As temperatures drop and fall sports come to a close, seniors in cross country, volleyball and football have each ran in their last race or played in their last game. But for the class of 2019, the memories will last a lifetime.
Jumping for joy, the girls cross country team celebrate their third place bronze win at State on Nov. 4.
Girls Cross Country Takes Bronze, Boys Take Fourth at State
Cross country whipped into gear on Aug. 18 in a meet at Cedar Park. It was the first meet of the year for every school, and everyone was ready to run their heat. The team prepared on a system in which they ran seven days a week, year-round, according to senior team member Leah Wilcox. This class of seniors is comprised of long-time runners, including Wilcox, as well as Alena Albertson, Sophia Roach and Liam Ballon.
“My favorite memory from running on the team would have to be getting up to run every Saturday over the summer and during school,” Ballon said. “Afterwards, the guys team would go to get breakfast somewhere and just hang out. Also, getting third at State last year. Just work hard because running is not always fun, but winning is.”
Albertson has signed her intent to run for and attend Chaminade University of Honolulu on a cross country scholarship. Although she was only on the cross country team here at Cedar Park for two seasons, she has proven that she can hang at the top with a lot of top runners in not only the state, but the country.
“Cross gets super hard, but seeing the other girls working hard around me keeps me focused,” Albertson said.
The cross country season finished with a state bronze medal for the girls and a fourth place state showing for the boys.
Sophomore Kiyon King and seniors Hutson Mcgaughan and Nico Green interlock pinkies during the alma mater song at their final game on Nov. 23 against Shadow Creek.
Long-Time Football Players Exit Their Final Season
Football has been one of the more glorified sports in the school. This senior class is the winningest class in school history, with the varsity team compiling a total 47-7 record since their freshman year. With head coach Carl Abseck taking over the team in 2015, the program under him won State in his first year and made history as the school’s only undefeated season. The senior class has gone through many highs, such as senior quarterback Ryan Fiala leading a comeback against Georgetown in 2017, to the lows of falling short in the playoffs after the 16-0 season. With back to back losses to Manvel, and the most recent loss to Shadow Creek, the team wasn’t able to get back to having the “Texas Tested” title.
The senior class has been running behind strong players such as wide receiver Carson Neel, offensive line anchor Nico Green and secondary stud Stryder Laster. These are just a few of the powerful seniors on the varsity team.
“I’ve been playing [football] since elementary school,” Neel said. “I come from a family that played football, so I didn’t really have a choice. My favorite memory is probably coming back and beating Georgetown my junior year, or playing at Kyle Field my sophomore year.”
Sometimes, playing time isn’t all that important, especially when players are around teammates that are also their friends. Laster is a part of the secondary, and said what he has enjoyed most has almost had nothing to do with football itself.
“My favorite memories are when the whole team gets hype and dances in the locker room after a dub,” Laster said.
Green is guard on the offensive line, and has been playing football for most of his life. He said football has been an integral part to the way he lives.
“I started playing football when I was in second grade,” Green said. “Since I grew up around a football family, I wanted to start playing immediately. Whenever I felt that football was getting to be too much, I would remember all of my teammates going through the same struggles.”
The football season has been essentially year-round for all players, with summer workouts starting almost immediately after school releases for the summer. The “off” season consisted of workouts before, during and after school. All of that comes to a close for the seniors now that their last high school game has passed and the real off-season began.
Senior varsity volleyball player Shelby Epley hits the ball over the net.
Volleyball Girls Make Last Serve
Volleyball for girls on the team is not just a sport. The team is comprised with a lot of senior talent, such as Isabel Maib, Shelby Epley, Kennedi Lemmond, Abby Teicher and Ryan Kuharski. Most play club volleyball with a select team that plays during the high school off-season. Lemmond and Kuharski have been playing volleyball together since middle school. Lemmond said that the team’s chemistry has brought them closer not only as a unit, but as a group of friends.
“I’ve been playing for about 10 years, since I was eight,” Lemmond said. “I played a lot of sports when I was younger and my parents put me in volleyball. Since then, I fell in love with it and made it my priority sport. What kept me in volleyball was my friends. Going through the hard times with your teammates made it all worth it. My favorite memory from playing for the school was my sophomore year when we went to State. It was an amazing experience and it made me proud to be a T-Wolf. I will miss my teammates the most, the thrill of winning games with them and definitely the locker room jam sessions.”
Epley was also a big part of the team this season. As a middle blocker, her defensive presence was necessary to the team going 31-13.
“I’ve been playing for six years,” Epley said. “I wanted to play volleyball because I had an older sister who played and going to her games and being in the gym 24/7 made me want to play. What kept me in it is my competitiveness and my love for the game. My favorite memory is the state tournament my sophomore year. It was so surreal and being apart of it was so incredible. Also beating Rouse this year was a great memory because so much prep for the game and determination was what pushed us.”
Maib is a player who has been playing volleyball since fifth grade. She said the memories that she has made in high school volleyball are unforgettable.
“I made sure to always hold myself accountable and attend practices, if not for myself, then for my teammates,” Maib said. “My favorite memory was definitely when we beat Rouse this past season. Everybody rushed onto the court and yelled and sung as we were all so proud of one another for working together to get what we needed done.”
Kuharski has been playing volleyball for a total of eight years, alongside Lemmond and a few other friends of hers. She said that although it was not always easy to stick with the sport this whole time, it was surely worth it.
“I initially wanted to play volleyball because all of my friends started showing an interest,” Kuharski said. “So we all started together. There were definitely times when I wanted to stop playing but I didn’t because volleyball has been a part of my life for so long. I knew I would regret it and wouldn’t know what to do without it. My favorite memory is going to state my sophomore year. It was an experience I will never forget.”
With a collection of gold, silver and bronze state medals, the seniors in fall sports have built a legacy since they were freshmen in 2015.
Noah Hedges is a senior. This is his second year on the Wolfpack Staff. He's in the drumline here at Cedar Park, along with being the kid who plays the drum solo at half-time during football games. He enjoys writing about music and sports. Noah wants to march drum corps in the future and he is majoring in Music Industry with a minor in Graphic Design at the University of North Texas. Following college, he wants to teach and arrange music for High School Bands and Drum Corps.
Jalen Gomez is a senior who is a member of both the Wolfcast and Wolfpack. He enjoys to primarily write about sports(football, basketball) and personality profiles. Jalen is a huge fan of anything Houston related, from sports to music to other random events. He plans on continuing in the sports journalism field in college, and is aspiring to follow that down the road.
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