Abbie Sims can’t remember a time when she wasn’t playing sports.

"For as long as I can remember, I’ve been playing something," the Artesia High School senior says. "I know I started competing back in tee-ball."

But the AHS three-sport athlete has come a long way from her humble beginnings with the Artesia Girls Softball Association summer league tee-ball teams.

Her senior season of volleyball freshly over, she still has the 2002-2003 basketball and softball seasons to look forward to.

She has a promising Division 1 collegiate softball career in her near future.

Sims is also eager to embark on her chosen career path: architecture.

"I want to be an architectural engineer...I want to build beautiful buildings," the cheerful 18-year-old laughs.

And with a 4.0 GPA and a winning attitude, the sky is definitely the limit for Sims.

Born and raised in Artesia, this will mark Sims’ third year of participating in Bulldog volleyball, basketball and softball.

While she enjoys all three, she admits that her favorite is softball.

"I just have more of a passion for it," she says. And with good reason.

Sims’ devastating pitching was a main force behind the Lady Bulldogs’ winning season in 2002.

On May 4, she pitched her second of two no-hitters in a single month to propel the team to the state tournament, where they took third place.

She was named a member of the All-District first team for 2002 and was awarded the Top Arm and MVP awards at the Lady Bulldogs’ annual end-of-season banquet.

Sims credits her success to her natural love of competition and strong desire to win.

"I love to compete," says Sims. "I could be playing tiddlywinks and be competitive. I just enjoy the whole competition atmosphere."

Her success, however, is not limited to athletics.

Along with her perfect academic record, Sims is involved in Student Council, International Club and ASTRA, is an Honor Society officer and a Rotary student, and was a 2002 delegate to Girls State.

In her spare time, she enjoys participating in activities at her church, such as her weekly Bible study.

She, along with most other athletes who also excel in the classroom, says that it’s hard to maintain the balance between sports and school, particularly on road trip nights.

"It’s hard, especially when you’re coming back on bus trips and you don’t want to study, you just want to gossip with your girls," Sims laughs.

But her dedication to both sport and study has paid off.

Sims is currently verbally committed to play softball for North Carolina State University and will sign her official letter of intent on Nov. 13.

"I’m kind of nervous, with it being so far away," says Sims. "But ever since I was old enough to realize there was such a thing as college softball, I’ve always wanted to play Division 1.

"I know the competition at that level is going to be unbelievable, but I’m excited to take on the challenge."

Sims says she knows that, through the potentially difficult transition from high school to a college several states away, she’ll have the firm support of her family.

Parents Gary and Sara Sims, president and vice-president of J.S. Ward & Son, Inc., older sister Anna, also a former standout pitcher for AHS and at the college level for Simpson College in Iowa, and grandmother Charlene Ward can always be seen at sporting events, cheering on Sims and her teammates.

But before the time for that transition comes, Sims has one last high school softball season to contend with, and she’s determined to make it a successful one.

"I’m excited about the new coach and getting back onto the field," Sims says. "We have so much talent on the team, I think we have a really, really good chance of doing well at state this year.

"We only lost one senior last year, so if we work hard, we should do well in the end."

With four more years of softball ahead of her, Sims is excited about her future opportunities. But she says one thing she’ll definitely miss is competing in the orange and white.

"It’s kind of sad, this being my senior year, especially now that volleyball’s over," says Sims. "I don’t think I’ve really realized yet that pretty soon I’m not going to be a Bulldog anymore.