![“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)
![“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)
![“[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)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasn't making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable," Carter Chadwick ('22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
Track team prepares for WBAL league meet #1
Davis Dunaway (9) practices the high jump at track practice after school for the first league meet of the season. The WBAL #1a meet will kick off at Sacred Heart Prep next Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.
The track & field team is busy preparing for the first league meet of the season.
The WBAL (West Bay Athletic League) #1a meet will be hosted by Menlo School next Wednesday, March 26.
Niki Iyer (9) is running long distance events at the meet. On alternate days, long distance runners perform strenuous workouts in order to be ready for meets. Niki says she is undertaking the usual training regimen, eating right, sleeping well, strengthening, stretching, [and] getting ready for big races and championship season.”
“[I am feeling] really happy, because another school record is great, and I got second in the CCS championships [cross country], so that’s also really good. It’s just going to be really great for confidence for future races,” she said.
Team captain Claudia Tischler (12) offered some advice for runners participating in the meet. Claudia is running the 800 meter (1/2 mile) at the Garlic Invitational meet on this Saturday, and the 1600 meter (1 mile) at the league meet.
“Sleep, drink water, feel like you’ve done the right training so you’re confident,” she said. “The most important thing is to compete. Don’t just look at your time or run by yourself, or isolate yourself from the other people, because [then] it’s not a race. You’re just doing a time trial. Make sure you’re competing against the people running with you.”
Claudia is running two different events, and therefore modifies her workouts accordingly.
“Because 800 is shorter distance, we alternate speed work and long distance, so this is the short week. For [the league meet], [we do] more long distance work,” she added.
Coach Brent Woodcock shared his insights into the Eagles’ prep work for the first league meet of the season. Woodcock emphasized the importance of conditioning in order to advance in the rankings, with the ultimate goal being CCS finals.
“We’re working on all aspects of training, but then we continue to advance specific skill work all season, especially as the athletes acquire more knowledge of their events,” he said. “[The WBAL #1a] is a chance for our team to do different events they might not at a big invitational [meet]. The league meets are a great way to get some training in a competition-specific area. What the whole season works towards is league finals; you have to be in the top of your races to go to CCS finals.”
Davis Dunaway (9) is a newcomer to the Eagles’ track team. He expressed his newfound enthusiasm for the sport; his events are the high jump, long jump, triple jump. Davis is currently training for hurdling events.
“It’s really fun; I enjoy how it’s a group but we still all get to focus individually on what we want to,” he said. “[I’m] just making sure that I’m taking care of injuries at home, prep working, [and] just doing basic exercises.”
In addition to next week’s first WBAL meet of the season, the Garlic Invitational meet will be hosted by Soquel High School this Saturday, March 22.
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...