![“[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)
Weekly recap: Fall sports blaze through start of seasons
Captain Maddux Carlisle (12) tackles a Lynbrook player. The football team has a record of 1-2 in league.
September 10, 2021
Football
The varsity football team lost to Valley Christian Academy Roseville at home today, bringing their overall league record to 1-2.
The football team kicked off their season two weeks ago in thrilling fashion with a 17-14 victory against San Jose High School on Aug. 26. Senior Aaditya Gulati had a pick-six (an interception that was returned for a touchdown) and the game winning field goal as well.
“This is my first year playing football, and I can see we have a lot of potential.,” Aaditya said. “We have a strong offense, but we know we can work on our defense more. I expect our chemistry to increase as the season progresses, and I’m excited to see those results reflect on the field.”
The football team then lost to Lynbrook High School the following Friday.
The team will participate in 8 Man Games (8 vs. 8 football, as opposed to the traditional 11 vs. 11) against Crystal Spring Uplands and Priory on Sep. 23 and Oct. 1, respectively, before facing off against Marina High School on Aug. 9 for the annual homecoming game.
Girls Volleyball
The girls volleyball team lost to Cupertino High School today at 6:30 p.m.
During the summer, the girls volleyball team participated in open gyms twice a week in preparation for the season. The team would scrimmage during these 1½ hour sessions, often-times against alumni from the girls volleyball program.
In their first match of their season, on Aug. 26, the varsity girls volleyball team fell to Branham High School in consecutive sets. Two days later, on Aug. 28, the team went 2-3 in the Varsity Spikefest Tournament held at Independence High School. The following week, they defeated Harbor High School in four sets for their first league win of the season.
“We didn’t play to the best of our abilities in the [Varsity Spikefest Tournament] since we were still getting used to playing as a team and figuring out what works with who,” setter Rachel Ning (11) said. “But in the game that we had on Tuesday [against Harbor], we were really able to come together and execute and play to each other’s strengths, which led to us getting the win.”
Rachel believes that the varsity team’s biggest strength this year is their team dynamic and how supportive they are of each other on the court.
“If someone makes a mistake, no one holds it against them, which I think is a really important thing in a team sport and something we do really well as a group,” Rachel said. “Being able to trust each other is really important to be able to get the next ball and win the next point.”
The freshman girls volleyball team looks to get the first win of their season against Sacred Heart on Sep. 16. The junior varsity girls volleyball currently has a record of 2-1, having defeated Branham and Harbor in straight sets, before losing to Santa Cruz High School.
The junior varsity and varsity girls volleyball teams will play next against Cupertino High School at home this Friday, at 5:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively.
Cross Country
The cross country team held optional practices over the summer, and their official season began two weeks ago. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the team does running workouts featuring sprints and stamina training at the Blackford Campus, Vasona Park, or Rancho San Antonio. Then, on Tuesday and Thursdays, the team focuses on weight training.
The cross country team is by far the biggest team on campus with 36 members and a mix of both upperclassmen and underclassmen. Veyd Patil (10) describes cross country as an energetic and tight-knit team, despite its size.
“We have a freshman named Hariss [Miller (9)] who is particularly energetic, and his energy rubs off on everybody else,” Veyd said. “Last season, no one really talked to each other as much, but that’s completely different this season—we are much closer as a team.
The cross country team will participate in their first meet of the season—the San Francisco Invitational—this Saturday at Golden Gate Park.
Girls Tennis
Coming off a CCS Championship last season, the varsity girls tennis team looks to repeat and recreate their success from last year. This season, the team is practicing four times a week.
On Tuesday, the team swept Monta Vista 7-0 in their first match of the season. Sara Wan (11), a member of the team, appreciates how tight-knit the team is and how welcoming they have been to the new freshman athletes.
“Some of the freshmen are new to school, so I think it’s really beneficial that they have this community to lean on and a group of people to talk to,” Sara said. “We try to encourage team bonding on the court and at school—for instance, we all sat together during lunch last Friday.”
Sara also enjoys the light-hearted and amicable dynamic within the group.
“Everyone on the team is just really fun,” Sara said. “We have a lot of inside jokes, and that makes practice really enjoyable for us. Anishka [Raina [12]] is a big clown on the team – she brings a lot of energy and is also in charge of [playing music using] the aux as well.”
The team looks to notch another win on Sep. 16 in an away game against Sacred Heart.
Girls Golf
Like the girls tennis team, the varsity girls golf is coming off a CCS Championship last season. With many seniors from last year’s group graduating, the team has a lot of new faces this year.
The girls golf team practices at different locations on different days, with a different training emphasis each time. They practice their short game at Moffett Field, which involves putting and chipping, and on other days, they focus more on their long-game by perfecting swinging and driving techniques. This week, they practiced at Bay View Golf Club to get a feel for the course before their match against Menlo at the club on Friday.
The team is currently 2-2 on the season, with wins against Notre Dame High School and Notre Dame Belmont on Aug. 27 and Sep. 2, respectively. They also placed fourth in the Helen Lengfeld Tournament hosted at the Olympic Club on Aug. 30.
“We have a relatively new team, and at first, we were still getting to know each other,” team member Jessica Zhou (11) said. “But I think we’re slowly settling in, and I think we have a shot to repeat at CCS Champions this season. It’s going to be hard, but I can definitely see our game improving tremendously as we play more together and learn from each other.”
Water Polo
The varsity boys water polo team currently has a record of 2-1, with wins coming against Los Altos High School and Mountain View High School. The varsity girls water polo team is currently undefeated with a record of 2-0. The team defeated Los Altos 10-8 this Tuesday and Mountain View 17-10 this Thursday. The varsity boys and girls teams will face off next against Gunn High School on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m., respectively.
“It definitely feels good because we did recently move up a league, and that just shows that our hard work is paying off,” senior Elvis Han, a member of the boys water polo team said, of the team’s back to back wins. “I just hope our team [can] stay humble and [that we] don’t let these wins get to our head because each game is like business – [we] just try to tackle one task at a time. Hopefully all of our wins can add up and we can just be better as a team this year.”
Additional reporting by Muthu Panchanatham and Alysa Suleiman.
