![“[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)
Varsity and junior varsity track and field teams competed in the West Bay Athletic League (WBAL) 3A meet at Bellarmine on Wednesday. Harker raced against King’s Academy, Pinewood, Notre Dame and Mercy High School Burlingame.
Sprints
In the girls 100-meter dash, Maryanne and Sophia swept the top two with times of 13.08 and 13.14, respectively. For the boys, Harker won each of the four of the fastest heats. Senior Kaleb Goldin, who will run track and field at Boston University next year, placed first overall with 10.90. Sophomores Kai Nishimura and Liam McGrath followed close behind, tying for third with personal bests of 11.36.
Maryanne took second in the girls 200-meter dash with 26.69, while Kaleb picked up another win in the boys event, finishing in 22.29. Alice won the girls 400-meter dash with 1:03.09, and junior Brady Tse finished second in the boys event with 52.93.
Juniors Spencer Chang and Timmy Chen took first and second with times of 16.12 and 17.81 in the boys 110-meter hurdles.
“I was happy with my race today, even though there were challenges,” Timmy said. “It’s important to push through tough moments, and when my teammates surpass their goals, I get even more motivated to reach my own.”
Distance
In the girls 1600-meter race, sophomores Samaara Patil and Ava Alvarez finished first and third, clocking in at 5:34.02 and 5:38.23, respectively. On the boys’ side, sophomore Axel Szolusha earned second with a time of 5:02.95.
Continuing their dominance in long-distance events, Samaara and Ava each earned top-two placements in the girls 800-meter race, with times of 2:33.68 and 2:35.09. Sophomore Aiden Coviello ran a personal record of 2:10.64 in the boys race for third place.
Relay
Sophomores Alice Luo and Christine Deng and juniors Maryanne Davies and Sophia Ou ran 52.00 in the varsity girls 4×100, securing first place. Christine reflected on the importance of teamwork for their victory.
“It’s always more fun to run with other people and warm up together,” Christine said. “At its core, track is an individual sport, but when we come together as a team and support each other, it fosters a spirit of teamwork and togetherness within our team.”
The girls 4×400-meter relay team, including Alice, Ava and frosh Audrey Zhao and Emma Wang, earned third place with 4:32.63.
Field
Sophia won first in the girls long jump with 15’ 7”. In the boys event, Timmy placed fourth with 18’ 7 ½”, followed closely by Liam in fifth at 18’ 5”. Sophia also took second in the girls triple jump with 33’ 0”, and frosh Omya Vidyarthi placed fourth with a mark of 29’ 3”. In the boys pole vault, Brady and sophomore Adrian Roufas tied for first, each clearing exactly nine feet.
“A lot of people won their races today, so you know they’ll have that confidence going into the next one, when it gets more important and we can be competing for a league title,” head coach Kevin Oliver said. “People are rounding into form at the right time. We won a lot of heats today, and we got a lot of personal bests. It’s hard to ask for much more than that.”
Varsity and junior varsity track and field’s next league meet will be the WBAL prelims at Gunn High School on May 6.
