![“[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 competes in league finals, celebrates Senior Night
Cross country head coach Mia Purnell hands out roses to this years’ seniors Erica Cai, Ritika Rajamani, Dawson Chen, Kailash Ranganathan, Aidan Lincke and Alex Liou during the senior ceremony.
November 8, 2021
The cross country team competed in the West Bay Athletics League finals hosted at the Crystal Springs Cross Country Park on Senior Night on Friday. The team celebrated seniors Erica Cai, Dawson Chen, Aidan Lincke, Alex Liou, Ritika Rajamani and Kailash Ranganathan.
With a total of 27 competitors, the boys junior varsity team, boys varsity team and girls varsity team ran the 2.95-mile course, which consisted of winding stretches of downhill and several steep uphills, to determine qualification for the Central Coast Sections (CCS) race. The junior varsity boys’ race began at 2:30 p.m., the varsity boys’ race began at 3:30 p.m. and the varsity girls’ race began at 4:00 p.m. The meet was the last full-team race of the season.
Varsity boys competitors Veyd Patil (10), Rigo Gonzales (11) and Rupert Chen (11) qualified for CCS individually with times of 17:17.9, 17:18.1 and 17:39.3, respectively, below the boys’ cutoff of 17:50.0. Varsity girls runner Kara Kister (11) also qualified for CCS with a time of 20:18.9, below the girls’ cutoff of 21:10.0. Going into the race, Kara hoped to improve on her time.
“I want to PR [achieve a personal record] again, because I know I’m capable of going much faster, so with [today’s] PR, that was really good for my mindset,” Kara said.
After combining results from the three league meets this season, the junior varsity boys placed third out of eight schools, varsity boys placed fifth out of eight schools and varsity girls placed eighth out of 12 schools.
The meet organizers held the senior ceremony and awards presentation at 4:45 p.m., when they called forward the seniors from each team. Head coach Mia Purnell announced the names of the Harker seniors and handed out roses to each runner.
“Even though I only had one season with [the seniors], they were all really nice and welcoming to all the new freshmen, so I’m sad to see them go next year,” said Sofia Stojanovic (9), who ran cross country for the first time this year.
Team captain Alex reflects on the season and optimistically considers the team’s future.
“It’s been a great season,” Alex said. “[I am] sad that I’m leaving, but I’ll still continue to run in the future. I think the team is going to be in a good state when we leave [and has] a bright future.”
The four runners who qualified for CCS will compete this Saturday, Nov. 13, at Crystal Springs Cross Country Park.
