![Broadcast, yearbook and newspaper combined for 66 Interscholastic League Press Conference awards this year. Yearbook won 43, newspaper won 14 and broadcast took home nine. “I think [the ILPC awards] are a great way to give the kids some acknowledgement for all of their hard work,” newspaper and yearbook adviser Paige Hert said. “They typically spend the year covering everyone else’s big moments, so it’s really cool for them to be celebrated so many times and in so many different ways.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/edited-ILPC.jpg)
![Looking down at his racket, junior Hasun Nguyen hits the green tennis ball. Hasun has played tennis since he was 9 years old, and he is on the varsity team. "I feel like it’s not really appreciated in America as much, but [tennis] is a really competitive and mentally challenging sport,” Nguyen said. “I’m really level-headed and can keep my cool during a match, and that helps me play a bit better under pressure.” Photo by Kyra Cox](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/hasun.jpg)
![Bringing her arm over her head and taking a quick breath, junior Lauren Lucas swims the final laps of the 500 freestyle at the regionals swimming competition on date. Lucas broke the school’s 18-year-old record for the 500 freestyle at regionals and again at state with a time of 4:58.63. “I’d had my eye on that 500 record since my freshman year, so I was really excited to see if I could get it at regionals or districts,” Lucas said. “ State is always a really fun experience and medaling for the first time was really great. It was a very very tight race, [so] I was a bit surprised [that I medaled]. [There were] a lot of fast girls at the meet in general, [and] it was like a dogfight back and forth, back and forth.” Photo by Kaydence Wilkinson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kaydence-2.7-23-edit-2.jpg)
![As her hair blows in the wind, senior Brianna Grandow runs the varsity girls 5K at the cross country district meet last Thursday. Grandow finished fourth in the event and led the varsity girls to regionals with a third place placement as a team. “I’m very excited [to go to regionals],” Grandow said. “I’m excited to race in Corpus Christi, and we get to go to the beach, so that’s really awesome.” Photo by Addison Bruce](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/brianna.jpg)
The game was against the McNeil Mavericks. During the pre-season experts analyzed the Timberwolves, and predicted their ability to contend in the State Playoffs. Cedar Park opened with Westlake. The Westlake Chaparrals upset the Timberwolves, beating them 24-14. Questioning the Timberwolves talent, Central Texas sports critics bashed the players and coaching staff.
The next week, Cedar Park faced the Temple Wildcats and one of the top running backs in the country, Lache Seastrunk. Nine out of the fourteen schools he’s got offers from rank in the Associated Press top 25. Cedar Park went into the game the underdog, and within the first two minutes Seastrunk showed off his talent when he gained major yards for the Wildcats. Despite his miraculous run, for the duration of the game Seastrunk wasn’t mentioned. Cedar Park beat the Wildcats on the road 28-14.
Following the Temple victory Cedar Park faced Lake Travis. Lake Travis is the two time defending state champions. This was Cedar Park’s first chance to play the Lake Travis Cavaliers without quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who now plays for the University of Texas. His replacement, Michael Brewer, has proven himself and is doing as well as Gilbert, and continues to lead the Cavs to victory. Lake Travis hasn’t lost a game since 2007. In defeating Lake Travis, Cedar Park could prove themselves as a top state contender. Throughout the game Cedar Park’s offense was shut down, as Lake Travis’ Michael Brewer threw for a total of 366 yards, as opposed to Cedar Park’s Nathan Thornhill’s 75 yards. In the end, nothing could stop the Cavaliers from coming out on top yet again, with a score 54-17.
After the devastating loss against Lake Travis, Cedar Park encountered the Georgetown Eagles. Having not won a game thus far in the season, Georgetown was hoping for their first victory. Throughout the game, Cedar Park made up for their previous loss. The Black Rain defense stopped the Eagle’s passing game, making their quarterback Ian McCoig run all night, placing Georgetown out of their element. Holmes Onwukaife and Collin Middleton both sacked McCoig, which helped Cedar Park’s offense get back on the field quicker. Onwukaife blocked a punt, which provided Cedar Park great field position to score. Timberwolf quarterback Nathan Thornhill became his old self again, passing for 424 yards. He looked like a running back leading the Timberwolves with 201 rushing yards. Cedar Park came out on top 51-13.
Cedar Park’s homecoming game was Friday October 2nd, against the McNeil Mavericks. The Homecoming game is always a must win game for every football team. Fortunately, Cedar Park took care of business and handled McNeil without a problem. Before the Cedar Park game, the Mavericks were 1-3 on the season, but after their previous win they begin district 16-5A play with a 1-0 record. McNeil has the top Running back in Central Texas Adrian Smith, who going into the matchup had accumulated 800 Rush Yards and 7 touchdowns from the start of the season. Smith however, had to face Holmes Onwukaife and the Black Rain defense. Onwukaife is one of the best Linebackers in the nation, and is feared by every offense he has come up against. Last year, Holmes got nine sacks over the course of the season. Onwukaife is a Florida State commit, and continues to prove the Seminoles right in their choice of recruiting him. On the offensive side for Cedar Park, had quarterback Nathan Thornhill who has significantly improved his game and continues to expand his skills. He resembles University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, as Thornhill ran for six touchdowns prior to the McNeil game. The Timberwolves contained multiple options at running back with Darren Thornhill and Brad Willard, who had both scored throughout the season. Besides Adrian Smith, McNeil was accompanied with Quarterback Cole Smith who this season is the only returning quarterback that was a starter last year. Cedar Park acquired a huge advantage with the crowd on its side. With that Friday being homecoming, the fans were extra loud and rowdy, which was just what the doctor ordered for Cedar Park. The Timberwolves got off to an awesome start in district and with the support of their fans behind them, are bound to keep improving their record.
Cedar Park was favored in the game, and together the team beat the Mavs 41-14. Go Cedar Park!
