![“[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)
Track and field attends first meet of the season in pouring rain
Junior Rahul Balakrishnan runs his race in pouring rain during the Archbishop Mitty Invitational on Wednesday afternoon. This invitational is the first meet of the Track and Field season.
Members of the Track and Field team participated in a season opener invitational at Archbishop Mitty High School today. Due to the rain, some events, such as the boys 110 meter hurdles and pole vault, were cancelled.
For the freshmen, this first track meet was the cause of some nervousness and anxiety. Cross country school record holder Niki Iyer (9) thought that it was a pretty nerve wracking meet for her but believes that “just being excited is very important.”
Other newcomers to the team also felt the sense of excitement. Sophomore Johnathon Keller felt that “running in a track meet for the first time was fun because I made new friends and it was fun competition.” However, “the rain made the track slippery, which was hard to run on,” Johnathon said. Johnathon’s events include the 100 meter dash and the 4×1 relay.
Similarly, returning runner Calvin Kocienda (10) “enjoyed the 30 seconds that [he] was running” but thought the rest of the meet was less than ideal because of the rain and low temperatures.
Junior Sidhart Krishnamurthi, however, felt that the rain was constructive and helped him “to bond with [his] teammates through it, and the conditions will only improve from here.”
Another runner new to the team this year, Helen Xie (10) also “enjoyed the moments when [she] ran because that got [her] pumped and [she] was actually warm.” The light race clothing worn by runners made the few minutes before and after races quite chilly. Soaked jackets and sweat pants were also not conducive to staying warm.
In regard to the rain, this year’s team captain Claudia Tischler (12) thought it “was a bit unusual for us, so many of the runners were more than normally nervous.” Although she also feels that “it’s a good experience [to] race in different conditions.”
Rain or shine, team members were dismissed from class at 1:30 P.M. and met in the back loading zone to board the bus. At Mitty, a tent was set up to provide some shelter from the rain. Despite their efforts to stay dry, nearly all runners, long jumpers, and throwers were soaked by the end of their event.
The team has their next meet at the annual Willow Glen Invitational this Saturday, March 1.
Cheryl Liu is an assistant photo editor of TALON yearbook. She is a junior and has been part of the journalism program since her freshman year. Her favorite...
Shay Lari-Hosain (12) is the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Wingspan Magazine. Shay has interviewed 2013 Nobel Laureates, authors like Khaled Hosseini...