school debt, that changes the calculus of where to build a career.

The initiatives over the last six years have focused on one thing, timely access to quality medical care. Increased access is achieved by having more physicians. More physicians choosing to come to — and stay in — New Mexico means shorter wait times. It means rural communities that have gone without a family doctor finally getting one. It means patients with chronic conditions having a consistent provider who knows their history. It means expectant mothers in underserved areas having access to OB care. The person who no longer has to drive an hour for a routine appointment, or wait six weeks to see a specialist, is exactly who this work was for.

The historic policy changes achieved will allow an environment conducive to health care. The time is now to get the word out to our fine physicians that they are wanted, needed, and honored by New Mexicans. And the time is now to extend serious invitations to physicians across the country that they will be welcomed by patients and lawmakers alike to make their homes and establish their professional practices in our beautiful and grateful state.

Physician access is not a luxury. It is infrastructure — as essential to a community as roads and schools. New Mexico made that investment. And every patient who gets the care they need, close to home, will be proof that it was worth it.

Annie Jung is the Executive Director of the New Mexico Medical Society

Artesia Downtown Lions Club honors March Students

Michael Smith
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Artesia Downtown Lions Club honors March Students

Emily Soto

Parents are Richard and Sonya Soto, sibling Veronica, and Nevaeh.

School activities are Paw Prowlers, student council, BPA, HOSA, Kingdom Seekers. Emily in involved in soccer. Emily has honor roll and is Student Body President. Her favorite subject are language and history.

Activities outside of school are going out with friends and family. Hobbies are listening to music, pickleball and soccer.

Emily plans to attend NMSU and major in radiology.

Jaslyn Granado

Parent Shelly Granado, two siblings Jadrien Perez, and Jadrek Granado.

Jaslyn favorite subjects are math and U.S. Government. Activities outside of school are gym, work and church. Hobbies are drawing and going to the gym. Jaslyn plans to attend UNM and major in Biology or Pre-Med.

Javier Rodriguez

Parents are Lisa and Javier Rodriguez, sibling Miya Rodriguez. School activities are National Honors Society, DECA. Sports swimming. School Honors DC Prin of Democracy, DC Eng/Lit Comp, DC Stat Method, Anatomy and Physiology H.

Favorite subject is Anatomy, physiology, and history. Activities outside of school are video games, running, swimming, and spending time with family. Javier plans to attend Texas Tech University to major in Pre-Med. Javier has made state for swim. He also owns and takes care of multiple pets dogs, cats, chickens. Javier likes to run.

Maddisun Mancha

Parent Cassandra Spain-Mancha. School activities are Artesia FFA reporter, treasurer, Eddy County Fair Board president for 2 years. Maddisun enjoys golf and FFA public speaking. Her favorite subjects are Ag, Biology, Government. Activities outside of school are showing, judging and breeding livestock, Maddisun hobbies are showing livestock locally and nationally, and reading. Maddisun plans to attend OSU or K State to major in animal science, biology.

Cheer coach Sabrina Roybal knows the best is still to come

JT Keith
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Cheer coach Sabrina Roybal knows the best is still to come


JT Keith

For the Artesia Bulldogs cheer team, the opening round put them toe-to-toe with the state’s best.

Artesia scored a 91.3 in its first performance at the Class 4A state competition, trailing five-time defending champion Taos by just half a point entering the second round.

A lower score in the second round proved costly, as the Bulldogs posted a 72.43, eighth-best among 17 teams. Artesia finished fourth overall in what head coach Sabrina Roybal described as the toughest division in the state.

“We went out there with a bang,” Roybal said. “I am so proud of them. In our Game Day routine, the girls were hungry and didn’t miss a beat.”

Roybal said the team had an hour break between performances before returning to the floor. She said the warm‑up session was as clean as any routine she has seen as a coach or former athlete.

“When you’re in the warm‑up room, that’s usually where you see nerves or mistakes,” Roybal said. “But not us. Everything was sharp. It felt really good.”

The team performed well in its second routine, though a brief fall early on left a difficult scoresheet to overcome. Roybal credited the athletes for recovering quickly and finishing strong.

The Bulldogs excelled in the cheer portion of the routine, which accounts for 25 points. All three judges scored Artesia a 24.9 out of 25 in that segment.

“We did a lot of things right,” Roybal said. “We know how small things can affect execution scores at this level.”

Roybal said competitive cheer and dance can be challenging because routines are evaluated so closely, particularly in a deep 4A field. While Artesia delivered a solid performance, the margin for error was thin.

“I do believe we were capable of more,” Roybal said. “When you work that hard and come that close, it stings.”

The Artesia cheer team at the state tournament on Saturday. Todd Fuqua | Artesia Daily Press

Throughout the season, Roybal emphasized the importance of clean execution, noting that even minor slips can affect scoring at the state level.

The Bulldogs remain well-positioned. Ten of the team’s 24 athletes were competing at The Pit in Albuquerque for the first time.

The cheer team also excelled in the classroom, finishing the semester with a 3.71 varsity GPA.

Although Artesia will lose six seniors who competed on the mat, 28 juniors will return next season. The school will hold tryouts near the end of the spring semester.

