![The cross country team poses for the camera after finishing the district meet. The varsity boys, JV boys and JV girls all placed third and the varsity girls placed fourth. “Coach put in the right training for us for this season, so I think we will be peaking this week and the next couple of weeks,” varsity runner and junior Nathan Kukla said. “The chances of making it to state are very high, but we don’t settle for the lowest and there is always going to be that chance, so [we] race for the best.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Heidi-831-1200x900.jpg)
![Sucking in a breath of air, freshman Lily Pope competes in the 200 yard individual medley. On Oct. 25, the swim team competed in the AISD Swim Invitational. Overall, the girls team took second place and the boys team came in eleventh. “My favorite stroke is butterfly because I do the best in that stroke,” Pope said. “I feel like [butterfly] can test how [your ability] to convince yourself to keep going. The hardest part of swimming is convincing yourself to stay strong and keep pushing during a hard race [when] everything is tired.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/POPE-1200x804.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, Author Ehigbor Okosun, members of Page Turners, and other students reflect on the author's visit. “I thought the visit was great,” Senior Amia De Leon said. “It was interesting talking to her and [getting to know] her process and her thoughts and books in general. But I think the reason it went well [was that] people got to ask questions. I'm glad that she said so much in response to the questions and it wasn't just one and done. [The author’s responses] felt very articulate.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sebastian-5-1200x800.jpg)
![Standing in front of the field at a freshman football game, cheerleader freshman Jacob Gaudreau along with teammate freshman Bella Gibson pose for a photo during halftime of game. “[Cheer has] definitely given me a much more outgoing personality,” Gaudreau said. “I used to be very introverted, so it's definitely made me more extroverted towards people.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ingrid-204-1200x800.jpg)
![Holding a wooden pizza toy, senior Taylor Peterson plays with small children in Bucaramanga, Colombia. During the summer, Peterson traveled to Colombia to help build an elementary school that only had two classrooms but five or six grades with one teacher. “We add[ed] two more classrooms,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of hard when you have two or three grades in one classroom and you only have one teacher. It’s very hard to actually get some beneficial learning. [The extra classrooms will give the students] a better quality of education because they’ll actually have a place specific for their learning.” Photo by Taylor Peterson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Taylor-P.png)
![Swinging with his arm extended, senior Nolan Park hits the ball smoothly over the net and to the opponent’s side. Park is one of four varsity tennis captains and helped the team win district championships. “Winning district champs was a pretty awesome feeling,” Park said. “We had lost to Liberty Hill a couple of weeks before, but when we played them [again], we came out and really took care of business. We took them out and it was just a really awesome night.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kassidy-419.jpg)
![Standing proud, varsity senior athletes Rafael Escobar, Griffin Jacobs, Jakob Martin, and juniors Jackson Springer and Jack Morris pose with their newly earned medals. The varsity team finished third out of 14 teams on Sept. 25. “The team's primary goal is to win the district championship,” head coach Cody Price said. "We're confident that with our action plan in place, we can accomplish this mission. [For the next tournament], our preparation involves assessing our strengths and weaknesses, celebrating milestones and creating individual development plans." Photo courtesy of Cody Price](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/golf.jpg)
Lady Timberwolves Basketball Makes History Once Again
Team Defeats Pflugerville, Wins Second District Title in Row
![The Lady Timberwolves celebrate at half court after the final buzzer. The T-Wolves finished 14-0 in district, marking their second outright district championship and solidifying themselves in school history. "There was a lot of hype behind that game,” senior forward Pujita Shukla said. “I think it was the perfect [home] game to end my career as a senior on. I am going to remember that game forever.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/pflugerville_megan-599-2-900x600.jpg)
The Lady Timberwolves celebrate at half court after the final buzzer. The T-Wolves finished 14-0 in district, marking their second outright district championship and solidifying themselves in school history. “There was a lot of hype behind that game,” senior forward Pujita Shukla said. “I think it was the perfect [home] game to end my career as a senior on. I am going to remember that game forever.”
February 8, 2019
“Pflugerville- 1st, Cedar Park- 2nd.”
These words have been typed, written and taped all around the Lady Timberwolves’ locker room for weeks. In early September, the prediction of district standings was released, and sophomore guard Sarai Estupinan said that those predictions sparked the team’s determination to beat the Pflugerville Lady Panthers and win district for the second season in a row last Friday.
“That little piece of paper showed us that no one thought we were going to be on top this year,” Estupinan said. “I think it motivated us into thinking that we had nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
The district championship game was nothing short of expectations, junior guard Takara Holst said, and throughout the high-energy game, there were 10 charges called, over 50 free throws shot and 97 points scored between the two teams.
Holst said that even though the Lady Timberwolves were up by 20 points in the third quarter, they knew that they were nowhere close to being done. As the Lady Panthers tried to slowly chip away at the lead, Holst recalled one particular moment that, to her, signified a win for the team.
“The moment I knew we were going to win was when I saw Coach Ott walk down the bench and do his hilarious victory dance,” Holst said.
Knowing that the game would be an intense one, the team was already preparing for the matchup weeks in advance.
“Fortunately, we did not have a game earlier in the week which allowed us to focus more on Pflugerville,” Holst said. “In practice, we made sure to watch film from our previous game [against Pflugerville] to see what we could improve on, as well as putting in new plays to surprise our opponents.”
This was freshman post Shelby Hayes’s first time preparing to become a district championship contender, and she said that managing nerves before the game was the hardest aspect of preparation she faced.
“I was very nervous in practice and before the game,” Hayes said. “But one of the captains helped me calm my nerves with simple breathing exercises which really allowed me to focus in and relax.”
Nerves or not, Hayes had a total of six points, five rebounds and three charges. Hayes said that it was an amazing atmosphere to play in and that the team’s support helped her to succeed.
“No matter what, I knew my teammates had my back,” Hayes said. “I am thankful that my teammates and my coaches put trust in me to contribute to the game.”
Junior point guard Hanna Wheeler said the team wished to start a legacy for the Lady Timberwolves program ever since last year’s undefeated season, which resulted in 16-0 and the program’s first outright district championship. As the underdog in this big win, Wheeler said the team solidified themselves in Cedar Park history.
“It is no secret that a lot of people thought we were going to fall short this year to Pflugerville,” Wheeler said. “We used that as motivation to prove who Cedar Park girls basketball really is.”
Wheeler said that this championship was even more meaningful for both her and the team since it was the Lady Timberwolves’ second season in a row to go undefeated.
“We proved that our championship last year wasn’t luck,” Wheeler said. “We established a lasting legacy for Cedar Park.”
Senior forward, Pujita Shukla, said that the game against Pflugerville was one to remember, as it was her last game in the Timberdome.
“There was a lot of hype behind that game,” Shukla said. “I think it was the perfect [home] game to end my career as a senior on. I am going to remember that game forever.”
Shukla said that the high intensity of the game was similar to what the Lady Timberwolves will face in playoffs, making it a perfect game to get in the playoff mindset.
Nearing playoffs, Coach Ott said that he and his assistant coaches, Kami Williamson and J.R. Romero, are preparing by scouting all of the team’s potential matchups to ensure that they are adequately prepared. Ott also said that with their current players, he is confident that the Lady Timberwolves will continue to succeed.
“Realistically, for us, I feel like our team is built for a really strong run this year,” Ott said. “We have good senior leadership and experience from the regional tournament with last year’s team.”
The team will play Manor next Monday at 6:30 p.m. for the bi-district championships at Cedar Ridge High School. Updates on playoff games and locations can be found on the @CPLadyWolves twitter.
