![“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 swimming hosted senior night at the Jamboree 6A meet at Singh Aquatic Center on April 22.
In the opening senior ceremony, swim team coaches and non-seniors honored seniors Janam Chahal, Alejandro Cheline, Eric Dong, Shimeka Sahu, George Yang, Stella Yang and Wenjie Zou for their contributions to the team.
Seniors were given the option to compete in additional events to celebrate their final home meet. Eric swam in the boys 100-yard individual medley (IM), taking first place with a time of 59.76.
“Being able to do the JV events was great because I got to do all the events I haven’t been able to do for seven years,” Eric said. “I’m really thankful for the support, since I really enjoyed being teammates with them for the past four years. The celebrations were great, and the relay with all the seniors at the end was also really fun.”
Harker swimmers dominated across the board and secured multiple Central Coast Section (CCS) qualifying times. Wenjie qualified for CCS in both the 200-yard freestyle, which he placed second in with a time of 1:46.60, and the 100-yard butterfly, which he won with a time of 53.84.
Sophomore Andrew Woon also secured a CCS qualification by winning the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.32. Eliana achieved double victories, winning both the 50-yard freestyle in 25.49 and the 100-yard freestyle in 56.36. Eric additionally finished first place in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:02.93, which was composed entirely of Harker swimmers.
The meet also featured several relays consisting of mostly seniors. The boys 200-yard medley D team, composed of Alejandro, Eric, Wenjie and George, finished fourth with a time of 1:53.23. In the boys 200-yard freestyle relay, the same all-senior group swam as the A team, finishing in third at 1:52.53.
On the girls’ side, the 200-yard medley A team featured Janam, Stella, Shimeka and junior Eliana Chui, taking first place with a time of 2:02.53. A similar lineup of Janam and Shimeka, alongside Eliana and sophomore Amy Chen won the girls 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:59.09.
Shimeka enjoyed racing with her senior teammates in their final home meet together and earning the top result.
“We went out pretty fast,” Shimeka said. “All of our non-swimmer friends that were watching were like, ‘wow, nobody was even close to you guys.’ As for vibes, it was pretty fun at least for me. Stella, Janam and I did swim for all four years, so we know each other pretty well. We all had a lot of fun racing together.”
Following the competitive events, seniors gathered for a noncompetitive celebration in the pool where they showcased their abilities in a lighthearted way, leaping from the blocks with bellyflops, spins and cannonballs into the water, and performing unique strokes like the doggy paddle.
At the end of the meet, the team gathered to present speeches for all of the graduating seniors. Head coach Sachi Ujifusa highlighted the group’s consistency and the importance of enjoying swimming away from the pressures of competition.
“It was a great success,” Ujifusa said. “It’s always competitive, and we usually win at home, and that’s a plus. I was super excited to celebrate the seniors because all seven of them had swam for all four years, and they’re signing up to swim because they want to have fun, and I really appreciate them for that. I hope they enjoyed their last senior events — I thought it was a good way to let them have a moment of goofiness.”
