Mike Smith
Artesia Daily Press
msmith@currentargus.com

A second-place finish at their own cheer competition Feb. 22 has not discouraged Artesia High School’s cheerleaders – the squad is determined to win the first-place trophy at next month’s state spirit championships in Albuquerque.

“We are thankful for the opportunity to perform in front of our home crowd and get the feedback we needed from this competition to help us on our journey to state,” Coach Sabrina Roybal said in a text message the day after Artesia tied with Goddard High School for second place in the cheerleading with music portion of the City of Champions Classic at the Bulldog Pit in Artesia.

Deming High School won first place as 38 teams from small and large districts from across New Mexico traveled to Artesia for the cheer and dance competition.

Last year, the Bulldogs finished fifth in 4A in the state finals. Goddard finished fourth, Albuquerque Valley finished third, Albuquerque St. Pius X was second and Taos finished first.

Junior cheerleader Jase Starnes said tying for second with Artesia’s district rival Goddard could serve as a “wake-up call” for the March 21 state competition.

“It was a little rough for some of us, but in reality, we all know it’s going to push us and make us better,” Starnes said. “A glow stick has to break before it glows.”

Both Roybal and Starnes said the cheer season has been good for Artesia.

The Bulldogs won first place in cheer with music at the Jan. 11 Rocket Spirit Blast at Goddard High School in Roswell. Two weeks later, at the New Mexico State University Spirit Championship in Las Cruces, Artesia won first place in cheer with music against 4A and 5A schools from New Mexico along with second-place trophies for game day and cheer with music.

The Bulldogs have two more competitions before state, including the March 1 Lea County Spirit Classic at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs and the Spirit Xpress West Competition at Bernalillo High School on March 15.

Roybal said those events should help her team move forward in its pursuit of a state championship.

“We take all the feedback we get from the judges to improve our routine and take us to the next level,” she said. “We have some pretty awesome routines, and our goal is to execute these routines to the best of our abilities and put on a show for fans.”

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-308-8734 or email at msmith@currentargus.com.