![“[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’ water polo beats Monta Vista at home
Senior Edgar Lin catches the ball while avoiding a Monta Vista player. The varsity boys’ water polo team won 14-6.
September 21, 2017
Varsity boys’ water polo beat Monta Vista 14-6 last night at home, improving their league record to 2-3 with a 5-6 overall record. JV water polo also played Monta Vista but lost 7-1 in a tough game.
The varsity game began with Monta Vista scoring the first goal in less than a minute of the game beginning. Harker quickly rebounded, however, scoring three consecutive goals from Aadith Srinivasan (12), Leon Lu (11) and Alex Wang (12) respectively before the end of the first quarter.
The boys maintained a consistent strong lead over Monta Vista throughout the second quarter. Matthew Hajjar (11) and Alex Wang (12) both scored two goals each, allowing Harker a comfortable 8-2 lead by halftime.
Bobby Bloomquist (11) looks to throw the ball over his opponent to a teammate. Earlier, the girls’ water polo game was was cancelled due to clock issues.
Dr. Victor Adler, the varsity team’s assistant coach, believes that defense and blocking out key players was crucial to them staying ahead of the other team.
“Defense was important; we were able to shut down their two shooters. Defense wins games since if they can’t score, we win,” Adler said.
Both teams scored rather evenly in the third and fourth period, with seven goals from the Eagles and five from Monta Vista. A yellow card was thrown by the referee towards the end of the fourth period as a warning for “unruly behavior” from the Monta Vista bench. The game ended with a final score of 14-6 with a total of four goals by Alex Wang (12).
Leon Lu (11) credits the victory to team unity and skill but sees room to improve for future games.
“I think the team’s cohesion, good shooting, defense and the fact that we were always helping each other led us to victory today,” Leon said. “I think our offense can still be worked on a lot, and we need to work on getting the ball more on the set and have our perimeter offense be stronger so everyone can shoot.”
The team’s next game is away at Los Altos High at 3:30 p.m., and their next home game is next Thursday at 6:15 p.m. against Gunn High School.
