JT Keith 
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com

The Artesia boys and girls track teams went to the 2025 track and field state championships in Albuquerque on Friday and Saturday looking to make the podium individually and as team medalists. 

The boys finished second to Albuquerque Academy in the state and the girls missed making the team podium by just three points. 

Both teams had individual state champions, and both teams succeeded with several athletes making the top six in the state and standing on the podium. 

Champions 

Artesia’s Brooklynne Ivans earned the state championship in shot put while Hattie Harrison won the 100 meter hurdles. Harrison also ran a time of 14.57 in the 100-meter hurdles preliminaries to break the state record as well as her own school record. 

Artesia’s Marco Soto, who defended his 2024 shot-put championship, is a two-time state champion. 

Bryce Parra won the long jump and was the anchor of the boys’ 4×200 championship relay team. The 4x200m relay team, consisting of Luis Torres, Haden Harcrow, Crecencio Cuellar and Bryce Parra, held off Los Alamos and won the state championship. 

Boys 

Artesia boys’ coach Adrian Olivas said Parra was the high-point athlete for the boys. 

Parra won the long jump and anchored the state champion 4×200 relay team. He finished second in the 200m dash, fifth in the 100m dash and third in the 4x100m relay. 

“He is only a junior,” Olivas said, “so we look forward to having him again next year.” 

Close to winning it all 

Olivas said his runner-up Bulldogs trailed champion Albuquerque Academy by only 3.5 points in the team standings. 

“We expected to be in the running for a Blue Trophy,” Olivas said. “There were several other athletes who performed well. We had to win the final event, the 4x400m relay. The team did everything they could and ran their hearts out. Although we came up short, I cannot express how proud of this relay team I am.” 

Girls 

Hattie Harrison was third in the 300-meter hurdles, Kaylee Berdoza finished fifth in the open 400m, and senior MacKenzie Norton finished in fifth place in the 1600m run. 

Other field event medalists included: Harper Murray, fourth in shot put; Makaylee Morillon, second in javelin; Peyton Barela, second in discus; and Kailee Padilla, fifth in long jump. 

Those performances helped move Artesia’s team into a battle for third place on the podium in the 4x400m relay against Moriarty. 

Artesia girls’ track coach Mandi Lewallen said she was pleased with the performance of her team, which fell just three points short of making the podium against a tough Moriarty squad, 53-50. 

“Our five seniors, Hattie Harrison, Makaylee Morillon, MacKenzie Norton, Esmeralda Sorrells, and Isabel Irvin were a big part of our success – not only this year, but past seasons,” Lewallen said. “We thank them for their hard work, dedication, and leadership.” 

Lewallen said the girls’ track and field team will return a number of state qualifiers next season:  

Ninth graders: Caiya Olivas, Kaylee Berdoza, Marlyn Corza, J’Lee England, Chloe Caley, Kaidence Hnulik, Harper Murray, McKenna Drake and Lexi Devenport. 

Tenth graders: Kenzie Padilla, Jema Molina and Aubrey Allison. 

Eleventh graders: Kailee Padilla, Kaitlyn Addington, Gabby Aguilar, Ashton Craft, ZaLeigh Greer, Brooklynne Ivans, Lily Klingshirn and Peyton Barela. 

jtkeith can be reached at 575-420-0061, or on X@JTKEITH1