“It hurt because we knew what we were capable of,” Roybal said. “But this group has a lot to be proud of, and the future is bright.”

Tularosa beekeeper prepares for the spring season

Michael Smith
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Tularosa beekeeper prepares for the spring season

Laurel Berry
Artesia Daily Press

“When you’re working with bees you don’t cut corners,” Norm Bloom said as he tightened the cuffs of his full-body bee suit before sliding long gloves up his arms. Then he grabbed his smoker, which was already full of small sticks and dried grass and leaves and the smallest of fires. He pumped the bellows attached to the side of the can to make copious gray smoke plume from the pointed cap. He aimed the smoke at the entrance to the nearest hive boxes, pumped some more, then set the can down to pry the top off, revealing the hive below.

Bloom has been in the business of bee keeping for the past 13 years or so, but it started when he was a little boy, helping his mom as she tended to hives in the Tularosa area.

“She’d be out there in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, just wearing a veil for protection, climbing up ladders to capture a hive in a tree or something. She’d put them in a box and come back down the ladder.” He shook his head at the memory. “One day, she fell as she was coming down and dropped the box right on her lap. They stung her up pretty good through her jeans.” She wasn’t in the business for the honey, but for the educational opportunities it presented. She would show off the hives to school children and give lessons on bee keeping.

The desire to live a self-sustaining lifestyle is what got Bloom interested in bees. He wanted a steady resource of sugar and figured honey would do the trick. Starting out with a hive of gentle bees that were given to him by a friend, he then bought more hive boxes and ordered a supply of bees from California for $200.

“I drove up to Albuquerque to pick them up from the guy and drove them back home, put them in the new hive boxes, and a week later they were gone. They decided they didn’t like it here and left. That’s when I decided that I was never going to buy bees again.”

He became the guy people call when they want bees removed. He’d climb trees to cut down a branch full of bees, bag them up, put them in his truck and drive them home. Or he’d cut a hive out from under someone’s eves, or from behind their siding. More bee boxes and more hives quickly led to outgrowing his own property. But he knew farmers in the area from High Rolls to Bent who were interested in having hives to help with crop pollination so he worked out a deal. He would maintain the hives on their land and they would get some of the honey every season.

According to the National Honey Board, “managed pollination is the practice of caring for hives and honey bees in order to pollinate the crops that sustain us.” About one-third of the human diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants, and honey bees are responsible for 80 percent of this pollination, “making them a critical component of today’s agricultural market.”

This is Bloom’s first trip of the season to tend to his hives and he will make seven stops over the course of the day, starting with relocating one of his hives from his property up to High Rolls. The property owner, who tends an apple orchard, lost his hives last fall to a bear. This year he has built a sturdy metal cage to house the bee boxes, protecting them from marauding bears. He leaves the new hive in cage and heads for his next stop across the highway in High Rolls. Here, he gets serious with the bee suit and the smoker can. “I want to visit this one early in the day while the weather is still cool because these bees are pretty spicy.”

The bees at this location are almost certainly Africanized honey bees (AHB), which are a hybrid between European and African bee subspecies. It’s nearly impossible to tell from looking at a bee if it is an AHB or a European. To further complicate the matter, the AHB will also hybridize with European honey bees, diluting the AHB genetics. Honey bees are not native to North America. They were brought in by early settlers in the 1600’s for honey and wax production.

“Bees have only been domesticated for about 600 years,” Bloom said. “The honey that they found in tombs in Egypt? That’s from pillaging hives, not tending to them. And it was still good 10,000 years later. Honey doesn’t go bad.”

When he pried the lid off the hives the bees inside reached a fever pitch in their humming and hit his suit and helmet with audible pops. A swirling cloud of bees surrounded him as he pumped smoke first into the hive boxes and then around himself. When bees are alarmed they emit a pheromone to let the rest of the hive know that danger is near. The smoke overshadows the pheromones, keeping the bees a little less frenetic. Bloom takes umbrage with the term killer bees.

“Don’t call them that. They are Africanized honey bees.” As an afterthought, “Though they will kill you.” He actually really likes them, despite their aggression. “They are a hardier bee and they do more foraging so they are more productive.”

As the bees swarmed around his head he removed panels from the hive box, searching for honey, broods, and the elusive queen. Each established hive consists of three boxes. If their stores are adequate, he will leave them all the honey in the lower two boxes, only harvesting from the top box.

“I let them keep all that other honey. That’s theirs. But the honey in the top box is mine. It’s their rent payment.”

He set several panels with honey in a cooler and replaced some broken frames with fresh ones from home. Then he reassembled the hive boxes and hauled his equipment back to his truck, ready to repeat those steps at the next stops.

Once he is back home, Bloom will go through the process of separating the honey from the wax and jarring it. He then melts down the wax to use in candle-making and also to mix with linseed oil to make a wood sealer for the new pergola he just built for his wife. He will clean up the frames, make the necessary repairs, and then return to the hives in a few weeks to see how the bees are fairing and to harvest more honey.

Bloom sells his honey under the label Blue Acres and can be reached via FaceBook. He also specializes in rescuing bee swarms and performing hive cutouts.

