Adhir Ravipati ’05 played four sports his senior year: football, basketball, volleyball and track. He was named Harker’s most valuable player in the first three sports and earned all-league placement in each, sealing his entry into Harker’s Athletic Hall of Fame with four years of dedicated athleticism.
Ravipati made his mark on Harker athletics early on, receiving the JV Eagle Award his freshman year for both football and basketball. From then on, his accolades appeared regularly in Harker News.
In April 2003, at the end of his sophomore year, Harker News reported Ravipati’s hitting helped win the baseball season opener, adding a fifth sport to his list. That year he lettered in football, basketball and baseball.
In his junior year, Ravipati was noted early in the season when Harker News wrote, “… the Eagles flew to the ball and played like a team to be reckoned with. Seniors Matt Vucurevich and A.J. Reid led the Eagles, with strong performances turned in by junior quarterback Ben Shapiro and junior receiver Adhir Ravipati.” That year, Ravipati earned letters in football, basketball and volleyball, along with second team honors for the first two and first team-all league honors for volleyball.
Charging ahead to basketball in winter 2004, Harker News notes, “The team then proceeded to dismantle an overmatched Pinewood squad 48-24, with a 21-5 first quarter barrage, punctuated by a steal and crowd-pleasing dunk by junior Adhir Ravipati.” That team also earned a 2004 Scholastic Championship from the Central Coast Section (CCS) with an average 3.74 GPA.
For volleyball in spring 2004, the team finished in second place, and Harker News noted, “The team had an outstanding season, finishing 16-6 and 9-3 in league. The team was led by PSAL league MVP A.J. Reid and first team all-league player Adhir Ravipati.”
On to senior year! In the very first football game of the year, Ravipati caught a touchdown pass that set up a win in the last 18 seconds, and to that was added a paen to the true value of athletics. Again, from Harker News, in October 2004, author unknown, but very likely Jack Bither, athletic director at the time:
“On the fields and courts, friendships and memories will be forged that will last a lifetime. Hopefully, many as exciting as the dramatic finish of the first football game of this season. Behind 13-6 with only 18.8 seconds remaining in the game, the team was about to learn a lesson they will carry on with them their entire lives. ‘Never quit,’ ‘It’s not over till it’s over,’ however you want to say it, these phrases now have meaning that will last a lifetime. As the Eagles’ opponent lined up to punt the ball away, in all likelihood securing their victory, the ball suddenly popped over the punter’s head. As several Eagle defenders converged upon the hapless punter, it became Harker’s football, with only 13 seconds remaining. With time for one play, sophomore Jason Martin [Harker Athletic Hall of Fame, 2018] hurled a perfect spiral 35 yards on a halfback option pass to sprinting receiver, senior Adhir Ravipati, touchdown Eagles! Yet the team was still behind by one point, 13-12. With determination and courage, [senior] Najm Haque barreled over the goal line with only inches to spare to secure the dramatic 14-13 victory for Harker! Teenage boys and grown men aren’t known to hug all that often, but a world record for hugs and high fives may well have been set! Athletics does matter. It creates experiences and emotions unique to sports, a feeling everyone should experience at some point.”
Continuing his career, in February Ravipati was back on the hardwood: “The never-say-die team roared down the floor with only seconds remaining and took home the victory,” noted Harker News. “The team is led by senior post-player Adhir Ravipati.”
In spring, Ravipati hit the volleyball court with his usual vigor, and though they finished third that year, the team went out with a bang, defeating league champion The King’s Academy in their final match.
To sum up his senior year in athletics, Ravipati lettered in football, basketball, volleyball and track. In football, he caught 42 balls for 750 yards and eight touchdowns. He was named first team all-league and team offensive MVP and selected to the Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Game. In basketball, he was first team all-league and team MVP; in volleyball, he was named first team all-league and team MVP. In track, he was second in the league for the long jump.
Ravipati became the second Harker football player to play football in college, and his passion for sports led him to a career in coaching football in the Bay Area, where his successes have grown over the years as he has matured in that role. He has a coaching record of 38-15 for Menlo Atherton, including winning the state championship in 2018, and a long list of accomplishments and titles, including many coach-of-the-year awards – five of them in 2016. Check out these awards and stats!
Ravipati has a 38-15 record (17-3 in PAL-Bay Division) in his four years as head football coach at Menlo-Atherton High School. He was an assistant coach for five years prior to becoming head coach. His teams won PAL-Bay Division titles in 2015, 2016 and 2018. They won CCS and NorCal titles in 2016 and 2018. He coached the team to the state title in 2018.
