![“[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 competed at the Serra Invitational at the Crystal Springs Cross Country Course on Oct. 11, running their third race of the season.
The varsity and junior varsity teams for boys and girls navigated the 2.95-mile course, against 21 other schools, under sunny 66-degree conditions with little wind. Nearly the entire cross country team competed — a total of 46 runners, with some missing due to illness or conflicts.
Juniors Axel Szolusha and Ava Alvarez led the varsity teams with the fastest times in their respective championship varsity races. Axel finished 20th place overall with a time of 15:59.2, breaking his personal record for the course and moving into second place on Harker’s all-time boys records for the Crystal Springs course. Ava secured 24th place in the girls championship race with a time of 19:59.3.
Axel reflected on how the course’s steep hills make it extremely taxing, however experience has made it less intimidating over time.
“I had a really good performance,” Axel said. “We race here every year and make an effort to schedule extra practices because you really have to learn this course. Freshman year I was definitely like, oh my gosh, this course is terrible, but as I’ve learned where to push and where to keep it controlled, the course has gotten a lot more fun to run.”
On the junior varsity teams, frosh Avyay Ganesh and Hannah Tay led boys and girls teams, finishing with times of 19:39.3 and 24:19.4 respectively. Harker’s overall team placed 12th in the championship varsity boys race, 10th in the championship varsity girls, and 15th in the JV boys. The JV girls’ team, with only four runners, did not have enough runners to qualify.
JV girls runner Vivian Zhang (10) offered insight into the mental challenges of falling behind during the race.
“The most challenging part was not having anyone around me,” Vivian said. “Typically when you’re in a race you’ll have some people in front of you, some behind you. When you have no one that you can see, it gives your brain more reason to just feel like [you] could just stop right now.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, assistant coach Dave Kiefer emphasized the importance of competing on the Crystal Springs course and how it prepares the team for future races.
“I think the main thing was that we wanted to get more experience on the Crystal Springs course because that’s what we use for all our championship meets,” Kiefer said. “So anytime we can get a race in, it’s kind of a bonus. It helps people understand the course better and so the big picture is going to help down the road when we get to the championship.”
The team will compete in the second West Bay Athletic League (WBAL) meet at Baylands park on Oct. 29.
