![“[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)
Wrestling team loses third meet of the season to Santa Clara
Junior Danny Reidenbach wrestles a student from Santa Clara High.
January 21, 2016
The wrestling team lost their third meet to Santa Clara High School 36-66, winning one match and losing four yesterday. Anthony Contreras (10) and Davis Howard (11) had forfeits from Santa Clara, giving them automatic wins.
Coach Karriem Stinson gave his thoughts on how the meet went for the team.
“Our young guys got a chance to get out there, so that was good, but I wish our top guys could have wrestled tonight,” Coach K said. “I’m happy about what happened tonight with the young guys, they were able to get experience, and we’re gonna get better.”
Kobe Howard (9), Dolan Dworak (10), Shikhar Solanki (10), and Anthony Cook (11) lost their matches against their Santa Clara opponents.
“[My opponent] had his hands very tight, very conserved, I was wondering what he doing, some kind of tactic; He was trying to get me off by tapping my head really fast, and then he went for the shot,” Shikhar, who wrestles in the 137 lb weight class said. “My whizzer is what got me. I wasn’t strong enough and I fell to my butt and he drove his legs in and pinned me.”
The whizzer that Danny mentions is a defensive move used to counteract a takedown, such as the double-leg takedown.
Team captain Danny Reidenbach (11) was the only Harker wrestler able to win a match, which he did by pinning his opponent down in the third period.
“In the beginning of the match you have got to see how your opponent is: is he strong, does he go for heavy pressure or is he quick? You have got to decide what you want to try to do,” Danny said. “Once I was able to see what he was trying to do and how he was trying to use my weight against me, I was able to put him in a position for me to win.”
The team now prepares to wrestle Milpitas High School in an away meet on Jan. 28.
