![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
Cross Country honors seniors at league finals as girls qualify to CCS
Seniors Nikhil Sharma, Grant Miner, Evan Cheng, Richard Hu and Martin Bourdev pose with their posters and candy-filled garlands. This meet was their final cross country meet of high school.
November 9, 2019
The Cross Country team honored 15 seniors as the girls’ team qualified to the CCS Championships at the last league meet of the season, held at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course on Friday.
The girls’ team — led by 3rd-place Anna Weirich (11), 19th-place Ritika Rajamani (10) and 33rd-place Erica Cai (10) — finished fifth out of 13 teams in the WBAL and qualified to CCS based on their average time of 21:26.1, ahead of the at-large qualifying time of 22:12. This marks the first time since 2015 that any Harker cross country team has qualified for the CCS Championships.
In the varsity boys race, freshman Rigo Gonzales finished 14th with a time of 17:22.9, qualifying individually to the CCS Championships. His time represents the second-fastest time ever by a Harker freshman at Crystal Springs, behind only his brother Corey Gonzales (’15).
The 15 seniors — Nikhil Sharma, Grant Miner, Evan Cheng, Rohan Cherukuri, Richard Hu, Martin Bourdev, Nathan Wang, Emma Li, Ellen Guo, Annabelle Ju, Eileen Li, Vani Mohindra, Delaney Logue, Anvi Banga and Rashmi Iyer — were honored with flowers, balloons, garlands, and candy following the four races.
“I loved ending my four years at Crystal Springs, after having run there quite often for practices, meets, and league finals. I’ve had my worst and greatest moments at Crystal, and going there one last time felt like retracing the steps of my cross country journey all over again, from start to finish,” Richard Hu (12) said.
During the race, spectators and teammates held up senior posters and cheered as the runners came through the one-mile mark.
“This year’s seniors not only made practices even more fun but also guided younger teammates. I want to tell them that these past few years with them on the team have been so fun and that I will miss all of them so much,” Julia Biswas (11) said.
All seniors in the league were also each presented with a single rose and had their name announced during the league awards presentation at the end of the meet.
“This was one of the only times I didn’t feel nervous before a race. I just felt truly happy to struggle and compete with others and do my best,” Martin Bourdev (12) said. “I normally try to shut out the cheers and shouts of spectators, even other Harker students. It normally makes me feel pressured and distracted. This time, however, I really felt loved and encouraged by the people cheering.”
Rigo and the girls’ team will compete in the CCS Division 4 Championship races at Crystal Springs next Saturday.
