![“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)
The cross-country team competed in the first West Bay Athletic League (WBAL) meet of the season at the Crystal Springs course in Belmont on Oct. 4.
The course stretched 2.95 miles, consisting of a steep descent followed by loops around many hills. 40 Harker runners representing the boys and girls varsity and junior varsity (JV) teams participated in the races, which took place from 3 p.m. to around 5 p.m. Temperatures in the afternoon reached a high of 89 degrees Fahrenheit at about 4 p.m., increasing the difficulty of the races.
Despite the heat, returning members improved their times from last year’s WBAL finals, and newcomers ran their first race on the course. Boys varsity team captain Veyd Patil (12) led his team with a fifth-place time of 16:56, closely followed by Robinson Xiang (10), who secured sixth place with a time of 17:10. Harriss Miller (11) also finished in the top ten with a time of 17:55. Emily Bryan (10) and Ava Alvarez (9) completed the girls varsity race in 19th and 20th place with times of 22:51 and 22:57, respectively. Jonathan Li (9) ran the boys JV race in 20:35, placing 20th, and Srishti Dhawan (9) led the girls JV team with a time of 28:01, placing 29th.
Conquering the challenging conditions, Emily beat her time of 23:03 at last year’s WBAL finals. Emily noted that she succeeded because of the team’s practices in hotter weather, her extensive hill training and her past knowledge of the course.
“Don’t do the first mile too fast; don’t walk the hills,” Emily said. “Just make sure you at least go really fast at the top of the hills because everybody’s going to be slowing down. Definitely hydrate, and practice your hill repeats.”
Veyd recommended that runners both hydrate more than usual and splash water on their bodies before races on hot days.
“You also just gotta know it’s going to hurt a ton,” Veyd said. “You have to be ready for that.”
Cross-country head coach Kevin Oliver commended the team’s overall performance despite the particularly hot and arid conditions. The team’s drive pushed them through the tough races.
“I was more impressed by how people competed,” Oliver said. “I know that people were struggling, I know that it was physically difficult, but I still think people executed their race strategies well and competed and worked hard, even as they were struggling with the heat.”
Veyd noted that in addition to the demanding environmental conditions, the boys varsity team was missing Axel Szolusha (9), one of their top scorers. Still, the team persisted, improving their times from last year.
“Even though we didn’t have our third-fastest runner, people stepped up, and we got third place,” Veyd said. “We had three people in the top ten, which was a first for us.”
Oliver hopes the team will keep up their effort through the rest of the season while still strengthening their bonds and enjoying themselves.
“I want [the season] to be a positive, memorable experience, [even while] we compete in a sport — a footrace where we want to run faster than the people next to us and score those results,” Oliver said. “We’re really trying to peak at the right time for the league meet at the beginning of November, and ideally for [Central Coast Section Championship (CCS)] eight days after that.”
On Nov. 3, runners will return to the Crystal Springs course for the WBAL Finals.
