The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
Thomas Melina Raab

Thomas Melina Raab, sports editor

(he/him)

Senior Thomas Melina Raab is a second year member of the Shield staff. He is taking up his first leadership position on the staff this year as sports editor. Looking at pursuing a career in sports journalism, the position is a perfect fit for him. Thomas looks forward to helping out with the newspaper, furthering his experience in journalism, and doing something he enjoys to do at a higher level.

All content by Thomas Melina Raab
It’s officially official, Chris Riley is a Longhorn. On Monday, Riley signed his National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Texas surrounded by friends and family. For the next four years, Riley hopes to make his school, his coaches, his peers and his family proud as he runs with the burnt orange on his chest. As Coach Houston put it, “This is a special day for athletes all around the country.” For Riley, this was his day. Coach Houston, Coach Gammerdinger, and even Coach Ashton were there to support him as he took the next step in his athletic and academic career. Once pen was put to paper, Riley was quick to thank McCallum for his time here, saying “If I didn’t go to McCallum, I don’t think I would have been as interested in running as I am today.” He then thanked his club coach Paul Carrozza, who he said has played a huge part in his training over the years. After some reluctance, to which he attributed to having thanked them every day, he finally thanked his parents sitting beside him. Coach Ashton, Riley’s cross country coach for three years, closed out the day with some encouraging words from the past and for the future. “The first day I saw you I knew you were going to do big things,” Ashton said. After four years, it’s pretty safe to say Riley has. Track season starts very soon, and he will only hope to do even bigger things before he departs for the 40 acres.

[Photo] 2022: A year In review in photos

Shield reporters and photographers
December 27, 2022
ONE LAST HURRAH: Members of the senior dance company hold hands at the end of their piece called "Sound and Color," the closing dance of the student directed-dance show. “It’s a very sentimental moment because it’s like the end where we all are holding hands and were all connected,” senior dance company member Wynter Winston said. “The senior dance was wholesome and had us reflecting on all the times and memories we shared together as a senior company.” Caption by Grace Vitale. Photo by Meredith Grotevant.

Finding ‘Solace’ on the stage

Smith Bohls, Meredith Grotevant, Sophie Kessler, Chloe Lewcock, Thomas Melina Raab, Lydia Reedy, Alice Scott, Grace Vitale, Francie Wilhelm, Nate Williams, and Dave Winter
May 14, 2022
Sophomore Nathan Nagy struggled to get through the first inning, and erratic team defense did help his cause. After giving him five runs and struggling with his control, he settled down to pitch into the seventh inning allowing only one more run in the game.

Anderson edges Mac to put title streak in jeopardy

Grace Nugent and Thomas Melina Raab
April 21, 2022
MAKE THE FAMILY PROUD: Chris Riley was met with a swarm of overjoyed friends in the stands after his record 1600m run. One of those friends, Alex Tita, experienced firsthand how much Riley had trained for moments like these, and couldn’t be more proud of him. “I was so proud of him. Watching him cross the finish line with not only a personal record, but a school, and meet record was very special. His dedication to running is unmatched, and I hope to see him cross the finish line with even more record breaking times in the future.” After missing the entirety of his cross country season with a stress fracture, the dedication that Tita mentioned has become Riley’s greatest weapon. Through 60 mile weeks and hours upon hours of training, he’s been able to propel himself, not just back to where he was pre-injury, but much, much, faster. With the way he’s been running this season, it will be no surprise to anyone when there are many more moments like these. Riley will only run faster, and the stands will once again fill with crowds of people ready to watch the show. Caption by Thomas Melina Raab.

Knight Time at the Texas Relays

Thomas Melina Raab, sports editor
April 5, 2022
Michael Alverson celebrates with teammates Silvio Guzman and Dash Levy after they clinched first place in the district with their 2-1 victory over the Anderson Trojans on March 12.

Resilience in the face of disappointment

Thomas Melina Raab, sports editor
March 24, 2022
Kenta Asazu celebrates his completion of the full marathon at the Austin Marathon with a medal and a personalized sign.

Asazu’s magic shoes

Thomas Melina Raab and Alysa Spiro
February 23, 2022
Charlotte Stevens gets ready for her turn in the pole vault last year at the district meet in Lockhart. Stevens won the event comfortably with a mark of 10 feet.

