City schools end swim season at states, year-over-year improvement for programs

ALBUQUERQUE — The final whistle blew on the pool deck. 

The 2025-26 high school swim and dive season has come to a close, culminating in this past weekend’s state championships at Albuquerque Academy.

Rio Rancho High and Cleveland High, sending a plethora of athletes to state after a successful season of qualifying times and top finishes, looked for one last achievement to hang their hat on into the offseason.

“We had so many successes in the face of challenges like illness, injuries and jitters,” Rio Rancho head coach Jeremiah Stanton said. “I was really proud of how well everyone did.”

Kendal Moody capped off an impressive sophomore season with a third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, missing out on the top spot by just .18 of a second.

Regardless, Moody took a podium spot in an event she dominated all season long, looking to be the favorite in the category as she heads into the second half of her high school career.

Along with the third-place spot, the Ram girls would take five top-eight finishes on the day. Orla Baiardo would take eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Baiardo and Moody came together with names like Chloe Bagley, Shannon Baiardo, Julia Hodges, Elli Garcia and Kostyn Perry to post three top-eight finishes across three different relay events.

For Cleveland, all eyes were on Guha Hari. Hari finished sixth in the boys 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly and was a key piece in the electric blue’s fifth-place finish in the boys 200-yard freestyle relay with Lucas Espinosa, Dylan Schluep and Mark McLaughlin.

Rio’s boys would also find relay standouts of their own, finishing sixth in both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay, with both teams featuring Ewan Mason, Sean Bogue, Jacob Rice and Caleb Solis.

The Rams finished eighth overall on the boys' side and ninth overall for the girls. Cleveland would be 13th on the boys and 29th on the girls.

“Rio Rancho Swimming as a whole had a lot of fun showing what we can do and what we are capable of,” Stanton said. “Our boys and girls placed higher than we did a year ago at state.”

Through the stopwatch times and the posted numbers, one thing is certain: The growth in Rio Rancho and Cleveland swimming and diving is real, and as the years roll on, the City of Vision’s state title dreams in the pool could grow from fantasy to reality.

“We are building something special here,” Stanton said, “and I'm so lucky to be a part of it.”