![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)
The game was against the McNeil Mavericks. During the pre-season experts analyzed the Timberwolves, and predicted their ability to contend in the State Playoffs. Cedar Park opened with Westlake. The Westlake Chaparrals upset the Timberwolves, beating them 24-14. Questioning the Timberwolves talent, Central Texas sports critics bashed the players and coaching staff.
The next week, Cedar Park faced the Temple Wildcats and one of the top running backs in the country, Lache Seastrunk. Nine out of the fourteen schools he’s got offers from rank in the Associated Press top 25. Cedar Park went into the game the underdog, and within the first two minutes Seastrunk showed off his talent when he gained major yards for the Wildcats. Despite his miraculous run, for the duration of the game Seastrunk wasn’t mentioned. Cedar Park beat the Wildcats on the road 28-14.
Following the Temple victory Cedar Park faced Lake Travis. Lake Travis is the two time defending state champions. This was Cedar Park’s first chance to play the Lake Travis Cavaliers without quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who now plays for the University of Texas. His replacement, Michael Brewer, has proven himself and is doing as well as Gilbert, and continues to lead the Cavs to victory. Lake Travis hasn’t lost a game since 2007. In defeating Lake Travis, Cedar Park could prove themselves as a top state contender. Throughout the game Cedar Park’s offense was shut down, as Lake Travis’ Michael Brewer threw for a total of 366 yards, as opposed to Cedar Park’s Nathan Thornhill’s 75 yards. In the end, nothing could stop the Cavaliers from coming out on top yet again, with a score 54-17.
After the devastating loss against Lake Travis, Cedar Park encountered the Georgetown Eagles. Having not won a game thus far in the season, Georgetown was hoping for their first victory. Throughout the game, Cedar Park made up for their previous loss. The Black Rain defense stopped the Eagle’s passing game, making their quarterback Ian McCoig run all night, placing Georgetown out of their element. Holmes Onwukaife and Collin Middleton both sacked McCoig, which helped Cedar Park’s offense get back on the field quicker. Onwukaife blocked a punt, which provided Cedar Park great field position to score. Timberwolf quarterback Nathan Thornhill became his old self again, passing for 424 yards. He looked like a running back leading the Timberwolves with 201 rushing yards. Cedar Park came out on top 51-13.
Cedar Park’s homecoming game was Friday October 2nd, against the McNeil Mavericks. The Homecoming game is always a must win game for every football team. Fortunately, Cedar Park took care of business and handled McNeil without a problem. Before the Cedar Park game, the Mavericks were 1-3 on the season, but after their previous win they begin district 16-5A play with a 1-0 record. McNeil has the top Running back in Central Texas Adrian Smith, who going into the matchup had accumulated 800 Rush Yards and 7 touchdowns from the start of the season. Smith however, had to face Holmes Onwukaife and the Black Rain defense. Onwukaife is one of the best Linebackers in the nation, and is feared by every offense he has come up against. Last year, Holmes got nine sacks over the course of the season. Onwukaife is a Florida State commit, and continues to prove the Seminoles right in their choice of recruiting him. On the offensive side for Cedar Park, had quarterback Nathan Thornhill who has significantly improved his game and continues to expand his skills. He resembles University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, as Thornhill ran for six touchdowns prior to the McNeil game. The Timberwolves contained multiple options at running back with Darren Thornhill and Brad Willard, who had both scored throughout the season. Besides Adrian Smith, McNeil was accompanied with Quarterback Cole Smith who this season is the only returning quarterback that was a starter last year. Cedar Park acquired a huge advantage with the crowd on its side. With that Friday being homecoming, the fans were extra loud and rowdy, which was just what the doctor ordered for Cedar Park. The Timberwolves got off to an awesome start in district and with the support of their fans behind them, are bound to keep improving their record.
Cedar Park was favored in the game, and together the team beat the Mavs 41-14. Go Cedar Park!
