![“[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)
Sports recap: winter break games
Provided by Luke Lang
Two players leap for the ball simultaneously in a basketball game against the Monta Vista Matadors on Dec. 19, the first day of winter break this year. The Eagles trailed in points throughout the game, with a score of 20-24 at halftime, and ultimately lost the game 50-56.
Varsity boys basketball
Varsity boys basketball had a 3-1 record over break, bringing the team to an 8-3 record overall.
The boys lost their first game 50-56 against the Monta Vista High School Matadors at Monta Vista on Dec. 19. The team next won three games at the Blackford campus, scoring 79-50 against the St. Thomas More School Knights on Dec. 21, 78-41 against the Greenfield High School Bruins on Dec. 22 and 65-32 against the Redwood Christian School Eagles on Dec. 30.
Co-captain and center Evan Lohn (12) spoke about how the team has performed so far.
“In general our level of play has been pretty high, but there were a couple of games, maybe against some of the better teams, where I think we could have done better,” Evan said. “I think we’re all giving 100%, but [there are] some fundamental things that we need to fix and make sure we know what we’re doing, playing smart in addition to playing hard.”
Guard-forward Abhay Varmaraja (11) also expressed his opinion on the team’s progress.
“We played pretty well most of the time,” Abhay said. “As the year goes on, you get to run the offense and get more comfortable on defense.”
The team plays next at Sacred Heart Preparatory School on Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Varsity girls basketball
Varsity girls basketball won four games and lost two over the break, resulting in an overall record of 9-3.
The team’s first two games were at the Blackford campus, the first an 80-51 win against the Kirby Preparatory Griffins on Dec. 19 and the second a 58-28 win against the Greenfield Bruins on Dec. 22.
The girls played next at the Dons Club Holiday Tournament held at Del Mar High School, where they first won 66-36 against the Del Mar Dons on Dec. 28. They won their next tournament game 50-37 against the San Mateo High School Bearcats on Dec. 29 but then lost 42-50 in the tournament championship game against the Del Campo High School Cougars on Dec. 30. Their final game over break was against the Santa Clara Bruins at Blackford on Dec. 31.
Sophomore Satchi Thockchom, a guard on the team, commented on the team’s improvement.
“We got to spend a lot of time together over break,” Satchi said. “We’ve been working really hard in practice; we’ve been running a lot. We’re in a lot better shape than last year in terms of our stance in the league.”
The girls’ next game is their first league match at The King’s Academy on Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Junior varsity boys basketball
Junior varsity boys basketball scored a 3-1 record over break, for a 5-4 record overall.
The boys played first at Monta Vista High School on Dec. 19, losing 39-50. They played their next three games at the Blackford campus, winning 60-41 against the St. Thomas More Knights on Dec. 21, 58-28 against the Greenfield Bruins on Dec. 22 and 74-27 against the Redwood Christian Eagles on Dec. 30.
Freshman Gene Wang, a shooting guard on the team, spoke about his feelings on playing over the break.
“Last year, we didn’t practice over winter break and didn’t play over winter break at all,” Gene said. “But when we played over break [this year,] we practiced every day, so we stayed on the same game-ready level that we do when we have school.”
The team plays its next game at Sacred Heart Preparatory School on Jan. 8 at 4:30 p.m.
Varsity boys soccer
Sophomore Rohit Shah kicks the ball far past midfield. The varsity team lost to Saratoga High.
Varsity boys soccer won their only game over break 2-1, a home game against the Cupertino High School Pioneers last Saturday, with Sparsh Chauhan (10) and Omar Hamade (12), who is also a co-captain, scoring for the Eagles. The victory brought their overall record to three wins, two losses and one tie.
Sparsh talked about how he feels the team is progressing.
“I feel like we’re playing more like a team now,” he said. “We’re learning about each other—our strengths, our weaknesses—and we’re playing to our advantages.”
Omar also commented on the team’s improvement.
“We’re definitely improving. We haven’t lost in the last four games,” he said. “We came ready to win; we beat Cupertino, we beat Valley Christian right after winter break and yesterday we beat Sacred Heart.”
The boys’ next match is at Crystal Springs Uplands School on Jan. 11 at 3:30 p.m.
Rose Guan (10) is a copy editor for the Winged Post in her second year on staff. She was a reporter in her freshman year, and her favorite aspect of journalism...