Knights prepare for track season with excitement, possibility

Thomas Melina Raab, sports editor
January 23, 2022

‘French Dispatch’ delivers on all fronts

Thomas Melina Raab and Oliver Boyd
January 13, 2022
Chris Riley poses in the Longhorns kit during his official visit to the campus on Wednesday, Dec. 8.

Hometown hero Riley commits to Texas

Thomas Melina Raab, sports editor
December 19, 2021
Transgender rights activists gather outside the entrance to the House floor on May 23. Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar for the Texas Tribune. Reposted here with the permission of Texas Tribune deputy photo editor John Jordan.

Trans athlete bill becomes law

Thomas Melina Raab, sports editor
December 8, 2021
Senior Grace Werkenthin spikes the ball in the Knights' 3-1 loss to the Anderson Trojans at Don Caldwell Gymnasium. The loss was Mac's first district setback. The Knights are now in third just behind Anderson and Ann Richards and will face the Trojans again on Oct. 8 at Anderson High School.

‘Connoisseur’ Werkenthin emerges as team leader

Thomas Melina Raab, sports editor
October 26, 2021
Senior Chris Riley waves to the cheering crowd at the Pink Week pep rally. Despite not racing during the cross country season, Riley has remained a key part of the team.

Riley eyes return to racing after ankle injury

Thomas Melina Raab, sports editor
October 13, 2021
Seniors Johan Holmes, Jake Hissey and Cooper Borman celebrate the victory over Marble Falls. "It was a pretty amazing game," Hissey said. "We were able to hold the ball for awhile and run down the clock." Both Hissey and Holmes are excited for the momentum this will bring into next week's matchup versus Liberty Hill. "Last week if you would've asked me about the Liberty Hill game I would be super skeptical about our chances to do anything," Holmes said. "But after that victory against a similar but worse team and a good week of practice I am excited."

Knights corral Mustangs on goal line stand

Thomas Melina Raab and Grace Nugent
October 8, 2021
CAPTAINS AT TWILIGHT: Seniors Ez Guenther, Jake Hissey, Jaxon Rosales and Johan Holmes lineup for the coin toss before their last non-district game against the Kerrville Tivy Antlers. For Hissey, it was his first game back after suffering a wrist injury before the team’s marquee matchup against the Anderson Trojans. Despite wearing a cast that prompted the opposing coaches to urge their offensive skill players to run at "the one-armed safety," Hissey held his own, nearly making an interception to seal the victory on the play before Guenther succeeded in doing the same. The Knights went on to beat Tivy 23-15 in a game that despite Tivy’s 0-4 record, they were not favored to win. Caption by Thomas Melina Raab.

Long bus ride to Kerrville proves to be fruitful

Carly Johnson, Sophie Leung-Lieu, Lucy Marco, Anna McClellan, Thomas Melina Raab, Esme Moreno, Caroline Owen, Charlie Partheymuller, Samantha Powers, Alice Scott, Grace Vitale, and Dave Winter
September 21, 2021
During cross country's first practice of the season, Coach Long tracks her runnner's time with a stopwatch. Practice would normally have started three months ago, but was stalled due to the previous coach, Susan Ashton's retirement.

[Photo] It all matters in the Long run

Alice Scott, online-co-editor-in-chief
September 22, 2021

Same place. Same two players. Different outcome.

Thomas Melina Raab, sports editor
September 10, 2021
In what turned out to be her last first day of practice as the cross country coach, Susan Ashton huddles up the COVID-safe way with her runners on Sept. 7, 2020.

Ashton to retire after 17 years at Mac

Thomas Melina Raab, staff writer
May 28, 2021
The scoreboard at Mike Myers Stadium reveals that McCallum's Chris Riley finished second in the state, a mere quarter of a second behind Grapevine's Walker St. John in the 1600 meters at the 5A UIL State Championship Track and Field Meet.

Riley ends stellar season with second-place state finish

Thomas Melina Raab
May 7, 2021
Rather that supporting the competitive needs of an already disadvantage class of student-athletes, Senate Bill 29 manufactures a problem related to their participation that is far more hypothetical than it is empirical.

