![“[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)
Spring Sports Update
Alayna Richmond runs with the lacrosse ball. The lacrosse team currently holds a league record of 1-3.
May 15, 2017
Track
Track and field runners competed in their second WBAL meet for this season on April 12. The girls team consisting of Grace Koonmen (11), Gloria Guo (11), Alycia Cary (10) and Nikki Solanki (9) set a new school record for the 400m relay. David Dunaway (12) won the 100m dash and 300m hurdles. David Howard (12) won the shot put and discus throw. They compete in their third WBAL meet today at Sacred Heart Prep School.
Swimming
The swim team recently competed in its second league dual-meet on Apr. 12 and the Ron Freeman Memorial Invitational on Apr. 8. The varsity girls swim team of Angela Li (10), Vivian Wang (12), Alyssa Huang (9) and Clarissa Wang (10) won the Varsity 200 medley relay and qualified for CCS. Angela and Vivian won the varsity 200 individual medley and 200 and 100 freestyle competition, respectively. The boys team consisting of Jack Farnham (12), Yannick Bohbot- Dridi (11), Justin Culpepper (12) and Ethan Hu (9) qualified for CCS too in the 200 medley relay. Ethan additionally qualified for CCS in the 100m fly and 100m breaststroke. They swam against King’s Academy yesterday and on May 5, compete in WBAL trials.
“I’m looking forward to improving my times this season and just having a good time with the team,” Kevin Tzeng (11) said.
Boys Golf
The boys golf is currently 6-0 in league. The boys placed second at the Marin Catholic Wildcat Invitational and 16th at the 2017 Champions Invitational. They also played in the Aptos Tournament on Monday.
Boys Tennis
The varsity boys tennis team currently holds a 11-2 in league and 17-3 overall. During the weekend of March 3-4, the Eagles travelled to Fresno, to play as part of the California Tennis Classic tournament, where they got third in their division. They play in their CCS Qualifier matches today and tomorrow.
Boys Volleyball
The varsity boys volleyball team has an overall record of 9-5, with a league record of 5-5.
“Our team has been really focused throughout the season. We’ve been very supportive of each other and heading into CCS, we’re looking to make a strong run and I’m hopeful about our team’s chances,” Ezra Bekele (12) said.
Softball
The varsity girls softball team currently holds an overall record of 7-5, and league record of 3-3. They play their next away game tomorrow against Cupertino High School.
Boys Baseball
The varsity boys baseball team has an overall record of 8-5, with a league record of 5-3. They play their next game tomorrow against El Camino High School.
Girls Lacrosse
The varsity girls lacrosse team holds a league record of 1-3 and an overall record of 8-6.
Sophomore Elise Mayer sees this season as her best yet with the team.
“The season is going so good,” Elise said. “We’re not even at the end of the season, yet we won almost four times the number of games we won last year, and everyone has just improved so much, and everyone is feeling happy.”
Senior captain Alayna Richmond plans to continue this strong season.
“I think the season started out very well, but we had a bit of a lull in the middle, and we weren’t doing so well, but I think we have really come back with a vengeance and really cracked down on the focus, deciding we wanted to finish the season strong,” Alayna said.
They play their next game tomorrow against Notre Dame Belmont.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on May 11, 2017.
