![“[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)
Blue Devils triumph in tight Duke vs. Wisconsin finals game for NCAA championship
Duke beat out Wisconsin to claim the first place title with a score of 68 to 63 at the NCAA championship game tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
At halftime, the game stood still at a nail-biting 31 to 31.
“Last year, I had picked Duke to win it all, but then they were awful,” Raghav Jain (11) said. “This year, I decided to give it another shot and had them in the finals. I wanted Duke to win throughout the game, and it was pretty nerve wracking when they were down for a bit in the second half. I was happy with how it ended, and Duke balled out.”
Wisconsin’s offense took a lead at the start of the second half, but Duke surpassed this setback to come out on top in the end.
“I was cheering for Wisconsin,” Dhanush Madabusi (11) said. “I picked them to win the championship in my bracket. I really love their team in general. They have the number one offense in NCAA. Frank Kaminsky is the Naismith player of the year. He’s a beast. He’s like the next Dirk Nowitzki.”
Frank Kamisky led the Wisconsin team with 21 points scored.
With around four minutes left in the game, Duke began to take their lead back from Wisconsin, running up a 10 point lead.
Niki Iyer (10) commented that she felt “there were so many surprises” in the tournament as a whole.
“Overall, I was pretty happy that Duke won, even though my team, North Dakota, didn’t win,” Niki Iyer (10) said. “I didn’t think that North Dakota would lose to Kentucky, nor did I think Duke would get the win over Wisconsin. I think the best part of the tournament is seeing people come up with the craziest brackets possible, and then their brackets being correct.”
The final round kept spectators on the edge of their seats, regardless of what team they were cheering for.
“It was one of the most exciting NCAA finals I’ve ever seen,” Corey Gonzales (12) said. “It was weird seeing two teams that weren’t Kentucky in finals. For pretty much the entire season it looked like all the other teams were playing so that they could lose to Kentucky in the final. Kentucky looked pretty much unstoppable.”
Duke beat out Wisconsin to claim the first place title with a score of 68 to 63 at the NCAA championship game tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Students and faculty filled out brackets in early March predicting the result of the Division I college basketball tournament.
Many students were disappointed that the Kentucky Wildcats were defeated in the final four, as the team had been a standout in earlier rounds. Until their loss to Wisconsin, Kentucky had maintained an undefeated season.
“I had picked Kentucky to win the entire tournament,” Natasha Mayor (11) said. “After Duke busted my bracket last year, I was definitely not going to root for them in the championships, so I cheered for Wisconsin in the final game. The championship game was intense and exciting, and there was no clear winner until the very end when Duke pulled ahead by executing a couple smart plays.”
Duke University’s Tyus Jones was the lead scorer throughout the entire game with 23 points.
Elisabeth Siegel (12) is the editor-in-chief of the Winged Post. This is her fourth year in Journalism, and she especially loves production nights and...