![“[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)
Cross country honors seniors at WBAL league championships
Vivek Sriram (12) and Coach Scott Chisam exchange words as the seniors are honored at a ceremony with all the other teams. This was the last race of their high school cross country careers for most of the seniors.
The cross country team ran in its last team meet of the season and honored senior team members at the WBAL league championships at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course in Belmont, yesterday.
The race took place on the arduous 2.95 mile course with multiple hills and pounding heat. Seniors Corey Gonzales and Rahul Balakrishnan ran in the varsity race, with Corey placing second out of 51 runners with a time of 15:52.4 and Rahul with a time of 19:18.8. Matt Bloch, Richard Gu, Nikhil Singh and Vivek Sriram all ran in the JV race.
At the end of the meet, the coaches from all teams participating in the meet honored the hard work of their respective team’s seniors and bestowed them with a rose. Coach Scott Chisam distributed the flowers and congratulated his seniors on a great season.
Matt Bloch (12) commented on the close of his high school cross country career.
“It was bittersweet,” he said. It’s nice that I can relax more now that the season’s come to a close, but I’ll miss spending time with the friends I’ve made on the team, especially on the bus rides.”
Other team highlights included a second place finish by sophomore Niki Iyer with a time of 18:19.1 in the girl’s varsity race. Although none of the teams advanced as a whole to CCS, individual qualifiers Corey Gonzales, Jack Rothschild, Alexandra Dellar and Niki Iyer will participate in the CCS finals race taking place at Toro Park next Saturday in Salinas.
*In a previous version of this story, Alexandra Dellar’s name was omitted as a CCS qualifier. The current story reflects this updated change.
Vivian Isenberg, a senior, is the Humor & Satire editor on Harker Aquila. She was a member of the yearbook staff her freshman year and has been on...