![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)
March 12 senior outside hitter Haelee Horne signed with Texas Wesleyan University to play volleyball for the Lady Rams. Horne’s family, friends and teammates were in the Cedar Park High School library that Friday to support her as she signed her letter of intent. Her future head coach, Christy Clawson, also made the trip to Cedar Park for the signing. Horne is excited to play for Coach Clawson in the upcoming season.
“I really like my new coach,” Horne said. “She’s really nice and she reminds me of Coach Hajduk in some ways, so I think that will make the transition easier.
Horne is looking forward to joining the team for the fall season, but realizes that it will be a bittersweet moment.
“I’m sad to be leaving my friends and family but Fort Worth isn’t too far so I plan to come back and visit when I can,” Horne said.
The determination displayed by Horne is one of her most notable, intangible qualities. The inspiration for her drive to succeed came from two members of the team.
“My biggest inspiration is either Coach Hajduk because she’s been a huge part of my career and always believes in me,” Horne said. “Also Linda Steinhardt, even though she’s only a freshman, because she’s the hardest worker and greatest player I’ve ever gotten to play with.”
The style of play between Cedar Park and Texas Wesleyan is quite similar, being that Horne’s future coach also coached Alamanza-Hajduk. Clawson is a Leander native and a former captain of the Leander volleyball team, as well as a setter for Texas Lutheran. She became an assistant coach for TLU after she graduated; where she met current Cedar Park head coach Rebekah Almanza-Hajduk. Alamanza was a freshman on the TLU volleyball team.
The 5’10” outside hitter and two-time All-District award winner should have no problem getting playing time early in her college career.
Look for good things from Texas Wesleyan’s woman’s volleyball team next year as Horne brings her Timberwolf passion to the Lady Rams.
