Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
ARTESIA – Clovis High’s girls notched a first-place team finish while the boys were third in Saturday’s nine-school Artesia Invitational swimming meet.
The Lady Wildcats earned five first-place showings and tallied 217 points, well ahead of runnerup Artesia (146), while the boys scored 80 points to trail the host Bulldogs (145) and Hobbs (100).
The CHS girls added eight new state-qualifying marks during the course of the meet.
Clovis swim coach Vincent de Maio said the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats generally had a good outing while facing many of the teams they’ll see in District 3-4A competition early next month.
“It was a very good meet,” he said. “I thought we swam better than we did at Andrews (the previous weekend).”
The Lady Cats picked up individual wins from senior Julia Spears in the 500 freestyle (5 minutes, 26.11 seconds), junior Claire Palla in the 100-yard freestyle (56.11 seconds) and eighth-grader Mackayla Smith in the 100 backstroke (1:02.12). Palla and eighth-grader Evelee Eugene (56.89) posted the only sub-one-minute times in the 100 freestyle, while Smith (1 minute, 2.12 seconds) went 1-2 in her event with sophomore Molly Kidd (1:03.53).
The Lady Cats won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:44.31 with Palla, sophomore Reagan Cornish, Eugene and Kidd and the 400 freestyle relay in 3:54.90 with senior Julia Spears, Eugene, Kidd and Cornish. Meantime, they ran 2-3 in the 200 medley relay with Smith, junior Lilyan Russell, Spears and Palla (1:57.66) and eighth-grader Cedar Kidd, sophomore Alexis Cornish, junior Niamh McWilliams and sophomore Karissa Buck (2:05.34).
“We’re now faster in our relays than we were at state last year,” de Maio said. “Julia killed it in the 500, and our freestyle and backstroke people are doing well.
“I’m happy, but not satisfied.”
Kidd (2:05.60) and Eugene (2:08.40) went 2-3 in the 200 freestyle, junior Isabel Abril paced a 3-4-5 Clovis finish in the 100 butter fly (1:05.97), eighth-grader Tatum Ford was third in the 500 freestyle (5:49.12) and Spears led a 2-3-4 showing in the 100 breaststroke with Russell (1:14.67) and Buck (1:19.50).
Meantime, the depth-thin Cats were impressive in coming in third. They had a second-place finish from eighth-grader Owen Bobo in the 500 freestyle (5:55.55), and thirds from their 200 medley relay (1:53.10 with senior Aron Salfran, junior Jason Sands, senior Lucas Bobo and eighth-grader Thomas Buck) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:46.33 with Lucas Bobo, Salfran, Buck and Sands).
“It’s definitely a growing year for the boys,” de Maio said. “Lubas Bobo and Aron are definitely leading the way.”
Clovis swimmers will be in Santa Fe on Friday and Saturday for St. Michael’s Griffon Invitational. They’ve added a makeup meet for the following weekend at Albuquerque Academy before traveling to Hobbs on Feb. 8 for District 3-4A competition.
