![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)
Make Some Noise
Varsity Cheer Team Finishes Sixth In National Competition
The varsity cheer team performs at the UIL Spirit State Championship on Jan. 13. They also competed in Orlando, Florida, for the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship on Feb. 16, which concluded their competition season. “My favorite thing about the team is our ability to make anything fun,” senior captain Katelyn Orzoco said. “We are constantly laughing and having fun with each other. The bond we have is like no other. But when it comes time to focus and work, we get things done.”
April 4, 2023
Bright lights flash as the girls prepare for their biggest performance of the year. The crowd grows quiet in anticipation as the girls set their places on the big stage. Each of them look towards one another. They smile. And then, they perform.
Varsity cheer performed in Orlando, Florida on Feb. 16 at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship. The team ended their competition season in sixth place out of 60 teams. To prepare for the championship, the team practiced their full routines or full outs. The team also performed their championship routine in front of a full crowd of their friends and family beforehand
“I love performing in the big arenas,” senior captain Hanna Rae said. “I love the big stages, and having a large crowd always gives me more energy while performing. The energy that I receive from my teammates on the mat with me and the crowd really motivates me to keep going and also give back the same energy in my performance.”
While the team is on deck, or next up to perform, they prepare for their performance with rituals and prayers before getting on stage. On stage, they completed their routine consisting of a sideline or chant, a cheer and a fight song.
The captains have the responsibility to make up routines and formations,” senior captain Katelyn Orozco, “Ensure that we all look put together, [such as having] correct uniform, hair [and more]. And, most of all, uplift and help our team become the best it can be. I always try to tell the girls how proud I am of them when I see growth, whether that be them learning a new skill or performing a routine. I feel that people need constant recognition to understand that their hard work does not go unnoticed, because without it they may feel discouraged and unmotivated to keep going.”
As the spring season was competition season, the last semester was taken up with show season where they cheer at events like football games, volleyball games and in-charity events. According to Orzoco, there are no off days for the cheerleaders during the first semester of school.
“The thing I’m going to miss most about cheer is football games,” senior Natalie Danton said. “No matter what, we always had so much fun, especially while we got ready before games and the bus rides there. I’m so grateful for this program and all the wonderful memories I got from it.”
The team is now working on rebuilding the team as they begin tryouts for the new season. The upcoming seniors are also trying out for leadership positions to continue the current seniors’ legacies.
“My favorite thing about the team is our ability to make anything fun,” Orozco said. “We are constantly laughing and having fun with each other. The bond we have is like no other. But when it comes time to focus and work, we get things done.”
