![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)
![Sitting with her friend senior Sohpia Struve at last year’s Austin City Limits Festival, senior Ava Zuniga poses for a picture under a pavilion. They are frequent attendees at ACL, an annual music festival at Zilker Park. “I would recommend seeing a bunch of people,” Zuniga said. “This past year, we camped out for Chappell [Roan] for a really long time. I think the whole point of ACL, [which] is a lot of fun, is that you can go see so many different people, even if you don’t know them. So by camping by one person, it really limits yourself from being able to go see a bunch of people.” Photo courtesy of Ava Zuniga](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/EE9E9484-FE6F-4AA0-B5F5-0C177AB32841-1200x857.jpeg)
For first-time attendees, preparing for the annual Austin City Limits Festival at Zilker Park (ACL) can feel overwhelming. From choosing outfits and arranging transportation to navigating what items are allowed or not, such as oversized or non-clear bags.
ACL is coming up, with weekend one on Oct. 3-5 and weekend two on Oct. 10-12. The lineup changes every year, with artists ranging in fame. Frequent attendee senior Ava Zuniga said she has tips to help newcomers make the most of the experience.
“Making sure that you’re with your people the whole time and that everybody’s safe and getting there and getting back is probably the most difficult part,” Zuniga said. “We saw Kendrick and that day I wore boots, and that was the worst decision of my life. I had to go barefoot.”
Attendees who are going all three days are provided with a wrist band which must not be taken off once it is put on or entrance to the festival will be denied. Last year, it was senior Dominic Garcia’s first year attending ACL.
“All my friends went off to Blink 182, and I left them all to go see Chris Stapleton because I just had to, like, it’s Chris Stapleton,” Garcia said. “That was just crazy because we were going towards Blink 182, and they’re on opposite sides. We were in the Blink 182 crowd, and I could hear Chris Stapleton, and I just had to go. You should [stay with all your friends].
Zuniga and Garcia said to bring a water pack to utilize the hydration station instead of a water bottle, get an uber to and from the event, or park far enough to avoid traffic if going by car and prioritize comfort over style.
“When it comes to shoes, don’t worry about how they look,” Garcia said. “You just want to wear comfy shoes every single day because at the end of the day, you’re not going to [want to] be wearing uncomfy shoes. No one is gonna care what they look like. You’re gonna wanna be comfy the entire time.”
This year’s headliners are Sabrina Carpenter, Hozier, Doechii, Doja Cat, Luke Combs, The Strokes and John Summit.
“I would recommend seeing a bunch of people,” Zuniga said. “This past year, we camped out for Chappell [Roan] for a really long time. I think the whole point of ACL, [which] is a lot of fun, is that you can go see so many different people, even if you don’t know them. So by camping by one person, it really limits yourself from being able to go see a bunch of people.”