District swimming: Rams runner-ups, Storm finish third place 

Albuquerque- From Dec.6-7, Rio Rancho and Cleveland high school's swim and dive teams competed at the district championships at the Barney Natatorium at Albuquerque Academy high school. 

"Everyone was really hyped up, and just trying to do their best," Ram swimmer Shannon Baiardo said. "It was a fun day."

The Rio Rancho Rams were the runner-ups while Cleveland finished third.  Academy's swim and dive squads ended up taking the district crowns. 

"This pool is amazing, it's really fast. We rested this week for those that needed rest, and just went out and executed," Rio Rancho head coach Jeremiah Stanton said. 

Here's a breakdown of the scores: 

Rams girls- 303 points (second place)

Rams boys- 389 points (second place)

Cleveland girls-257 points (third place)

Cleveland boys- 208 points (third place)

Some things to note...

The Academy girls scored 197 points more than the next closest team as they are in pursuit of their 10th straight state championship. 

Nonetheless, the Rio Rancho teams had a memorable meet which included another stellar day from Kendal Moody. The Rams star swimmer took first place took first place in both the 50-yard freestyle (25.22),  and the 100-yard freestyle (56.86), 

"We're going to come back very strong. We have a couple more state qualifying times...La Cueva and Academy might need to watch out," Ram swimmer Kendal Moody said.

Another Ram shining was Orla Baiardo who took first place in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:12.08).

"I am really excited. I feel like we improved a lot this season with a ton of new swimmers," Ram swimmer Orla Baiardo said.

The Ram boys squad really put a scare into the eventual district champs, Academy. The Rams were 13 points shy of topping the reigning state champions. At some points of the meet, the Rams were leading.

"We've been preparing all season...battling injury, battling illness like most teams do. We hit almost all of our goals," coach Stanton said.

The Rio Rancho boys had a tremendous team effort in the 500-yard freestyle, and claimed four of the top six spots: Charlie Scott (third place), Xavier King (fourth place), Tatum Meyer (fifth place), and Bentley King (sixth place).

The Rio Rancho boys 400-yard freestyle relay took second place, and the team consisted of Ewan Mason, Jacob Rice, Xavier King, and Caleb Solis. 

Rice was on double duty, and competed as a swimmer and a diver. He also took second place in the 100-yard butterfly  (57.26).

As for the Storm girls, their 400-yard freestyle relay finished third behind a stellar group that included Genavae Mason, Hailey Wagenblast, Ziyah Chavez-Rodriguez, and Lucia Peña . 

"It was really nice we had some last-minute qualifiers. It was just such an exciting day," Cleveland head coach Patrick Dorman said.

Their time of 4:08.90 was enough to qualify them for the state championships in a couple of weeks.

"They got it on the last shot. Everyone is super ecstatic and excited for them," coach Dorman said.  

The same group of Storm girls took fourth place in the 200-yard medley relay.

Domino Johnson had a nice day on the diving board, and finished top six. 

The Storm boys found some success of their own, and in the 200-yard freestyle relay, the Storm took third place with a 1:35.10 time. The team consisted of Dylan Schluep, Devin Harris, Mark McLaughlin, and Guha Hari.

Dylan Schluep took fourth place in the 100-yard freestyle earning a state qualifying time of 51.73.

"Lots of last minute heroics, and lots of happy kids," coach Dorman said.

Cleveland's Guha Hari had a busy day, and swam and dove. He was a second place finisher in the 50-yard freestyle (22.74), and was a top six finisher in diving. 

Both teams will set their sights on the 2025-26 NMAA state championships which will be back at Academy Feb. 20-21.