![Holding up T-wolves, the tour group poses for a picture in the Chinese classroom. Sophomore Lydia Ou, junior Phu Trung and senior Yushan Pan gave a tour to Taiwanese diplomat Andrea Yang on Nov. 8. “I was so excited when I heard I would get to give the tour because it’s a big deal,” Ou said. “She’s from the US embassy for Taiwan, so she’s really important. I’m so privileged [to get this opportunity] and I’m so excited.” Photo by Skyler King](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Main-Taiwan.jpg)
![Students drew chalk art in honor of Veterans day. This is just one of many things the school does to show appreciation to veterans, and the art will remain in the courtyard as a reminder of all of the veterans who served their country. “On veteran’s day, I think it’s a great thing we do at school to honor people that served [who are] at our school or family members,” English teacher and cheer coach Nadira King said. “It makes me feel proud, and it makes me remember the [veterans].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Capture.png)
![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 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)
On The Run
CPHS Track Team Shares Thoughts on Current Season
Looking ahead, junior Nick Grullon runs the hurdles at the track meet on Feb. 3. Due to Coronavirus. the amount of teams allowed at the meet were restricted, however the new changes don’t deter his passion for track. “I enjoy track because it’s an opportunity to grow mentally and physically” Grullon said. “I stay in shape by eating healthy and maintaining my training regimen.”
February 10, 2021
While 2020 may have brought plenty of adversity and challenge for numerous sports teams, many of which have had to undergo changes or cancelations due to the Coronavirus, the CPHS track team is still gearing up for a new season in hopes of becoming district champions. Junior Mark Lucas is setting the bar even higher this year and hopes to break his own record despite the unprecedented challenges.
“My goals for this season are to break 4:30 in the mile, which is a huge goal of mine,” Lucas said. “I love to compete and track is one of the oldest sports. Racing another [person] is like a battle of mind and body and it’s unlike any other sport out there. The thrill of passing someone is unmatched.”
Due to the number of teams that can compete per meet being cut down to only eight in total, which includes both varsity and junior varsity, teams will have to work even harder if they plan to make an impression. For sophomore Isaac Plotts that means a rigorous training schedule starting as early as 5:30 a.m. and mental battle in order to get himself ready to race.
“I get ready for practice and usually get four to nine miles in, depending on whether we have a workout or maintenance run,” Plotts said. “After that, we have core and strength training after our maintenance run. About a week before every race I mentally prepare myself. I usually take all my allergy medication, stay hydrated and talk with the trainers if there’s anything that’s been bothering me. Mentally I visualize my goals, imagining the race stride for stride and I stay positive knowing that I’m gonna run my own race.”
One member of the team, junior Erika Arthur feels that regardless of what challenges the team faces pandemic or not, she has confidence that the team will remain diligent and ready to compete. The team already got some practice with the Tri-meet on Feb. 3, and she believes that the team is ready. Their next official meet is on Feb. 18-19 and will be split between varsity and JV teams.
“I enjoy track because of the competition,” Arthur said. “I love being competitive and having other girls push me to be a better athlete. I think track is different from many other sports because we have a bond that is very rare, there is blood sweat and tears left out on the track every morning and every afternoon. If it weren’t for our team coordination I don’t think we would be as strong as a team as we are”
![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-300x201.jpg)
