![“[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 Volleyball
- Girls Lacrosse
- Golf
- Online Exclusive
- Softball
- Sports
- Spring Sports
- Swimming
- Track and Field
- Volleyball
Weekly roundup: Spring sports approach hurdles
Trevor Thompson (12) steps up to bat, preparing for the pitch to be thrown. Despite their Friday game being cancelled, the Eagles still played well during the match, with strategic hits from freshman Bobby Wang and senior Zachary Hoffman and a dive for home base by junior Max Lee.
March 26, 2019
Baseball
After a strong performance, the varsity baseball team ended this week with two consecutive wins, beating Jefferson High School 6-5 on Tuesday and Crystal Springs Uplands 16-7 on Thursday. Their game against Thomas More on Friday went three innings before it was rained out with the team up 9-2.
Despite it being cancelled, the Eagles still played well during the match, with strategic hits from freshman Bobby Wang and senior Zachary Hoffman, and a dive for home base by junior Max Lee, garnering yet another point for the home team.
Currently maintaining a league record of 3-1, the team hosts Summit Prep Rainier next Tuesday, March 26, at 4:00 p.m.
Softball
After their game against El Camino High School was cancelled due to their opponent’s lack of players, the girls softball team endured a tough loss of 18-7 versus Mercy Burlingame on Thursday and look to improve their 1-4 league record.
“There’s a lot of hard work and there’s a lot of people who really care about the game, and you can definitely see that in the way that we practice and the way that we play,” co-captain Cameron Zell (12) said. “[We have] a lot of team spirit, and you know that everyone there wants to be there, just by the energy in the dugout.”
Next week, the girls play King’s Academy on Tuesday, March 26, and host Mercy High School on Thursday, March 28.
Golf
The boys varsity golf team defeated Sacred Heart Preparatory School on Tuesday with a final score of 204-229, another victory in an almost undefeated season.
Leading the way for the Eagles was sophomore Aditya Tadimeti, who earned a medalist honor after shooting two over par 36. Gabriel Yang (10) and Bowen Yin (10) both finished with scores of 41, closely followed by Ashwin Rammohan (12) and Bryan Zhang (10) at 42.
“So far, our season’s been going great: everyone on the team has a great chemistry and we always support and help each other,” Aditya said. “We look forward to retaining our league championship title and making the playoffs in the next few weeks.”
Next week, the team plays Sacred Heart again on Monday, March 25, and competes at the Champions Invitational all day on Friday, March 29.
Lacrosse
Winning their first league game 12-3 over Sequoia High School on Friday, the girls lacrosse team improves their overall record to 4-2 and their league record to 1-0.
Highlights include Elise Mayer (12), Anna Vazhaeparambil (10), Piper White (11) and Heidi Zhang (12) all scoring goals, and goalie Nellie Tonev (11) blocking the majority of the opponents’ shots.
The girls host Aragon High School next Tuesday, March 26, and Notre Dame High School next Thursday, March 28.
Swimming
During the WBAL Jamboree, hosted at Harker on Thursday, the Eagles competed against Crystal Springs, Menlo, Notre Dame, Nueva, Pinewood and King’s Academy and had a strong performance overall.
The boys relay team of Matthew Chung (10), Rhys Edwards (10), Ethan Hu (11) and Jason Kwok (10) won the 200 freestyle and 200 medley events, while the girls relay team of Alyssa Huang (11), Nikela Hulton (9), Sinaya Joshi (9) and Ihita Mandal (12) took first for the 400-yard freestyle.
Additionally, Rhys and Alex made the CCS cut times in their individual events, the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard medley, with Rhys winning both races and Alex taking third and second respectively. Matthew also placed first in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard breastroke events, and Ethan Hu (11) took the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke.
Finally, freshmen Nikela Hulton and Jay Thilking both had impressive showings: Nikela won the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard butterfly, while Jay the 100-yard freestyle.
The team continues to prepare for their next meet on Thursday, March 28, as they hope to achieve more CCS qualifications.
Tennis
The varsity tennis team defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 5-2 on Monday and King’s Academy 6-1 on Thursday, improving their league record to 7-1.
“There’s a whole quality to the team that makes it a lot of fun to be a part of, and I think that contributes to us winning,” captain Mihir Sharma (11) said. “Our goal for the future is to just get more of our friends out on our home courts, especially for the last few matches.”
The boys host Sacred Heart Preparatory School next Monday, March 25.
The junior varsity team also beat Crystal Springs Uplands, finishing with a final score of 4-3. Their season comes to a close as they approach their final game against Menlo in the upcoming month, a specific date yet to be determined.
Track and Field
The track and field team performed well during the St. Francis Invitational Track Meet last Saturday, their third meet of the season.
The distance medley relay team of Ryan Adolf (12), Arya Maheshwari (10), Alex Rule (12) and Henry Wong (12) placed in the top 20, finishing with Harker’s second best time in history, and the 400-meter freshmen-sophomore team of Andrew Chen (9), Anton Novikov (10), Rosh Roy (10), and Bayden Yazalina (10) earned fourth place in their event.
The team next competes at the WBAL Meet on Tuesday, March 26.
Volleyball
Despite defeating Los Gatos High School 3-0 on Wednesday, the varsity boys volleyball team broke their undefeated league record after losing to rival Monta Vista High School 3-2 on Friday. They also competed at the Monta Vista Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, making it to the finals before losing 2-0 to Monta Vista once again.
The varsity team currently has a league record of 8-1 and an overall record of 18-3, while the junior varsity maintains a league record of 0-4 after losing to Los Gatos 2-1 and Monta Vista 2-0 this week. Both teams will play Los Altos High School on Wednesday, March 27, and Lynbrook High School on Friday, March 29.
