![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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 ends CCS run in first round against San Lorenzo
Senior Elijah Edgehill tries to dribble past a defender to get to the rim. The varsity boys lost in the first round of CCS.
March 2, 2016
The varsity boys basketball team began CCS playoffs games on Feb. 23 with a 4-10 league record but lost 47-67 against San Lorenzo Valley last Thursday.
Head varsity boys basketball coach Butch Keller expressed his uncertainty about how the team will perform in CCS playoffs prior to the match last Thursday.
“I don’t know how we’re going to perform, because one night we’re Dr. Jekyll, the other night we’re Mr. Hyde: I just don’t know which team’s going to show up,” Keller said. “If we play like we did against King’s and Sacred Heart and Pinewood, we’re going to make a deep run into the playoffs; if we play like we did [against Menlo], it’ll be a short run.”
Last year, the boys had an 8-6 league record and were eliminated in their playoff quarterfinals game against Pacific Grove High School, which was eliminated in the semifinals.
“From last year the team’s a lot more different because we lost a lot of seniors, so I don’t know what to really expect from CCS this year, but hopefully we’ll get far,” co-captain and point guard Justin Jia (11) said. “Most of the teams that are going to be in the tournament are teams that we haven’t played all year, so we’ll have to wait and see how we match up against them.”
Elijah Edgehill (12), a current team co-captain who joined the team last year, also commented on how the team has adjusted to the graduation of seven seniors from last year’s team.
“We qualified [for CCS] in the pre-season, with the games leading up to it,” Elijah said. “Compared to last year, there are a lot of new people since the last varsity team had more seniors. The whole starting team has improved and focused more relating to last year’s qualification as well. Now I play point guard and shooting guard.”
Jordan Goheen (11), a power forward who was also on the team last year, spoke about how the CCS matchup system affects the team.
“If we don’t do as well in league, then we play a higher seed, which means they’re going to be a tougher team, which means they’re going to be a tougher matchup for us,” Jordan said. “The makeup of the team—the players we have and the types of players we have—has changed a lot between this year and last year, so the style of play that we have is very different. But I’m sure that if we stick to our game plan and continue to work hard on defense, then we’re going to make it far.”
Dhanush Madabusi, another senior who was on the team last year, discussed how he thinks the team’s previous performance will influence their future games.
“It just comes down to game time if we’re ready to go, so I think we have a good chance,” Dhanush said. “Although our [league] record doesn’t show for it, we’ve had some really good games. We lost to Sacred Heart by just one point. There were a lot of games that were winnable that we lost in the very last minute of the fourth quarter, but when we’re on our game, we have good defense and offense. We’re definitely a tough team to contend with.”
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 3, 2016.
