cougar strong racing #000
​7th grade team

Coach: Mr. Matthew Graham
Cougar Strong Racing 000 Team Photo
2022-2023

Ella newsome
​team manager

Hey, my name is Ella Newsome, I am in the 7th grade and am on the 000 team. I wanted to join Cougar Strong Racing because I have done it for 2 years in a row. Also, last year I was on the 555 team and loved working on the car and building friendships with the people in the class. The job I hope I get is a part of the pit crew, I want to be on pit crew because I like working on the car in a race and swapping drivers.

Fun fact: I have 9 animals and too many chickens to count.

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katalina synoground
driver

Hey, I'm Katalina Synoground, I'm in the seventh grade and I was on the sixth-grade team last year. I wanted to be a part of Cougar Strong Racing again this year because it was such an adrenaline rush during race days and an enjoyable thing to be a part of. This year I'm a driver like I was last year. This means I have the responsibility of trying to keep the car from getting hit and making sure it crosses the finish line.

Fun fact:  i like hanging out and skating with my friends

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Aaron Ellison
driver

My name is Aaron Ellison I was excited to join Cougar Strong Racing for the second year. Last year I was a driver for the 555 team. This year my position is driver for the 000 team this year. My primary responsibility for this position is to make sure I drive safely to protect our car. My goal as a driver is to pass as many people as I can to improve our race position and log the fastest laps I can possibly have.

Fun fact: I do track & field and cross country and got 4th in the county championship last year.





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Zoe caudill
marketing team, alternate driver

I'm Zoe Caudill, I am in 7th grade, and I joined the Greenpower racing team because I was in it last year. While I was a part of it, I noticed that it significantly improved me. I also wanted to strengthen my team working skills. This year is the second year that I have done green power.  My favorite part of Greenpower is being able to work with my team and do something I love, problem-solving. Two jobs I think I would enjoy the most would be a driver and a part of the social media team. The reason why I want to be a driver is that I have always LOVED driving a vehicle. I feel like driving could give me a great experience with racing. I  want to join the social media team because I love to be social. Talking to people is not a fear.

 Fun fact, I have a hobby of painting. Also, I enjoy video games.

garner little
pusher, asst. pit manager

Hello my name is Garner Little and I’m in the 7th grade. I wanted to join Cougar Strong Racing because I wanted to race and also to be around others and make friends. This is my second year on the team. Last year I was the pusher for our team and I’d like to do the same job again this year. I really hope to be a big part of the team and help our team do better than last year.             ​

Fun Fact: This summer I got to go on vacation in Hawaii.

carter weems
pit manager

Hi, my name is Carter Weems and I am in the seventh grade. This is my first year on the Cougar Strong Racing team. The reasons I wanted to join the Cougar Strong Racing team are to make new friends, have a chance at obtaining new knowledge in the area of designing and racing, and to help the team outrank our opponents. I'm interested in the build team, driver, or pit crew. I look forward to a great year of racing. GO COUGARS!

FUN FACT: I've been to the highest and lowest points of elevation in both Georgia and Alabama. I've also snorkeled with manatees.

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arabella sprayberry
marketing manager

My name is Arabella Sprayberry. I am now on the 7th-grade Cougar Strong Racing greenpower team. I wanted to rejoin the team this year because I love electrical and mechanical engineering. I have also had fun on the greenpower teams I have been on for the past 3 years. (I was on the greenpower team at my elementary school for 2 years)

Fun Fact: I love photography.



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troy smith
assistant pit crew chief

Hey my name is Troy Smith, I'm in the 7th grade, and this is my first year on the Cougar Strong Racing team. The reason I wanted to join the greenpower team is because I love working on cars, motorcycles, and anything with a motor.  I enjoy learning new things on how to fix them if they break. I have a lot of family members that I look up to that work on vehicles and I want to help them fix things that they are working on. Another reason I wanted to join is because ever since I was about 7 or 8 I’ve been driving go-karts and things like that. I also drive our Polaris everyday and I love how fast it will go.  If I can drive a Polaris I can drive a race car. I would really like to be a driver this year, but anything is fine with me.

