![“[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)
Varsity boys basketball defeats Eastside College Prep 64-53 in first league win
Jadan McDermott (10) tries to shoot against an opposing player attempting to score as both of their teammates watch. “The other team was really strong and athletic, and I think that was the biggest challenge of the game,” team member Jordan Goheen (11) said of the level of play in the game.
January 14, 2016
Varsity boys basketball won 64-53 against Eastside College Preparatory School at the Blackford campus at 6:30 p.m. today, in the team’s second league home game this season.
The Eagles led all four quarters, finishing the first quarter with a score of 21 to their opponents’ 11 and entering halftime at 32-27. In the third quarter, they scored 16 points to 14 from the Panthers, and the team ended the game by scoring another 16 points to Eastside College Prep’s 12. The victory brings the boys’ league record to 1-3.
Junior Jordan Goheen, power forward and center, described how the game felt to him in the context of the league season.
“The intensity was really high, and [the game] was really physical,” Jordan said. “I felt that, as a team, we did really well. We came together after three hard losses and fought out a good win. After those first three losses, we kind of gave ourselves a harder chance of getting to the top, but I still think that it’s possible to win.”
Elijah Edgehill (12), a team co-captain, discussed the strategies that he believed helped the team to victory.
“Defense wins games. We held still on the defense, and that’s how we managed to win the game tonight,” Elijah said. “There were a couple times when we were down and things weren’t looking up, but our coach motivated us [and] told us to keep working hard.”
Butch Keller, the head boys basketball coach and head of Upper School, explained his opinion on the team’s performance as a whole this year.
“If we’re going to continue to be successful, we have to raise our game that much more,” Keller said. “I’m very, very pleased with our effort—not so pleased with execution, but I’d rather have the effort than the execution. Now it’s my job as the coach to put the two together. We had a chance to give up and we didn’t; we kept fighting back, so I’m just totally pleased with that.”
The team’s next game is another league match against Woodside Priory School at the Blackford campus at 6:30 p.m. The boys’ league season started on Jan. 5 and will continue until Feb. 19.
