PICTURED: The Bulldog bowling team poses with its Class 1A-4A state runner-up trophy Feb. 7 at Silva Lanes in Albuquerque.
Artesia High School's top Advanced bowling team entered Silva Lanes in Albuquerque Saturday, Feb. 7, with practically everything in their favor. Through six regular-season tournaments in the New Mexico High School Bowling Association circuit, Artesia 1 had gone undefeated by a wide margin. Their closest competitors throughout? Only their teammates on Artesia 2, who placed second in all six of those events.
After three individual games, the 'Dogs were in the cat bird seat, leading Bernalillo 3,138 to 2,677 in total pins -- the Artesia program's best state three-game series to date. Brenden Depew was riding high for Artesia in the first game, bowling a 231, closely followed by Ayden Gomez (223), Payton DeMerritt (208), Chase Collin (191) and Jace Miles (159). Game Two saw the boys in orange bring the alley to its feet, however, as Miles powered back with eight straight strikes that had fans crossing their fingers for a perfect game. He'd come up just short, rolling a 266, but the Bulldogs had put their full talents on display, at one juncture bowling 14 consecutive strikes as they finished with a tournament-high team 1,087, rounded out by Gomez (215), Collins (214), Depew (201) and DeMerritt (191). The team then closed out individuals strong, with Depew delivering the tourney's second-highest game with a 247, Miles a 204, Gomez a 201, DeMerritt a 194, and Collins a 193.
Disappointingly in the eyes of most, teams' efforts in the opening round are essentially wiped out under the tournament's new format, which uses individuals for seeding into a double-elimination Baker format of two games per match. As such, the 'Dogs' only advantage for their stellar first-round play heading into the final bracket was the top seed. They got straight to work, however, defeating Del Norte 183-181, then moving past the squad that upset them in the state championships last year -- Valley -- with games of 231 and 165. That advanced Artesia into a winners' bracket showdown with Bernalillo, and it was there that, for the first time on the season, the Bulldogs stumbled. Leading the 'Dogs by 10 going into the second game, the Spartans rolled three strikes to take the bout, 204-194.
Artesia was by no means out of the running for the blue. They'd need another win to earn their way back into the final, but, once there, they'd also have to defeat Bernalillo not once but twice. And unfortunately, that turned out to be too tall an order in the end. The Bulldogs got their win over Pojoaque Valley to set their rematch with the Spartans, but Bernalillo was again able to take a lead over Artesia out of the first game of the match before topping the Bulldogs in Game Two, 215-200, to claim the state championship.
It was a bitter pill for the Bulldog bowlers but did not overshadow the athletes' accomplishments over the course of the 2025-26 season. Artesia's Advanced bowlers racked up a host of state and school records on the year and comprised all but one spot on the five-bowler State All-Tournament Team. Depew took top honors with an individual high series of 679, Gomez -- who set an all-time state record with his 225 regular-season average -- with a runner-up 639, Miles with a third-place 629, and Collins with a fifth-place 598. The 'Dogs also continued to make history as the most successful bowling program in the state. Since the tournament was incorporated in 2014, the program has made 11 appearances in the state bowling championship, bringing eight blue trophies home to the City of Champions. The Bulldogs logged a five-peat from 2017-2021 and were back-to-back champs in 2023 and 2024.
PICTURED: The Artesia High School bowling program's seniors, from left, Brenden Depew, Ayden Gomez, Brent McIntire, Payton DeMerritt, Talyn Pacheco and Damian Lopez, pose for a photo prior to boarding the bus for the state tournament.