Three Los Alamos High athletes sign letters of intent

Three Los Alamos High School seniors signed letters of intent at the school’s 2026 Signing Day Thursday, giving the district a public look at the pipeline that moves local athletes from Hilltopper practices to college programs. Madalyn Baily will swim at Smith College, Anjel Fresquez will wrestle at Ottawa University, and Diego Garcia will play football at New Mexico Highlands University.

The ceremony mattered because it reflected more than three individual commitments. Los Alamos Public Schools runs athletics as a formal department, and Los Alamos High School has an activities director, Ryan Finn, tied directly to student programs. In a community where swimming, wrestling and football are part of the school calendar, Signing Day functioned as a school milestone, not just a family photo opportunity. It showed how organized coaching, year-round training and parental support can carry athletes from a small district to the college level.

Baily’s signing capped a steady rise that has already made her familiar to many around the Hilltopper program. The Rotary Club of Los Alamos honored her on May 20, 2025, as a Distinguished Student of Service, recognizing work that stretched beyond the pool. The profile identified her as a National Honor Society member, French Club president, a Los Alamos Aquatomics swimmer, a New Mexico Swimming Athlete Representative and a Junior Official. It also said she created the Aquatomics mascot, “Adam the Atom,” and helped form a monthly student-athletes committee, details that point to a student who shaped the culture around her as much as she competed in it. In February, she helped the girls win the District 2A title with 404 points, and her name appeared in the scoring line for the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle.

Fresquez arrives at Ottawa University with recent postseason credentials of his own. On March 5, 2025, he was listed as a 107-pound state qualifier as the Hilltopper boys sent six wrestlers to the state tournament in Rio Rancho and finished second at district in Taos. That kind of progression, from district success to state qualification, is the kind of resume college wrestling programs look for, especially in a sport where discipline and weight management matter as much as strength.

Garcia’s move to New Mexico Highlands University extends that pattern into football. Highlands has publicly said it signed more than 20 in-state recruits in a recent class and wanted to build around New Mexico talent, making Garcia’s commitment part of a broader regional strategy. For Los Alamos, the three signings together underscored what a strong public-school program can produce: swimmers, wrestlers and football players whose paths begin in the same local system and end in different collegiate arenas.