Kacey Miller, Editor-in-Chief
Kacey is a senior and fourth year reporter. She loves learning about her fellow students and writing about their stories. In addition to being a staff member for The Wolfpack, she is a UIL journalism competitor, the Cedar Park FFA President and has two show lambs, named Cotton and Bugs, as well as a pig named Nellie (Oleson). If she’s not at the barn or practicing for her FFA contests, she’s probably doing homework. You can find her at every football game, either in the student section or on the sidelines taking pictures. Some of her favorite memories are from reading the Bible with her little sisters. She plans to attend college somewhere cold, but also doesn’t want to be too far away from her family. Her favorite animal is a bear and sometimes she wishes she could hibernate like one. Also, she believes that the Brachiosaurus is the best dinosaur.
![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)
![Hope Squad is a peer-to-peer mental health support system focused on suicide prevention. Lead Counselor Sarah Cable volunteered Cedar Park High School to be the first campus in the district to implement the program into the school. “In my previous campus, I had three suicides,” Cable said. “It’s really, really hard. Hard to go through those things. Having the three losses of students on campus was so tragic and detrimental to everyone that knew them and was around them and their families and friends. If we can prevent the loss of a life and be proactive, I think we should try anything that we can. [By trying Hope Squad] we’re not just trying something willy-nilly; we’re trying something that schools have been using for a while and has seen success with.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Hope-Squad.png)
![With their T-Wolves held high, the varsity volleyball team huddles together in preparation at a match in early September. The team is 6-0 in match play and will start the second round of district play next week. “The second time isn’t going to be easy,” Head Coach Lori McLaughlin said. “That's the thing about this district. The coaches are so good and very skilled with what they do and every team is usually different the second time that we play. We just want to hope that we add some more finesse to our game, and then lead us into the postseason, which hopefully [has us] peaking at the right time.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/varvb-9.3-Julia-14.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)
![On March 20, the theatre program performed their UIL One Act play "Frankenstein". “I could barely believe what I heard after [it was] announced that we were advancing,” freshman Zack Williams said. “It was crazy. Being one of the only freshmen in the show and also [being] a lead definitely put pressure on my shoulders. I knew that the only thing I could do was my best, but that was until I started to think what if my best was not enough? I was feeling like I could never amount to being what [everyone else] thought I was. Although, after hearing that announcement, I realized that maybe I have something going for me after all.”
Photo courtesy of Cayden Bartolo](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Capture.png)
![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)
![Smiling during the annual Decals with Dads, varsity starting quarterback and sophomore David Cooper and his dad Jim Cooper pose for a picture. During this varsity event, players and their dads get together to put new decals on their helmets. This year, in addition to being announced QB 1, David was also voted as one of six captains on the varsity team, a role that he had difficulty adjusting to as a younger player on varsity. “It was a struggle for me, being younger than everyone else and being a leader,” David said. “I wondered if [the team] would respect me, or if they would just see me as a younger person from a younger class. I think I've become a leader, [though] and let people know that even though I'm younger, I'm still going to lead them well.” Photo courtesy of Cedar Park Football SmugMug.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_8493-1-1200x801.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, the Varsity Tennis team celebrates winning districts. They played against Liberty Hill on Tuesday night and won with a final score of 10- 5. “We improved a lot even from the last game,” senior Blake Hillis said. “We lost against them the last time we played [Liberty Hill], but it was really close. It was just really important for us to win this match since it was the district finals. [When we won I felt] overwhelmingly happy, especially being there with my teammates and it being my senior year. It was just really great. It [felt] like a community.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Tennis-Districts-e1728060882260.png)
![Smiling for a picture, senior identical twins Ethan and Drew O'Connor pose with a statue of a parrot mascot. The twins will both attend the University of Arkansas in the fall and major in business. “I didn't really mind going to different colleges, but we had the same [college] choices,” Ethan said. “We both liked Arkansas, and I don't mind him coming with me. If we can't get [a] rooming situation down, we're just going to do a quad together. Which I'm kind of down for a quad, because there is more room.” Photo courtesy of Drew O’Connor](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_7342-976x1200.jpg)
![Standing on the drum major’s platform, senior twin sisters Abby and Courtney McDanald pose for a picture. This fall, Abby will attend the University of Texas at Austin to study nursing and Courtney will major in theater education at Stephen F. Austin University. “I was definitely sad about [attending different universities] because we've been so close,” Abby said. “Being that far away from someone for a long time will be hard. We didn't do it on purpose, we just wanted different things in schools. It's definitely sad, but I think it'll make seeing her more special.” Photo courtesy of Abby McDanald](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/FullSizeRender-798x1200.jpg)
![FFA member and junior Max Adams will show his pigs and heifer at the Cedar Park Barn Show on Nov. 12. “When you think you have a good animal, and then you’re surrounded by a bunch of other [showmen with their animals], it will humble you really quick,” Adams said. “If I keep working and I do good [at shows], it makes me feel good about myself. I just like the competitiveness. It's fun taking care of [them]. Putting in a bunch of work and then not doing good upsets me a lot. It makes me want to do better.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_9790-1200x800.png)
