![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
In the blazing heat of Texas, where shorts and tank tops are the accepted fashion almost year round, it is hard to imagine the elements of a traditional white winter amongst the everyday heat known so well to us. But this image is known well to the boys of the Leander ISD ice hockey team.
The newly named team beat Austin-Westlake with a final score of 8-1 Friday, October 19, winning their first pre-season game of the 2008-2009 season. Three weeks later was their second pre-season game against Round Rock ISD’s number two team. They iced RRISD2 7-0. Winning both of these games provided a positive outlook for the LISD ice hockey team this year.
The team is a club sport that is comprised of students from the entire school district. There are 21 players on the team with 14 reigning from Cedar Park High School.
Though the LISD team is newly organized this year, the majority of the players have already played together. In previous years the team was called the Cedar Park ice hockey team, consisting of only members from CPHS rather than the entire school district. Because of this, the team is close knit and everyone is friends on and off the ice.
“It’s pretty hardcore,” Albie Valicenit, sophomore, said.
Valicenit has been playing hockey for about six years, and has been on the LISD team for two years.
Joey Sundgren, sophomore, has been playing hockey for 11 years, but this is his first year playing on the team.
“This season’s going to be great,” Sundgren said. “We have a good chance of getting to the playoffs, and a very good team to reach that goal.”
LISD plays a total of 16 games this season against Austin-Westlake, RRISD2, RRISD1, and Bell Co. They play against each of these teams four times over the course of the season.
All games and practices are held at Chapparal Ice Arena in North Austin. The team’s next game is January 15 at 8 PM against Bell Co. Bundle up and head out to heat up the rink.
