![“[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)
Boys’ varsity water polo wins close match against Lynbrook
Leon Lu (11) prepares to throw the ball to his teammate. The boys’ team beat Lynbrook 9-8 in their second home game of the season.
September 14, 2017
Varsity boys’ water polo beat Lynbrook 9-8 in a close match yesterday afternoon at home.
Lynbrook began the game strong with a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles managed to catch up, however, tying the score 4-4 by halftime with goals from Alex Wang (12), Rohan Sonecha (10) and Matthew Hajjar (11) respectively.
The match was close from then on with neither team managing to gain a significant lead. Both teams were tied at 7-7 going into the fourth quarter. Towards the end of the match, Harker was leading by one point with the score at 9-8 after goals by both Bobby Bloomquist (11) and Matthew Hajjar (11). This prompted a total of four timeouts called by both teams in the last two minutes. Harker prevented Lynbrook from scoring and taking the game into overtime, winning the match by only one point.
“Near the end, the opposing team’s coach called a timeout, which was meant to get a goal and tie the game, but we kept them from doing that and were able to use the remaining time to our favor,” team hole set Matthew Hajjar (11) said.
Dr. Victor Adler, the boys’ water polo assistant coach credited the win to the team stepping up their defense in the later quarters of the game.
“In the second half of the last three quarters, we had much better defense,” Adler said. “We made sure their better players were double teamed and eventually got one of their better shooters out with three fouls.”
Boys’ water polo now has a 1-2 league record after yesterday’s game and has a 4-5 record overall. The team has moved into a higher league since last year, so the games have become more difficult.
“We just entered a new league so competition is a little tougher but I think we’re playing pretty well compared to last year,” Arjun Akkiraju (10) said. “This game showed that since it was one of the closest games we had this season, but we pulled through strong at the end and made it a great win.”
Their next game is next Thursday 6:15 p.m. against Monta Vista High School at home.