![Posing next to her 2015 Hyundai Sonata, junior and Celebrities Dance Team Second Lieutenant Sophie Poulsen holds up her license. Poulsen’s car was stolen on Aug. 28 from the school parking lot, and was missing for a day before police recovered it. “I was shocked,” Poulsen said. “I never expected, especially in Cedar Park, for my car to get stolen. I still don’t know who [stole my car], but I wish I knew. I don’t think the cops are going to figure it out, because there’s no point. It already happened. We’re probably never going to know. I feel like it was a student, but who knows? [Nevertheless], Cedar Park is not that [kind of place].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/View-recent-pho11tos.jpg)
![Holding up the Timberwolf hand sign after performing Metal Shop at halftime, seniors Austin Waldbusser and Connor Daly pose with sophomore Andrew McCarthy.The three band members spent their summer with Dum Corps International, a non-profit that is known to be the highest level of marching band available. “One [of the reasons for joining] just watching [DCI Corps] shows and being kind of a band nerd about it in general was cool and being like ‘I want to do that’,” Daly said. “Then, one of the now alumni, went to march in the corp of The Phantom Regiment last year, and I was like well ‘I can do it, someone else I know can do it, may as well try it.’”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_1190-1200x800.jpg)
![Leaving his opponent on the ground after a quick and precise maneuver, sophomore running back Trae Hill sprints toward the end zone. The varsity football team will play against Round Rock High School tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Gupton Stadium. “[Being on varsity] made me work a lot harder,” Hill said. “It’s a lot more mental, [too]. People don’t understand that if you’re not in the right headspace, then you won’t be at your best. I hope we make a lot of memories [this season]. We’re confident and we practice hard for sure. We realize that we have a good team this year, [that] we have potential.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tylie-1871-1200x801.jpg)
![With his FFA blue corduroy jacket draped over his lap, Cedar Park FFA Chapter President Jackson Cox poses for his senior pictures. Cox will attend Stephen F. Austin State University this fall to study forestry with a concentration of wildlife to pursue a career as a game warden. “I like the position that game wardens have in the community as positive influences,” Cox said. “[They] lead people away from [making] bad decisions, promote conservation, and protect natural resources. I [want] to be a faithful steward of all that we're entrusted with by God and take care of the natural resources [He] has entrusted us with, [as well as] motivate others to take care of it.” (Photo courtesy of Jackson Cox)](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/USETHISONEJackson20Cox2028-900x600.jpg)
![Posing with her USA gold medal, junior Aahana Mulchandani holds the certificate verifying her place on Team USA Taekwondo team. Mulchandani will represent the team this April in the Dominican Republic for the Pan American Taekwondo Championships. “I'm really excited to go [to the Dominican Republic because] I've never been there,” Mulchandani said. “I'm a little bit nervous too, [but] I feel very honored to [compete] because I fought so hard [to make the team]. I have a very [good] shot [at winning] if I do my best. My coach would probably kill me if I didn’t.” (Photo Courtesy of Aahana Mulchandani)](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/unnamed-600x900.jpg)
![Raising his hand to ask a question, junior Jack Garrett pays attention to the lecture in his AP Seminar class. AP Seminar is the first course in the AP Capstone program, a two-year program where students learn how to analyze, conduct research and give presentations and write essays over their findings. “Both [classes] are centered around research,” AP Research student and junior Amanda Eklund said. “Seminar [teaches you] how to research, and [you] look at other people’s research and combine th[eir] ideas together [for a grade], while Research is conducting your own [experiment].” To learn more about this program and enroll in it for the 2023-2024 school year, contact AP Research teacher Lauren Brannan at Lauren.Madrid@leanderisd.org.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/tyler-kukla-new-9-600x900.jpg)
![One of the few stick vehicles in the school parking lot, senior Alex Trebilco’s 1970 Ford Maverick is a restoration project he worked on with his dad. He and his father have worked on cars together for all of Trebilco’s life, and have several finished projects because of it. “[My favorite memory with my car is] honestly just cruising with my dad in his truck and my car,” Trebilco said. “Both of the [cars] are restored. He did the truck and we did the Maverick, so it’s cool to roll down in two cars that we made run together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Ford-Maverick.png)
![Kneeling down to keep them still for the picture, senior Lydia Vermillion hugs her FFA show lambs, Windsor and Royal. Vermillion has been a member of the FFA for two years and will be competing in FFA contests in both the fall and spring this year. “[My] lambs take up three to five hours of my day,” Vermillion said. “I am [also] an officer in [the Cedar Park FFA Chapter, which] includes going to officer meetings and regular meetings, and planning [those] meetings.” (Photo Courtesy of Lydia Vermillion)](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Lydia-and-Her-Lambs-900x600.jpg)
![Stopping to smell the flowers, Estelle the guinea pig stands between two flower arrangements. English teacher Kim Vidrine has been bringing her guinea pig to school since the start of the last school year. "[Having Estelle at school has] been a lot of fun for me," Vidrine said. "I love having her here, and I like that she hears voices all day and sees people. A couple of weeks ago I posted [on Instagram] a book talk as if Estelle were doing it. I’m going to start using her Instagram page as a way to do book recommendations for followers." (Photo Courtesy of Kim Vidrine)](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Estelle-with-Flowersf.jpg)
