![“[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)
Spring Update
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Upper School Varsity athletes are swinging, putting, and setting their way through spring sports which are now nearing the end of season. This season highlighted Varsity Track & Field, Varsity Swimming, Varsity Lacrosse, Varsity Softball, Varsity Baseball, Varsity Boys’ Tennis, Varsity Boys’ Golf, and Varsity Boys’ Volleyball. The Eagles had a great season this year with some teams and individual members qualifying for CCS.
Boys’ Golf
Finishing with a 9-1 league record, Boys’ Varsity golf has had a history-making season as co-league champions. Their sole league loss this season was to rival Sacred Heart Prep, whom Harker split the league championship. The highlight of team’s season was their showdown against Menlo, another league rival. The Eagles edged the Knights 208-209, with Avi Khemani (9) sinking an eight-footer to seal the victory. The boys then placed second in the WBAL league finals and secured a berth into the CCS Championships. “We’ve practiced everyday, and our scores have constantly decreased. We’ve been playing better, and because of that, we’ve advanced further,” Avi said.
Boys’ Tennis
Varsity tennis finished their season with a 8-8 seasonal record. This year’s team increased in size considerably with plenty of freshmen joining the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. “We didn’t make CCS, but we were the best team who didn’t make it. We had a lot of freshmen this year, so it was a new experience for a lot of us. We’re losing one senior this year, so most of us are going to stay, and I think that will help with our progress and improvement over the coming years,” Varsity player Edward Tischler (9) said.
Girls’ Lacrosse
Girls’ Varsity lacrosse has tremendously improved this season with the team finishing at a 7-11 in league. The varsity team finished at second in the league. Due to the rising number of players especially in the freshman class, the Lacrosse team split up into Varsity and Junior Varsity divisions this year. “[The junior varsity team] really allowed us to bond with other people who are at our experience level rather than people who were already better than us. It motivated us,” said freshman junior varsity player Aditi Maheshwari. The new junior varsity team is an all-freshman team. Two new coaches also helped the teams reach their success. “In terms of wins, this is probably our second-most successful season, but I think we’ve played better as a team this year than any other year,” Mabel Luo (12) said. “We’ve been utilizing so many plays, both old and new, and we’ve really made sure that every player on the team plays her role in each game.” With more players on the team, team captains, Mabel and Christine Lee (12), think that the teams have been able to bond more and focus on separate skills to improve. While the team has improved in the game, Christine believes that a positive attitude is the most important factor of the team’s success. “Playing sports is as much a physical competition as it is a mental battle,” Christine said. “Going into games with smiles on our faces and being as loud as possible really gets us excited and ready to take on our rivals.” With wins against Mercy-Burlingame, Woodside, and Santa Catalina, the varsity squad looks to improve even more next year. “The season’s gone great. The girls have really improved. The JV team has really impressed me, and I’m really excited about the future of the program,” Varsity Girls’ head coach Andrew Irvine said.
Boys’ Baseball
Varsity baseball reached the end of their playing season, closing out with a 3-22 overall record led by captain Varun Kamat (12). “We’ve improved a lot. Beginning of the season, we would lose by a huge margin, we would get mercy-ruled all the time, but now we’re getting closer and closer games,” said freshman player Varun Haltore. The highlight of the team’s season was their game against Woodside Priory, where they lost a nail biter by an extremely close score of 7-8 against their rivals.
Boys’ Volleyball
Boys’ Varsity volleyball, currently ranked eighth in all of CCS, ended their season with a record of 7-8. The highlight of the team’s season would be their third place finish at the Monta Vista tournament, with wins against teams such as Valley Christian and Los Altos. “The boys are working hard and getting better every day. We look at where we started to where we are now, and we are currently among the area’s best teams,” said boys’ varsity head coach and upper school athletic director Dan Molin. The boys look to make a deep run in the CCS playoffs.
Girls’ Softball
Varsity softball closes out their season with a 1-15 overall record. This year, the girls’ team was led by captains Sarah Bean (11), Alisa Wakita (10), and Vivian Isenberg (11). There were no seniors on the team, and the team’s previous pitcher graduated, so some players were assigned to new positions and had to adjust. “It’s been kind of a rough season. We’re a fairly young team with no seniors on the team this year,” said Varsity coach Raul Rios. “We took our lumps in the beginning of the season, but towards the end of season, we are getting a lot stronger.” Highlights of the girls’ season include a 16-4 win by the Eagles against Andrew Hill High School.
Swimming
Caption for Swimming Pic: Kimberly Ma (12) swims the butterfly. Kimberly qualified for the CCS meet which will be held on May 29.
With the girls currently at a 7-3 record in league and the boys maintaining a 3-3 record, Varsity swimming has qualified almost every swimmer into the WBAL league finals. Victories have included the defeats of King’s Academy and Pinewood. Another major meet was the Eagles’ matchup against league powerhouse, Menlo School. “I believe that we can further persevere as we head into the league championships to score a victory for both the boys’ varsity and girls’ varsity to end the season strong,” said Varsity Boys’ swimmer Leon Chin (11).
Track and Field
Varsity track and field is nearing the end of a historical season, with several school records in both running and field events. Some new school records include Niki Iyer (9) in the 1600 meter, Wei Wei Buchsteiner (12) in the high jump for boys, and Julia Wang (11) in the discus. Several freshmen and sophomores were also eligible to compete in CCS Top 8. “The good thing about this year’s track team is that we are very young. We have a lot of very good freshmen and sophomores, and that bodes very well for the future,” said track and field coach Scott Chisam.
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