![“[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 dominated in the second West Bay Athletics League (WBAL) race at Baylands Park on Oct. 23, which meet directors rescheduled from the previous Thursday because of high temperature concerns.
The 3.1-mile course featured a loop twice around the park’s main trail before the path diverged to a series of four successive slopes. Runners then raced around the park once more for their final mile, finishing back on the central field. Because of the meet’s rescheduled time, a few schools could not attend, so scores do not contribute to the final league rankings. Instead, the first WBAL meet will count toward one-third of the final standings and league championships will contribute two-thirds.
A total of 40 Harker runners competed in the boys varsity, girls varsity, boys junior varsity and girls junior varsity races. The boys varsity team swept the first four places of their race, with co-captain Veyd Patil (12) earning the fastest time of 16:34, followed by Robinson Xiang (10), Axel Szolusha (9) and Harriss Miller (11). All members of the varsity boys team completed the race in under 20 minutes.
Upper school cross-country head coach Kevin Oliver praised the entire team for their exceptional performance, noting that several athletes ran personal records on the Baylands course as well as the overall season. He further notes that the positive results from the meet bode well ahead of the league championships this week.
“I’ve got to give all the credit to the athletes there,” Oliver said. “They came in under challenging circumstances. We’ve had a couple hard weeks of training and dealing with the heat, and they didn’t let that upset their approach. I thought the mindset was good, people came in with high expectations for themselves, and they went out and executed.”
Among the varsity girls, Ava Alvarez (9) led the Eagles with a time of 22:11 and took eighth place overall. Gabe Li (11) led the JV boys with a time of 19:51, while Sophia Ou (10) finished fastest among the JV girls with a time of 25:43.
Co-captain Laurel Davies (12) ran her first meet of the season after recovering from a knee injury. She cites Baylands as her favorite cross-country course and describes her return to racing as better than expected.
“Baylands is definitely my favorite course: it’s flat, it’s shady, the hills are really nice and gentle,” Laurel said. “It was my first meet back after my injury, and it went amazing. I think I did really well for my injured self.”
As the championship meet approaches, Axel looks to not only improve on his time but also to simply enjoy the race. He also reflects on his experience as a frosh on the team over the past few months.
“[The season] has definitely [been] a really interesting experience,” Axel said. “[High school sports] is definitely a lot higher quality [than middle school]. I really appreciate how there’s a lot more people who are excited about running and how we have a great coach.”
The cross-country team competes in their final race of the season, the league championships on Friday.
![Sophomore Jessie Cao strikes a pose. “That feeling when you get a new skill, when you feel yourself improving on something you struggle with or when you overcome a mental block [is] really rewarding,” Jessie said. “As long as you push yourself and think you're trying your hardest, that's what matters the most.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/250918_jessiecaoapex_AshleyM_1-2-727x1200.jpg)