Fun Fact: I was invited to play baseball with Perfect Game down in Florida.

hayden bradfield
pit crew chief

My name is Hayden Bradfield and I am in the seventh grade. This will be my 4th year participating in GreenPower. I started on the Long Cane Elementary Goblin team in fourth grade as the Pit Crew Chief, and in the fifth grade I moved on to Team manager. When I made the Cougar Strong Racing team In sixth grade I was a driver and a part of the build team. This year I would like to be the Pit Crew chief. I hope this year we can win a National Championship for Cougar Strong Racing!

Fun Fact: In my spare time I enjoy riding and working on my four wheeler, hunting and fishing, and the beach! 

luke ngafoe
pit crew

My name is Luke Ngafoe, and I am in 7th grade. This is my second year being a member on the Cougar Strong Racing team. The reason I wanted to join the 7th-grade team or Triple 0 is that when I was on my 6th-grade greenpower team, Triple 5, I had a fantastic time working with my teammates, solving problems, traveling to new places, and overall having fun. Some jobs I'm looking forward to doing are our pit crew, presentation, and driver or backup driver. 

Fun fact: I like to go tubing and kneeboarding with my friends.

Anthony swanson
pit crew

My name is Anthony Swanson and I am in 7th grade. I wanted to join the CSR team because I had a great experience while I was on the 6th grade team last year. The things that I enjoyed about being on the team last year were all the new places we went to and learning how to design, build, and maintain our race car. This will be my 2nd year in CSR. Last year I worked in many positions on the team including Data Crew, Presentation, and Pit Crew. This year I would be interested in being a Driver, or on Pit Crew.

​Fun Fact: In my spare time I enjoy going fishing, gaming, and sketching. 



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jaxon hull
driver

My name is Jaxon Hull and I am in the 7th grade. I am a returning Cougar Strong Racing team member. I wanted to return to the team because last year was so much fun. I enjoyed learning about and building the F24 while on the pit crew. This year my position is Driver. It’s my responsibility to make sure that the car is safe on the track, and to get in and out of the F24 fast during pit stops. I also need to get the fastest laps possible.

Fun Fact about me: I like to go mud riding with my family.

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brileigh Swann
marketing team

Hi, my name is Brileigh Swann, I am in 7th grade. And I wanted to join Cougar Strong Racing because I did it my sixth grade year. In the beginning of my sixth grade year I was like who are these people, but now they are more like a family and a big chunk of them are really close friends. I have only had one year experience but during that time we have had time to go to Talladega Superspeedway, go late night swimming at our hotels after races, win many races, and meet lots of new friends. And I am most interested in social media manager or just social media.

Fun fact: Me and three of my other friends all of which who made the team also made friends with real professional photographers.

 Team coach / teacher - Matthew graham

Mr. Graham created the very first Greenpower Tech class and GreenpowerUSA team in Troup County in the fall of 2017. Over the last 4 seasons the program has grown to 3 teams and emerged as the most dominant middle school GreenpowerUSA program in the United States. His teams have earned the following honors...

999 Team - Started Fall 2019
National Champions: 2019, 2020, 2021 - Intermediate Modified Div.
000 Team - Started Fall of 2017
Runner up 2019, 2020, 2021 - Intermediate Modified Div.
555 Team: - Started Fall of 2020
National Champion 2021 - Intermediate Stock Div.

Mr. Graham's goal goal is to serve as an ambassador for GreenpowerUSA in Troup County and the surrounding areas to increase awareness & participation in this exciting and engaging STEM program for elementary, middle, & high school students. He looks forward to building on last year's success to achieve even greater goals for year 5 of this program at LCMS!
​Mr. Graham holds a Specialist Degree in Middle Grades Education from the University of West Georgia, and is certified in Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Special Education, and Gifted Education. He has been teaching at Long Cane Middle School for 18 years. ​

 assistant coach - chris morris

Chris Morris got involved with Greenpower in the fall of 2017 when his daughter Chloe joined the team as a 6th grade student. He began volunteering in various capacities and quickly became an integral part of the team. His contributions have made a tremendous impact on the success of our program across the three years in which his daughter Chloe was a member. After she moved up to the high school Chris decided to continue serving as an assistant coach with Cougar Strong Racing because he believed in the value of the experience for our students. He is solely responsible for all the modifications and upgrades found on the inside of our race trailer, and he has been a great mentor to our team members. The 2022-2023 season will be the sixth season for our program and he has been there every step of the way, having never missed a race event in 6 years. We are thankful for the time he has invested in our program and hope he stays with us for many years to come.