![“[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 Girls Golf wins against Sacred Heart Prep, maintains streak
Olivia Guo (10) watches on after hitting the ball. Led by captain Katelyn Vo (11), the girls won a convincing 196-261 victory. Freshman Sophie Zhang Murphy shot par at 36, Katelyn followed with a 39 and Natalie Vo (10) and Olivia both shot 40.
October 1, 2018
The varsity girls golf team won its match 196-261 against Sacred Heart Preparatory at Sharon Heights Country Club last Monday, bringing their overall record to 5-0.
The girls were coming off of a 4-0 record and looked to notch another victory against the Gators. Despite not having played on this course before, the Eagles came through with a victory.
Led by captain Katelyn Vo (11), the girls won a convincing 196-261 victory. Freshman Sophie Zhang Murphy shot par at 36, the best individual Harker score that day.
This year, the girls added some strong new freshmen on the team including breakout Sophie, who has really made an impact, racking up several medalist honors already. Currently, she has the lowest scoring average in the league (36.2 strokes per game), outshooting 2nd place, a junior, by 1.4 strokes.
“I played okay,” Sophie said. “I had some good holes and some bad holes. The eighth hole was a good hole, and the first seven holes were okay for me. But I didn’t really play very well in the last few holes.”
Katelyn followed with a 39, and sophomores Olivia Guo and Natalie Vo both shot 40, while Tina Xu (9) shot a 41.
There were many things about the girls’ performance that the coaches were happy with that day.
“It’s a tough track out here, not an easy track whatsoever,” assistant coach Zach Grozdanich said. “I think our team did well in driving on a course they had never played before. It was pretty impressive. I saw a lot of shots on the fairway. And for bad shots, I saw some good recoveries as well.”
However, even with the win, there are some things that the girls think they need to work on.
“We did win, which is good, but at the same time it wasn’t our best performance,” Katelyn said. “In the future, we want to improve. The goal is NorCal, so we’ll keep working hard, and slowly, once we get to later in the season, we’ll be breaking records back and forth.”
The girls also defeated both Notre Dame San Jose’s score of 233 and Mercy Burlingame’s score of 254 with a score of 184 this Wednesday at the San Jose Municipal Golf Course. Tina Xu (9), Natalie Vo (10), and Sophie Zhang Murphy (9) led the team, shooting 35, 35, and 36 respectively.
Overall, the season has started off very well for the girls, who remain the only undefeated team in their league. They placed second last season.
But the team is looking to progress further than ever before, and this year, they believe that they can really win it all.
“We’ve come so close the last few years to winning the league championship,” coach Ie-Chen Cheng said. “This year, our first goal is to win that. We haven’t won the league championship since 2006, and we’ve come so close, so it’s left a burning desire for us to get that award. And I really believe that this team has the hunger and grit to get it done this year. ”
