![“[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)
- Baseball
- Boys Golf
- Boys Tennis
- Boys Tennis
- Boys Volleyball
- Girls Lacrosse
- Golf
- Online Exclusive
- Sports
- Spring Sports
- Swimming
- Track and Field
- Volleyball
Weekly roundup: Week of March 11
Andrew Chang (10) swims during the swim meet on Thursday. Matthew placed first in the 200 meter and 500 meter freestyle.
March 17, 2019
Baseball
After a 6-1 loss against Jefferson High School on Tuesday, Mar 12, the varsity baseball team defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 7-6 in their first league win, increasing their record to 1-1.
Despite the team giving up six unearned runs in the second inning, freshman Mark Hu pitched six innings, giving up only six hits, and Max Lee (11) hit a clutch triple, tying the game at 6-6 before Ian Williamson (10) hit a walk-off single with two outs in the seventh inning, winning the game for the team.
“We just want to get a little better, day by day, month by month,” baseball coach Mike Delfino said. “We have a pretty tough schedule this year and a lot of guys on our team are mostly freshmen and sophomores, so they’re going to have to get a lot of experience in early on.”
The team next hosts Jefferson High School again on Mar 19 at 4:00 p.m.
Golf
The varsity golf team lost 206-196 to Menlo on Tuesday after a very close game, their first loss of the season. Although they had planned to play King’s Academy on Monday, their opponents forfeited due to lack of players, and the team’s game on Friday against Granite Bay High School was canceled.
Despite these setbacks, the boys look forward to their upcoming match against Nueva on Monday, Mar 18.
Lacrosse
The girls varsity lacrosse team beat Lincoln High School 13-7 on Wednesday, winning their fifth preseason game this year and raising their overall record to 3-2. Highlights include Callie Mayer (12), Elise Mayer (12), Piper White (11) and Heidi Zhang (12) all scoring goals, and Naviya Kapadia (11) playing her first game as goalie.
Defender Emma Andrews (10) acknowledged the challenges the girls faced, with almost the whole team being injured and sick, and how the team hopes to overcome that in the future.
“After going into this game a little overconfident, I think we all learned that we need to always keep an open mind for future games,” Emma said. “We are going to lock in and focus on preparing for our league game next Friday and hopefully come out with a win.”
The girls next play away against Sequoia on Mar 22.
Swimming
On Thursday, Mar 14, the swimming team hosted the WBAL Jamboree, competing against Crystal Springs, Notre Dame-SJ and Notre Dame-Belmont.
The boys relay team of Matthew Chung (10), Rhys Edwards (10), Ethan Hu (11) and Alex Yu (12) won the 400-meter freestyle event and qualified for CCS. Matthew, Rhys, and Ethan also made the CCS cut times in their individual races, with Matthew placing first in the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle, Rhys in the boys 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke, and Ethan in the 200-meter individual medley and the 100-meter breastroke.
Additionally, freshmen Nikela Hulton and Ysabel Chen won their events in the 100-meter butterfly and 100-meter freestyle, respectively.
“I think everyone was there to have fun, and we definitely did,” swimmer Ihita Mandal (12) said. “We just want to continue trying our best and getting the best times we can.”
After this strong performance, the team continues to prepare for their upcoming meet on Thursday, Mar 21.
Tennis
The varsity tennis team played a strong game this week, winning all three of their matches and increasing their league record to 5-1: they beat King’s Academy 6-1 on Monday, Pinewood 6-1 on Tuesday and Crystal Springs Uplands 5-2 on Thursday.
“Overall the matches [this week] were good for developing ourselves as a team and improving individually as well,” Richard Hu (11), a member of the varsity tennis team, said. “The season is going pretty well, and [we hope] to maintain the energy we’re currently keeping and see how that goes in the end.”
The boys host Crystal Springs Uplands again on Monday, Mar 18, at 4:15 p.m.
The junior varsity team also performed well in their three games, beating Sacred Heart Preparatory School 7-0 and 6-1, respectively, on Tuesday and Friday, and Crystal Springs Uplands 5-2 on Thursday. They again play Crystal Springs Uplands on Mar 18.
Track and Field
The track and field team competed in their first league meet of the year on Wednesday, earning recognition in a variety of events.
The 400-meter relay team of Andrew Chen (9), Mitchell Granados (12), Anton Novikov (10) and Giovanni Rofa (11) won their race, as Anton took second in the 100-meter and 200-meter individual events. Freshman Alexa Lowe placed first in the 800-meter. Additionally, Natasha Matta (9) won her two hurdle competitions; Alexa came within one foot of the school record in her first triple jump of the year. Thrower Ayush Vyas (12) took the win for both the shot put and the discus throw.
The team next competes at the St. Francis Invitational Track Meet on Saturday, Mar 16.
Volleyball
The varsity volleyball team maintains their undefeated league record this season, defeating Saratoga High School on Wednesday in three sets to make it 7-0.
The boys also placed fifth at the Best of the West Invitational in San Diego last weekend, despite initially being seeded 30th out of some of the top 32 teams on the west coast. They went 5-1, even defeating local rival Monta Vista High School before finally losing to Palisades.
“I think we have improved a lot since last year, and we’ve found a nice team dynamic,” varsity player Billy Fan (10) said. “We just hope to keep this up for the rest of the season.”
The team next will play against Los Gatos High School on Mar 20 at 6:45 p.m., following the junior varsity team’s game at 5:30.
Softball
After a tough week for girls softball, the team now maintains a 1-3 league record after losing 11-10 to Pinewood on Tuesday and 14-2 to Notre Dame-Belmont on Thursday.
Despite these losses, the girls are optimistic for the rest of the season as they approach their next home game against El Camino High School on Mar 19 at 4:00 p.m.
