Band keeps winning

The Clovis High band is now more than halfway through its competitive season, and it has a trio of competition victories to show for it.

The band's baseball-themed "Home Run" show won top honors at Saturday's Lubbock Westerner, with the outstanding band award to go with nods for best percussion and color guard as well.

Clovis High Band Director Bill Allred said the band's performance was notable for how it overcame weather challenges.

"It was ridiculously hot," Allred said. "The kids really came through. I think it was 96 degrees while they were warming up. By the time they got on the field, the sun went down.

"We told them their job was to entertain the judges and the crowd. The crowd was very, very responsive."

Clovis also took the top awards a little closer to its own backyard, taking the Oct. 5 Green and Silver Classic at Eastern New Mexico University. Clovis was the top overall and Class 5A band, and took awards for music performance, marching performance and best general effect.

Clovis is making back-to-back weekend trips to Albuquerque, starting with Saturday's Pageant of Bands and ending with the Oct. 23 Zia Marching Fiesta.

Allred said he feels good about the progression of the band through its first three competitions.

"Each time they perform, they're just making considerable progress," Allred said. "Everything across the board can still get cleaner, tighter. It's far from being perfect, but they're certainly off to a great start."

Clovis has been named the outstanding band in the last eight Zia competitions, dating back to the 2012 competition. The event, which is generally regarded as New Mexico's high school band championship, was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Portales High band was in action Tuesday in Artesia for its district competition.