![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
Senior Send Off
Basketball Player Commits to Oklahoma City University
Photo Courtesy of Anna Pribyla
Showing off his skills, senior Jacob Swoboda looks for an open teammate. He will continue his basketball career in the fall at Oklahoma City University. “I’m super excited to get to play in college and continue my lifelong passion and dream that I’ve put so much time and effort into,” Swoboda said. “It’s sad knowing it’s my last season here after spending so much time in the program. I’m going to miss the moments with my teammates and getting to spend time working hard with them on the court, but also the memories made together off the court.”
May 19, 2022
Dribbling and dodging through players, senior Jacob Swoboda brings the ball up to court to make another 3 pointer. Racing back and forth throughout the game Swoboda leads the team throughout his last season and will shortly start a new chapter of his life this fall.
Swoboda played on the varsity boys basketball team since his sophomore year and plans to further his career playing NAIA basketball in college.
“It’s been my dream to play in college ever since I was really young,” Swoboda said. “Basketball has really been my whole life growing up and I could never see myself without it. It has made me who I am today and so I am so fortunate for what it has brought me. Given the opportunity for me to play at the next level and continue playing suits me perfectly because it is what I enjoy best.”
Swoboda began his career at 4 years old with the YMCA team and moved through more advanced select and school teams.
My mindset changed from playing more of a role when I was younger to transforming into the older kid that tried my best to help lead our team. I’ve tried my best to keep my teammates encouraged and strike them with a positive attitude, even if it was from the side lines.
— Jacob Swodoba
“My favorite part about playing is just competing with my teammates,” Swoboda said. “It’s a satisfying feeling to work towards a goal and be able to accomplish it. I have decided to stick with it for so long simply because I have such a fun time playing and it never fails to make me excited and ready to work some more.”
Since he loved the game, Swoboda continued to play throughout his high school career and started on varsity boys basketball his sophomore year.
“My mindset changed from playing more of a role when I was younger to transforming into the older kid that tried my best to help lead our team,” Swoboda said. “I’ve tried my best to keep my teammates encouraged and strike them with a positive attitude, even if it was from the side lines.”
As Swoboda wrapped up his senior season, he achieved many of his goals and a few awards. Throughout his four years, Swoboda received honorable mention all district, second team all district and an all district honor.
“I will be sad to leave all of my teammates at Cedar Park,” Swoboda said. “It’s been such a big part of me throughout high school and I’ll cherish those times with them. However, I’m excited to begin a new chapter fresh and look forward to many more fun memories to come in regards to college basketball.”
Even though Swoboda is done playing high school basketball, he received an invite to continue his career in college while playing for select teams this past summer.
“Overall, I was just filled with happiness when I got the text from the coach,” Swoboda said. “I was super excited and felt like all my hard work had paid off. It felt like a relief that I finally had a place to go to next year.”
After visiting the college and meeting the team and coaches throughout September, Swoboda committed to Oklahoma City University in October 2021.
“The coaches made me feel so welcomed and all of my future teammates were very kind to me while I visited,” Swoboda said. “I did have other offers but this place felt like home for me. I completely stand by my decision to go there and I’m very excited for the opportunity. I am executed for a new level of experience. Being in college will present a lot of new opportunities that I have not experienced before and I think it will help my game and allow me to continue to enjoy playing.”
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901-600x400.jpg)
Jason • May 19, 2022 at 7:57 pm
What an amazing young man on and off the court. A true leader and the ultimate team player as well as a coaches dream. Jacob has a very bright future a head of him – Swoboda strong!!!