![“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)
Varsity boys basketball triumphed against Greenfield High School 76-55 on Dec. 20.
Center Oliver Chen (12) won the tip-off and passed the ball to guard Lucas Huang (10), who quickly dribbled the ball to Greenfield’s side of the court. The Eagles turned the ball over, however, and the Bruins capitalized with a three-pointer. Guard Alan Gao (12) responded with a midrange jump shot, closing the gap 2-3.
Greenfield extended their lead to 2-11 through, aided by trips to the free throw line. The Eagles bounced back with a 3-pointer from forward Prithvi Pandey (9) and two baskets from guard Stephen Gao (9) to close the gap 7-11.
“In the first half, the game was pretty close,” Stephen said. “Our scoring was a bit stagnant, but when I made a bucket, that shot definitely hyped me and a lot of my teammates up.”
The Eagles maintained their momentum, with guard Daniel Zhu (11) scoring and forward Babila Mfonfu (11) hitting two layups to bring the score to 14-16. After the Bruins drew a shooting foul, Babila made a free throw to cut the deficit to 17-18. Stephen shot a 2-pointer, and Harker ended the quarter tied with Greenfield at 19-19.
Greenfield opened the second quarter with two free throws to regain the lead. Harker responded quickly, with guard Rishaan Thoppay (12) scoring a 3-pointer to tie the game 22-22. Guard Caden Ruan (12) then drove to the basket and earned a free throw that gave the Eagles their first lead of the game, 23–22.
Alan scored back-to-back baskets to push Harker ahead 28–27. Caden added another free throw to extend the lead to 29-27, and Stephen followed with a basket to make the score 31-30.
The Bruins stayed close with a series of free throws, tying the game at 33-33, but Rishaan knocked down consecutive baskets to give the Eagles a 38-36 advantage heading into halftime.
Caden opened the third quarter by making a basket to extend the Eagles’ lead to 40–36. The Bruins earned a free throw, but Harker quickly pushed back with two baskets from Rishaan and small forward David Li (12) to make the score 44-40.
Building on the offensive run, guard Noe Parra (9) extended Harker’s lead to 46-40 through a combination of critical passes and baskets. After Greenfield converted a shot on the next possession, Caden scored again to restore the six-point advantage.
“We started off really slow this season, but we’re definitely improving and that showed in the second half of this game,” Noe said. “We faced some adversity throughout the season, but we’re building chemistry as we go.”
Lucas made a three-pointer to cap off the quarter’s scoring run. Despite the Bruins adding a free throw before the end of the quarter, Harker maintained a 55-44 lead heading into the fourth.
Continuing Harker’s dominance in the fourth quarter, Lucas finished a passing sequence with Noe to push the Eagles’ lead to 57–44. Caden followed by tallying points on three consecutive possessions, allowing the Eagles’ to pull ahead 66-49.
Alan added two back-to-back baskets followed by another 2-pointer from Lucas, which stretched Harker’s lead to 74-55. Guard Tyler Wang (11) capped off the quarter with a successful shot, closing out the game with a 76-55 victory for Harker.
Head Coach Alfredo Alves reflected on the game.
“We had a rough start, and we were trying to find ways to be in the game,” Alves said. “But in the second half, we were able to make the game. David and Noe really ignited us with their rebounding and effort, and a lot of the rest of the team played off that energy.”
The team holds a record of 4-5 and will face Capuchino High School next in a home game on Wednesday.
