Portales' Riess 2nd at Invite

CLOVIS - It seems there's always somebody for Portales High's Michael Riess to have to try to beat out.

Last year, countless times he pushed Clovis High standout Jerrick Maldonado, but could never quite beat him. This year, it appears he may have Lovington's Derrick Castellanos in his sights.

Riess ran a strong race, but finished second behind Castellanos in Friday's season-opening Clovis Invitational at Ned Houk Park. He finished the 5K event in 17 minutes, 27.64 seconds, trailing only Castellanos (17:09.60).

"I'm pretty happy with my time," said Riess, a junior. "It was pretty hot today, but I'm excited to race against Derrick the rest of the season."

Castellanos led Lovington to the team title with 43 points, 10 better than Lea County rival Hobbs. The Rams were fifth of seven full teams in the event with 116 points, while Clovis High came in fourth at 76.

PHS had a second solid performance with senior Evan Carbajal finishing 10th in 19:25.95, but the Rams couldn't get enough together to challenge for a higher spot.

"He had a good race," Riess said of Carbajal. "It was a good start for the season for us. The first time out, I just like to see where I am and build off that."

PHS coach Laura McNeill said her girls were shorthanded due to contract tracing issues, but was encouraged overall by her squad's showing.

"I was definitely proud of my seniors today," she said. "I was definitely proud of the times."

Freshman Sammy Fuentes led Clovis with a sixth-place finish at 18:33.54.

"I'm very proud of him," CHS coach Liz Ledezma said. "He's really stepping up as a freshman and taking a leadership role."

Neither Clovis nor Portales fielded a full squad in the girls' race. Hobbs took team honors with 35 points to 40 for Hereford behind a first-place finish from Vanessa Gallegos in 20:19.23.

Senior Shylee Tree led the Lady Wildcats, coming in 18th in 25:27.92 - one spot ahead of Portales' Kadence Reeves (26:08.21).

Ledezma said it's a learning curve for her squad.

"I think the meet went really well," she said. "We're a young team, and I think they realize how much work they have to put in."

Next up for both squads is the Lovington Invitational, scheduled for 3 p.m. on Thursday.