Class of 2016: CAC’s Graduates at a Glance
Yesterday, May 15, CAC said farewell to another accomplished group of seniors. From winning a state title to earning millions of dollars in scholarships, these students have excelled in many notable ways. This year’s 75 graduates will continue their academic careers at 17 colleges in six different states. With a top 10 percent GPA of 4.2 and a top 10 percent ACT score of 29.1, this class accepted $2,503,997 in athletic and academic scholarships.
Receiving the class’s highest academic honors was valedictorian Lynley Childress with a 4.32 GPA and salutatorian Josie Bates with a 4.24 GPA. Childress, Bates and David Roth were honored in Little Rock Family’s Head of the Class special section this May. Additionally, Ethan Bowen was the awarded a Donaghey Scholarship from UALR, and Allie Evans received a Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship, granting her full tuition and housing at the University of Colorado Boulder.
On the athletic field, Alexa Goodlow and Cheyenne Butler helped take home the state title for the girls’ golf team, and Alex Hart and Ryan Dillard’s doubles team placed second in the state tennis tournament. On the basketball court, Brittney Higgins was a senior leader on the runner-up Lady Mustang team. Anna-Grace Shields was one of 10 cheerleaders from Arkansas who participated in the All-American Cheerleader group that marched in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Cole Swede placed second in the High School Fishing National Championship. At Athletics Award chapel, the Mustang Spirit Award for outstanding sportsmanship went to Shane Almond and Josie Bates, Cheerleader of the Year went to Anna-Grace Shields, and Athlete of the Year went to Bailey Zini and Landon Stevenson.
Not to be overlooked are the Mustangs’ many artistic accomplishments. Clarinet player Kameron Byrd was named to the Four-State Honor Band, the Festival of Winds Honor Band, the Arkansas All-Star Band, All-Region Band, and All-State Concert Band. In choir, multiple students represented the school when the high school group sang the national anthem at a Memphis Grizzlies game in October. On stage, seniors Caroline Leverett and Shane Almond starred in the spring musical, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” and multiple seniors helped with the production of the high school’s fall one-act, “And Then There Was One.”
At Mustang Mountain’s Academic Awards chapel, the yearbook staff announced the recipients of the school’s character awards. Caden Miller and Lynley Childress were named Mr. and Ms. CAC, Caroline Leverett was awarded Outstanding Mustang, and Anna-Grace Shields, Caden Miller, Lynley Childress, Shane Almond, Dylan Smith and Cheyenne Butler were included in the Mustang Roundup.
However, of all these accomplishments, it is this class’s heart of service that our school takes most pride in. This December, more than 50 seniors helped bring Mustang Christmas to children at the Southern Christian Home in Morrilton, and even more helped raise funds for the Lagosette School in Haiti and participated in CAC’s Access Gators Track Meet and Day of Service. The class chose to finish out its school year with a service project where students packed 10,000 meals for a hunger relief organization called the Pack Shack.
The accomplishments of this senior class are too numerous to mention, and this list represents just a sampling of its accolades. It is for that reason, and many more, we are proud to call these graduates Mustangs. Congratulations, Class of 2016!