Bill to ban transgender athletes creates problem where there was none

Thomas Melina Raab, staff reporter
May 3, 2021
Senior O’Mari Hill leaps over the bar during the high jump early Thursday morning. He secured fourth with a jump of 5 feet, 8 inches, just making the cut for next week’s Regionals meet.

Seven Knights jump, vault, throw, race to Regionals

Thomas Melina Raab, staff reporter
April 19, 2021
More than half the squad earned a postseason honor of some kind, either Texas High School Coaches Association Academic All-State for classroom excellence or All-District 17-5A honors for on-the-pitch excellence.

10 boys varsity soccer players earn All-District honors

Thomas Melina Raab
April 13, 2021
Senior Moss Gillespie strikes a pose on team photo day Tuesday on the Mac practice field. The Knights' next game is Friday versus Crockett at Burger Stadium. At 4-2-3, the Knights have a tenuous hold on second place in the District 17-5A standings, a single point ahead of Lockhart and two points ahead of Northeast and LASA.

Gillespie savors final season, eyes life after high school

Thomas Melina Raab, staff reporter
March 3, 2021
Junior Chris Riley kicks towards the finish line in the last 800 meters of the State meet in Round Rock. While many of his competitors fell off the pace, Riley found the energy to sprint the last leg of the race to finish his best race of the year on a challenging course. The final kick secured him 55th place out of 122 runners and an official 5K personal record of 16:14.

Riley sets personal record at state cross-country meet

Thomas Melina Raab, staff reporter
December 6, 2020
With a ninth-place finish in 16:28, junior Chris Riley earned a return trip to the state cross-county meet, and unlike last year, he is healthy heading into the race. Photo by Caleb Gomez.

Three Knights represent at cross-country regionals

Thomas Melina Raab, staff reporter
November 25, 2020
MOM WORKING: This is my Mom working from home while my dog lays under the table. My dog has really enjoyed having more company around the house since usually it’s just the cat. I don’t think my mom enjoys our company quite as much though. Photo by Thomas Melina Raab.

Balancing work and family in COVID-19 times

Evie Barnard, Kate Boyle, Lily Brode, Emily Cormack, Sophia Dawson, Olivia Escalante, Anna Garcia, Ava Medina, Thomas Melina Raab, Esme Moreno, Dylan Neal, Lydia Reedy, Angus Sewell McCann, Regan Sims, Zoe Tanner, Camille Wilson, Lily Wilson, Annabel Winter, and Dave Winter
May 5, 2020
FRESH MEAT (Dec. 17): Sophomore Cooper DeMont blocks a kick made by freshman Noah Dainton. For both players, this is their first year on varsity. For most, joining a team where most players already know each other can be scary. But for Dainton, it was a little bit different. “It’s been great. I already feel like just another guy on the team.” DeMont and Dainton will make their varsity debut on Thursday against Anderson.

Soccer season starts here

Thomas Melina Raab, McCallum photojournalism
January 14, 2020
Senior Jimmy Walker makes a break for the goal at soccer tryouts on Dec. 9. Photo by Thomas Melina Raab.

[Photo] Class of 2020 teammates ready for one more run

Sophia Dawson, McCallum photojournalism
December 29, 2019
Goalie Bryn Lewis (in yellow) gives the team a pep talk after a disappointing loss at the hands of the Trojans. Bryn is a clear leader on the team. He is always telling his teammates where to move on the field and giving them words of encouragement. He also had a couple of very nice saves that could have made the game much harder for the Knights if they had not happened. When I asked Bryn how he keeps such a positive attitude even after losing a hard fought battle to Mac’s rival school, he responded, “It’s important to me as one of the older guys on the team to make sure everybody keeps their head up and doesn’t dwell on the loss.”

Anderson edges Mac on late goal

Thomas Melina Raab, McCallum photojournalism
December 19, 2019
READY TO RACE: Sophomore Chris Riley (center) lines up with seniors Ian Clennan, Wyeth Purkiss, Josh Betton, Cash Robinson and junior Bodhi Tripathi to compete in the 25-5A District Championship in Lockhart. Riley finished ninth to qualifying for regionals on Oct. 28. Photo by Thomas Melina Raab.

[Photo] Riley rides personal best to UIL state

Julia Kay Smith, staff reporter
November 6, 2019
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Thomas Melina Raab