![“[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)
Athletes qualify for state championships
Corey Gonzales (12) runs neck in neck with Daniel Hill from Sacred Heart Prep on senior night. The two finished 10 seconds apart, and 30 seconds apart from the next fastest runner.
Cross Country:
Varsity cross country runner Niki Iyer (10) placed third in her Division 4 race at CCS finals on Saturday, Nov. 15, earning her a place at state finals.
Her freshman year highlights include being named first-team All-Mercury News, qualifying and placing seventh out of 207 runners in state finals, with a 5K time of 18:33. Niki was also awarded the title of league champion.
Niki practices six days a week and does cross-training on the seventh day. She generally practices for two to three hours in the afternoon and an hour in the morning.
She keeps her warm-ups the same before each race, and this ritual has turned into a superstition for her.
“I think my biggest superstition, though, would probably be my warmup routine. The first thing I do is go to the bathroom, and then I go straight up to a ten-minute jog, and then I go through this series of warm-ups, [and] it just has to be that series [of warm-ups],” Niki said.
When asked about how she felt about making it to states for the second year in a row, Niki responded positively.
“[It feels] really good. I got to states last year,” Niki said. “So, this year, just going again as a sophomore, considering in the beginning of the season, I was injured for about three months with a stress fracture, to come back and still make it to states, is really good.”
Both Niki and Corey Gonzales (12) will be running at state finals at Woodward Park, Fresno, on Nov. 29.
Golf:
Katherine Zhu (9) advanced farther than any other Harker golfer with her record season.
Freshman golfer Katherine Zhu completed the best golf finish in Harker history by placing second at the Central Coast Section (CCS) golf championships and tieing 19th place out of 84 golfers at the Northern California Championships.
Her score of 3-under-par 69 fell short only two strokes to a golfer from Palo Alto High School, who placed first with a score of 67 at CCS, where 95 golfers competed at Rancho Canada in Carmel on Nov. 4. Katherine was one of four individuals who qualified at CCS to advance to the individual league championships at Crazy Horse Ranch in Salinas with a score of 9-up for the round on Nov. 10.
“It feels really good. I didn’t really have a lot of expectations before the competition,” Katherine said. “I just went and played my best.”
Katherine has been a strong competitor throughout the entire season, assisting the team in their 5-5-1 season. Since she is only a freshman, she looks forward to growing through her next three years of high school.
“My goal next season is to make it into states,” she said.
Katherine began the sport six and a half years ago, when her mother signed up for golf.
“My mom played, and she made me play,” Katherine said. “I hated it because it was really boring, and then I started winning and making new friends, and it was okay.”
Since then she has been practicing outside of school and joined the girls varsity golf team this year.
“Practice is always fun and my teammates and the coaches are really supportive and encouraging.”
Harker coach Ie-Chen Cheng commented on the impact Katherine’s character has had on the team.
“As a freshman, she has already proven that she can be the best golfer to come through Harker. To have an elite player like Katherine makes the team better as a whole,” she said. “She is beginning to understand that it’s not just her scores and performance on the course that counts. But her attitude, her willingness to help others and share her experience and knowledge, and her setting a good example on how to become an elite golfer. She’s still young, but I see potential in her becoming a leader of the team in the future.“
She also sees opportunity for growth in Katherine’s ability over the next three years.
“Her potential is limitless. She’s a great ball striker. One of the most if not the most consistent ball strikers I’ve ever seen,” Coach Cheng said. “If she continues to improve her putting and her work regiment, she can definitely play Division I golf.”
Athletic Director Dan Molin has been using his frequent Eagle updates to keep the student body up to date with Katherine’s performance through this golf season.
“Congratulations to Katherine on an outstanding season which includes an individual league championship. We’re very proud of her,” said Molin in an email to Harker faculty and students.
Though her season is over for the year, Katherine will continue to play at Pruneridge Golf Club in Santa Clara to prepare for next year.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on November 21, 2014.
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