![On March 20, the theatre program performed their UIL One Act play Frankenstein. “I could barely believe what I heard after [it was] announced that we were advancing,” freshman Zack Williams said. “It was crazy. Being one of the only freshmen in the show and also [being] a lead definitely put pressure on my shoulders. I knew that the only thing I could do was my best, but that was until I started to think what if my best was not enough? I was feeling like I could never amount to being what [everyone else] thought I was. Although, after hearing that announcement, I realized that maybe I have something going for me after all.”
Photo courtesy of Cayden Bartolo](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Capture.png)
![Parking Lot Attendant Alan Gallagher poses next to his sign notifying that students can no longer purchase parking passes. Students without passes will not be able to park in the school parking lot, and if they do, AP’s will be notified. ““[When I catch people skipping] I notify the students AP and from there Im not sure what happens,” Gallagher said. “[I can also stop people for] speeding through the parking lot [since] the speed limit is 10 mph on campus.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Heidi-1-1200x800.jpg)
![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)
Getting into position at the start of the course, they anxiously wait to hear the sound of the horn. Lined up with eyes ahead, the horn blares, initiating the first race of the season. As they take off, the colors of other school jerseys swarm around them, engulfing them in a sea of determined runners. They are all going to the same place, it is just a matter of who they can pass in the process.
The team’s next meet is the McNeil Cross Country Invitational on Saturday where they will run the Old Settler’s Park course. To start their season, the cross country team has had two pre-season meets, one at Temple and another at Vista Ridge. They also hosted the Cedar Park invitationals on Sept. 9. The invitational acts like a kick-off for district meets as they will be attending more in the upcoming weeks. The Temple invitational meet was on Aug 18.
“We have a lot less meets this year so we’re focusing more on training and making sure we’re ready for the meets we’re racing in,” senior Sanil Desai said. “I’ve never raced at Temple before so a lot of it was getting used to the course and getting used to racing again.”
Returning to school after the summer, Desai started his last cross country season on the varsity team this year with a new coach. In the past three years, the team has had three different coaches. Runners met the new coach at the end of summer before school started.
“It’s tough because coaches have different training regiments so every year you’re changing your training,” Desai said. “It was harder to adjust when we were younger during sophomore and junior year, but as a senior, it’s easier because [we have] done it more.”
During the last month of summer, the team went on runs and practiced together. Senior Isabel Conde De Frankenberg spent the majority of her summer running for the Argentina national team and did not have an opportunity to run with her team before the start of school.
“I came back from Argentina on the first day of school so my first practice was the first day of school,” Conde De Frankenberg said. “My team was working hard the whole summer and the new coach came in July, so they’ve been training for a long time. I think the whole team is excited for this season.”
While her team was starting their meets earlier this season, Isabel spent her time training and preparing for a longer season that ends with Nationals in December. Because she is in the top five runners in the state, Conde De Frankenberg’s season ends after the rest of her team’s does, so she started her season two meets later than them. Her first meet of the season was at the Cedar Park Invitational meet, where she placed first.
“I had done the Cedar Park course every year, so I felt a little bit of pressure because I had won it every year and needed to keep the streak,” Conde De Frankenberg said. “I really like the course because there’s no sidewalk or track, just gravel, grass, and dirt. It’s a place I have trained every day for five years, and it just feels like home. It was an honor to be able to win.”
The team is currently training for the upcoming district meets and while they still have many more meets to come, championship season is approaching. The team lost a lot of their runners and is much smaller now, but new athletes are coming to fill their spots.
“In seventh grade, running was easier for me because I didn’t have a lot of expectations or pressures,” freshman Lyla Gamez said. “Now I have expectations for myself [and] it’s super easy to mentally be really hard on myself. I’m excited for this upcoming season, but as we close in on championship season, I’m nervous. After the first races I know what to expect.”
