![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
“How fast was that? Too fast!” chanted the fans as senior Alison Rugar’s pitch flew past the batter. “STRRIKEEE!” announced the umpire, as the crowd cheered.
The softball team, led by co-captains Ashley Del Alto (12) and Alison defeated the Castilleja Gators 6-5 in a close battle today at the Blackford softball diamond.
Right off the bat, the team took the lead scoring three runs due to the batting skills of Alison “Sixer”, Ashley “Smashley”, and Nithya “Very Ready” Vemireddy (11), all nicknamed by announcer Kevin Mohanram (11).
“I always wanted to be an announcer, and I figured, why not get started?” he said. “Everyone loves nicknames, and it makes everything more interesting too.”
Today was Kevin’s first time announcing a softball game, and with the help of the team and other spectators, he tried to give each girl a nickname based on her actions.
The next two innings passed quickly, with neither team scoring a run. The fifth inning brought the Eagles ahead 5-0 with two runs batted in (RBI) from Ashley.
Between the fifth and sixth innings, a large swarm of bees shocked the crowd as they buzzed directly through the field and over the heads of many of the players.
“Don’t make noise like a flower,” assistant coach Daniel Hudkins joked as everyone froze in hopes of avoiding the bees. No one was stung, and the game continued after a brief pause.
In the fifth inning, the Castilleja Gators made a comeback bringing the score to 5-3, though the Eagled countered with an RBI by Briana Liang (10) in the sixth inning. With two final runs from the Gators, the game ended with a 6-5 victory for the Eagles.
Head Coach Raul Rios thought the team worked hard and earned today’s win.
“Today’s game was a nail-biter, but we knew what we were getting into,” he said. “They are always tough, they were last years league champs, and even though we got the lead early I told them it’s going to take seven innings to do it, and it took all the way until the last out to do it, great effort by them.“
This win places the team 4-0 in league play. The team hopes to qualify for CCS and be league champions.
“If we keep playing the way we are, I think we’re going to be very competitive and end up on top. Hopefully at the top of the league or at least able to qualify for CCS,” Rios said said. ”We’re on the right track; we’re 4 and 0, and they’re 12 league games. We have eight more to go, so we’ll take them one at a time.”
Sophomore Vivian Isenberg, who plays first base, had similar thoughts.
“My favorite part of softball is the way the whole team works together,” she said. “Obviously we want to make it to CCS this year and be league champions, and next season I guess work with losing a couple of seniors, but still keeping it going strong.”
Their next game is away on Thursday against Yerba Buena High School.