Ty Houghtaling: Doubts and fears and love and grace

Michael Smith
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Ty Houghtaling: Doubts and fears and love and grace

Ty Houghtaling

First Baptist Church, Artesia

Often Jesus told people to “just believe” or some version of those words. Often the situations where he said something like that were when people were scared, confused, or hurting. Often we need to hear, “just believe”. Why? Because the world kicks us in the teeth or lies to us and makes us so mad or tempts us to try what everyone else seems to be doing even though we know the Lord is good and will never fail us. You ever just need to be reminded that we are to just believe? Faith takes courage but it is not hope that will let us down, not for real. God will not let us down, it might seem like He does on occasion, but hindsight always brings clarity.

Read 1 Peter 1:3-12. Mediate on it and try and remember Jesus loves us too much to leave us in doubts or fears about His love and grace.

“A coach, a locker room, a family, Artesia basketball”

JT Keith
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“A coach, a locker room, a family, Artesia basketball”

 JT Keith

The Artesia boys’ basketball team spent much of the season on top, carrying a No. 1 ranking and the weight of expectations that came with it. Every opponent treated the Bulldogs like the team to beat, bringing their best night after night.

That run ended on March 14.

Despite returning 10 seniors from last year’s Class 4A state championship team, Artesia fell to Highland 71-62 in the title game, a loss that closed one chapter but underscored how much more the season meant to those involved.

“We didn’t play our best,” coach Michael Mondragon said. “I’m not going to say we played horribly. You have to give Highland credit. I thought they did a good job controlling tempo and making shots at crucial times.”

Mondragon, who has coached three championship games, said those moments often hinge on variables no box score can explain — a loose ball, a whistle, a shot that falls or rims out.

“A lot of it is luck,” he said. “You need something to bounce your way.”

This time, nothing did.

During a pivotal stretch, guard Braylon Vega was called for a travel after finishing through contact for what initially appeared to be an and-one. Mondragon said if the foul had been called on Highland’s Nico Sanchez — the team’s best player — it would have been his fourth, a moment that could have shifted the game.

Instead, play moved on, and so did time.

What lingered long after the final buzzer wasn’t the loss itself, Mondragon said, but the realization that his time with this group was over.

The coach spoke quietly as he talked about the relationships he built with his 12 players — bonds formed over the last two years, since they were sophomores.

“They’re like my sons,” Mondragon said. “I’ve been so close to them.”

JT Keith | Artesia Daily Press

One of his favorite memories came just weeks before the state tournament, when he had the team over for a steak dinner. Players mixed with his children, assistant coaches, and their families — a simple night that reflected how intertwined their lives had become.

“It’s emotional,” Mondragon said. “And it should be. You’re not doing it right if you don’t feel this. And you’re not doing it right if you don’t have relationships.

Artesia guards Braylon Vega and Cael Houghtaling talk during the game against Highland.

“This is so much more than basketball,” he added. “It’s about building relationships with young men who are going to be great dads and husbands. I’m trying not to cry, but it’s hard.”

Throughout the season, Mondragon said the Bulldogs were defined by selflessness. Talent was never the issue.

Players like senior Sawyer Whitehead, he said, were capable of starting for many teams across the state. Instead, Whitehead accepted his role without complaint, never allowing individual ambition to divide the group.

“They never did that,” Mondragon said. “Because it’s about the team. If you want continued success, it has to be the ‘we’ before the ‘me.’ These guys lived that.”

Mondragon said he has never experienced prolonged success in his coaching career until this group. For younger players, he said the Class of 2026 has permanently raised expectations.

“I told our first- and second-year kids that you’ve set the standard,” he said. “We’ve won back-to-back state championships. That doesn’t change. Now it’s time to get in the weight room, get in the gym, and live there if we want to be back.”

The Bulldogs’ recent success speaks for itself. Artesia has won seven District 4A-4 championships, reached the state tournament 12 straight years, and appeared at The Pit nine times in the last 12 seasons.

After the loss, Mondragon gathered his team in the locker room and offered perspective instead of regret.

“This is one to two percent of your life,” he told them. “Don’t let this be the highest moment. There’s a ladder. You climb it one rung at a time. If you look too high, you fall. If you look behind you, you trip.”

For Mondragon, the pride remained.

“I’m proud of the way they finished,” he said. “I’m proud of how they represented our school, our town, our program, and themselves.”

And for a coach who has measured success by relationships rather than trophies, that mattered more than any title ever could.

Vintage rides gather in Artesia for 27th year

Michael Smith
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Vintage rides gather in Artesia for 27th year

Photos by Mike Smith, Artesia Daily Press

Cars, pickups, motorcycles, tractors and bicycles gathered in Artesia this weekend for the annual Main Event Car Show and Cruise.

Residents from near and far marveled at the machinery from previous decades as owners answered questions of the public on Saturday in downtown Artesia.

Sponsored by the Artesia Chamber of Commerce and the Artesia Car Enthusiasts, this year marked the 27th anniversary of the annual spring event.

More information on the show is coming next week to this website and in Thursday’s newspaper.

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