![“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)
With the school year coming to a close, the spring sports teams wrapped up successful seasons marked by league championships, Central Coast Section (CCS) qualifications and playoff appearances across all sports.
Varsity girls track and field team won the West Bay Athletic League (WBAL) championship for the second consecutive season, with a lead of 54 points. Multiple athletes advanced to the CCS finals, including Stanford commit Brady Tse (‘26), who qualified in both the 110 and 300-meter hurdles. The girls 4×800 relay team of Emily Bryan (‘26), Ava Alvarez (11), Samaara Patil (11), and Sophie Shen (9) also advanced after breaking their own school record with a time of 10:01.26.
In the pool, the varsity boys and girls swimming teams advanced 7 individual CCS qualifiers at the WBAL Championship finals on May 2. The boys 200-yard medley of Eric Dong (‘26), Jaden Ruffy (11), Brandon Du (10) and Andrew Woon (10) placed second in 1:39.49, while the boys 400-yard freestyle relay of Wenjie Zou (‘26), Brandon, Edmund Wang (10) and Andrew earned a league championship title with a time of 3:18.15.
On the girls side, junior Eliana Chui won league titles in both the girls 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle, qualifying for CCS in both events. At CCS, Wenjie placed 6th in the 200 freestyle and junior Eliana Chui placed 13th in the 200 freestyle. Overall, the girls team placed 33th and the boys team placed 19th in CCS.
Meanwhile, the varsity boys golf team completed an undefeated 12-0 league season to secure the WBAL championship title. The team also tied for first place in the WBAL post-season tournament, where Justin Hu (10) helped clinch the title with a birdie, birdie, eagle on the final three holes. He continued his strong season by placing fourth at the CCS Golf Championship with a round of 69, while frosh Ernie Singh placed 34th with a 76. The team celebrated their 6 seniors at Los Lagos Golf Course on May 1.
On the tennis courts, varsity boys tennis finished with an 8-2 league record and advanced to CCS finals after playoff victories against Monta Vista High School, Sacred Heart Prep and Saratoga High School. They defeated Sacred Heart 6-1 on senior night before ultimately faltering 2-5 to Menlo School in the CCS finals to conclude the season. Individually, Yicheng Feng (10) had a strong postseason run, advancing to the first round of the CCS singles finals.
The varsity boys baseball team concluded the season in second place with a 14-10 overall record in the Peninsula-Lake League. Pitcher Shaurya Jain (11) delivered a three-run homer and Vidwat Shekhar (10) completed five scoreless innings to lead a dominant 12-0 win over Pinewood on March 25. Shaurya held first place in the league and fifth in CCS with 96 strikeouts this season, earning him individual honors as 1st Team All-League Pitcher.
Dominating league play, the varsity boys volleyball team posted a 23-9 record, earned the first seed in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League – De Anza Division and advanced to the CCS playoffs. The Eagles closed out the regular season with a sweeping 3-0 victory over Lynbrook High School on senior night. Their postseason run ended with a 0-3 away game loss to Harbor High School, while co-caption Topaz Lee (‘26) earned league MVP honors.
Making a return to competition after a year’s hiatus, varsity girls lacrosse played its first full season of seven non-league games. The team’s highlights include first-time goalie Samantha Teachworth’s (10) average save percentage of about 50% and co-captain attacker Yena Yu’s leading role in taking every draw control for the team this season. The team finished with a 4-3 record and scored a season-high 11 goals in an 11-2 win against Wilcox High School on April 8.
Rounding out the spring season, varsity girls softball finished seventh in the El Camino League with a 4-13 record. While they struggled to score at the start of their season, offensive and fielding improvements midway through the year fueled a dominant 17-2 win against Monta Vista.
