![“[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)
The cross-country team competed in the De La Salle Nike Invitational race in Concord to begin the season on Saturday.
The course spanned three miles around Concord’s Newhall Park, including long flat stretches and steep climbs. A mile into the race, runners ascended a hill with 353 ft of elevation before they looped around a pond into the final stretch.
44 runners from Harker competed across the boys and girls varsity, junior varsity (JV) and frosh-soph teams. Hannah Levanon (11), the sole representative in JV girls, completed the course with a time of 25:10, and Kai Nishimura (9) led the competing JV boys team to a 22nd place finish with his time of 18:55. Marcus Blennemann (11) led the non-competing JV boys team with a time of 22:58.
Ava Alvarez and Veyd Patil achieved the fastest times on the girls and boys varsity teams, clocking in at 21:55 and 16:37 respectively. The girls team finished 25th, while the boys team finished 30th.
Ava felt satisfied that the work she put in culminated in a noteworthy performance. She found the conditions to be ideal for racing and also felt proud of the team’s results as a whole.
“I thought [my first race] went really well, and I feel really good,” Ava said. “My gameplan [going into the race] was to not be too hard on myself but still challenge myself, and I think that worked out well.”
Haofang Zhu (9) led the frosh-soph boys team to a 22nd place finish with a time of 15:13 across the two-mile course, and Stella Yang (10) ran a time of 16:44 for the frosh-soph girls.
Many returning members of the cross-country team also ran their personal best times on the course, including Emily Bryan (10), Robert Fields (11) and Harris Miller (11). Varsity boys team co-captain Adam Sayed (12) was another athlete who attained a personal record (PR), running the course in 19:59.
“I think some people definitely gained a lot of confidence from PR-ing, and people get more experience racing,” Adam said. “A lot of the varsity team hasn’t raced here before, so it’s good to get them some experience for the future.”
Fellow captains Emma Gao (12) and Veyd also led the team for the first time this season, while Laurel Davies (12) was absent due to injury.
The cross-country team will attend a total of four more meets this season, with the potential for qualifying at the CCS (Central Coast Section) Finals and CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) State Championship. Looking ahead to upcoming races, cross-country head coach Kevin Oliver has high hopes for the team.
“They were running probably a little more fatigued than they will for the rest of the races this season,” Oliver said. “Being able to adjust to that [and] run when your legs are feeling heavy and tired — it’s a good skill to get used to. I’m hopeful that we’ll be feeling a little fresher for the future races.”
