![“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 team participates in second meet of the season
Junior Rigo Gonzales pushes up a hill during the Ram Invitational’s varsity boys’ race at Westmoor High school. The varsity boys raced at 3:30 p.m., following the JV boys at 1:30 p.m. and the varsity girls at 2:30 p.m.
September 26, 2021
The cross country team participated in the 39th annual Ram Invitational at Westmoor High School this Saturday, competing against over 70 other California schools in their second meet of the season. The meet followed CIF guidelines regarding protections against COVID-19.
The boys junior varsity team, boys varsity team and girls varsity teams participated in the meet with a total of 21 runners representing Harker. The junior varsity boys’ race began at 1:30 p.m., the varsity girls’ race began at 2:30 p.m. and the varsity boys’ race began at 3:30 p.m.
The course, which included flat stretches and three steep uphills, spanned around 2.6 miles, taking runners around Westmoor High School’s track twice before looping around the entirety of the campus and finishing in the middle of the track.
“When we did the walk-through of [the course], it seemed really long, but during the actual race, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” said Sophia Liu (9), who ran for the girls varsity team for the first time. “I just wanted to do my personal best. I was able to sprint in the last stretch, which surprised me because I didn’t know I had the energy to do that.”
The course, which included flat stretches and three steep uphills, spanned around 2.6 miles, taking runners around Westmoor High School’s track twice before looping around the entirety of the campus and finishing in the middle of the track.
“For the past few weeks or so, we’ve been ramping up our mileage, getting ready for our longer races, and we’ve also started training for hills, which has proven to be a little beneficial for these hillier races,” varsity boys runner Rigo Gonzales (11) said. “Because it’s so early [in the season], there’s plenty of time to work on the weaknesses that were shown at this meet, for example, the hills.”
The boys junior varsity team placed 12th out of 20 schools, the boys varsity team placed 19th out of 28 schools and the girls varsity team placed 14th out of 16 schools.
“Today’s meet plays into the rest of the season as a chance for the athletes to see how they stack up against other teams outside of our division,” cross country head coach Mia Purnell said. “It gave them a chance to [go against state level competition] and set their goals and their vision a little higher than they would without seeing fast competitors.”
The cross country team will race next at the Artichoke Invitational in Halfmoon Bay on Oct. 2.