Ravipati has earned numerous awards for his football coaching:
2012 Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Game Coach
2015/2016/2018 PAL Coach of the Year
2016 San Francisco 49ers Coach of the Week
2016 and 2018 GetSportsFocus Coach of the Year
2016 Mercury News Bay Area Coach of the Year
2016 California Coaches Association NorCal Coach of the Year
2016 Regional and National Positive Coaching Alliance Double Goal Coach Award Winner
2017 Marines Semper Fi Coach of the Year
2018 NorCalPreps Coach of the Year
In addition, Ravipati has been assistant varsity basketball coach at Menlo-Atherton for six years. In 2016, his team was a NorCal finalist; in 2013 the team was a CCS finalist, and the basketball team won PAL-South titles in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Ravipati looks back on his time at Harker with fondness. “My favorite memories are the time with my teammates and best friends at practice, on the bus rides, team bonding and on the field competing,” he said. “Specific on-the-field memories are either my game-winning TD catch against Hillsdale as a senior, or my game-winning shot against King City as a junior to win our first CCS playoff basketball game.”
He also, of course, remembers those who accompanied him on his journey. “I’d like to thank my athletic director Jack Bither,” Ravipati said, “and coaches Karriem Stinson in football, Jeremiah Brewer in basketball, Jason Reid in volleyball, CJ Cali in baseball and Vonda Reid in track. I’d also like to thank [coach] Richard Amarillas. All of them taught me so much as a person and athlete.”
The takeaways, aside from a very successful career as a coach, are numerous. “Sports taught me a lot that a textbook can’t,” Ravipati said, “It put me in mental, physical and emotional situations that I learned a lot from in how to deal with situations in life. It made me a better person and taught me teamwork, but most importantly leadership and mental toughness/discipline. Playing sports at Harker was special. It was unique being a part of the formative years of the high school and seeing the sacrifices we made to establish a sports program that kids could be a part of in the future and take pride in.”
Founded in 2018, The Harker School Athletic Hall of Fame honors those who have made outstanding contributions to its athletic program. Candidates for selection exemplified desirable character traits during their years at Harker and beyond, and have distinguished themselves in competition representing Harker, their college or at the professional level. Candidates may also be non-graduates who, through long service to Harker, have distinguished themselves in the field of athletics.
Kristina (Bither) Gurney ’09, a Harker Lifer, was a force to be reckoned with on the court and on the pitch, and she will be inducted into Harker’s Athletic Hall of Fame this Saturday before the Homecoming game. She played volleyball and soccer all four years at the upper school, which means she was a member of the dynamite 2007 state finalists team that went 38-5 for the season, ending up NorCal champs and second in the state.
Bither was a natural athlete who played a variety of sports at the lower and middle school level, including volleyball, basketball, soccer and flag football. “She started out mainly as a soccer player but quickly transitioned to volleyball without any difficulty in high school,” said Theresa “Smitty” Smith, who coached the volleyball team. “I remember her as being one of our most fit players who often set and held the pace for the rest of the team. She was a hard worker, a tough kid and a huge part of the 2007 team’s success as one of the outside hitters.”
Harker News is replete with references to Bither‘s contributions to her teams. In February 2006, Evan Barth, then a soccer coach, noted, “Kristina Bither, grade 9, continues to find the back of the net with three goals in league play, and when not scoring, she does a great job setting up her teammates, with two assists so far.” Two months later, Bither was named MVP and all-league first team, having scored a team high of 16 goals.
In January 2007, Bither was named all-league first team in volleyball. A month later, she was back out in front as Harker’s high scorer as soccer season hit its stride. A month later, with 15 goals to her credit, Bither was among the top scorers in the league.
In December 2007, Harker’s girls volleyball team was fighting every step of the way for a shot at the championship. In CCS quarterfinal play against The King’s Academy, Bither, then a junior, was service leader with four aces and racked up 10 kills, including the game-winning kill in game three. The team went on to the championship but succumbed, finishing second in the state, a record for any Harker team at the time.
In fall 2008, during her senior year, Bither again dominated the court, with 10 kills in the team’s first three-game match. The team had solid successes that year, with Bither named all-tournament first team at the Los Gatos Tournament.
The team finished that year with a 9-12 record, but Bither held the top kill record in the league with 4.7 kills per game and was fourth in the league in digs per game. She was named to The Mercury News All-Star team as an outside hitter, with an honorable mention.
Soccer then ramped up and by March 2009, Bither was noted as a critical player by coach Troy Thiele, who said, “Harker has been led by senior Kristina Bither, who is not only the CCS leading scorer, but also the 23rd leading goal scorer for all girls winter soccer players in the nation!” Bither was named San Francisco Chronicle Athlete of the Week honorable mention for her eight goals in a three-game span in mid-January. According to MaxPreps.com, Bither was ranked 23rd in scoring nationwide in January.
In April, the girls soccer team locked in second place with a 6-2-2 record, and Harker team members garnered 10 of the 28 all-league awards handed out that year. Bither, with 21 goals, was named league MVP of the newly formed Skyline Division of the WBAL, and again made The Mercury News All-Star team with an honorable mention. In mid-April, Bither signed papers to compete in volleyball for Villanova.
Thiele was impressed by Bither’s skills, noting that, “Kristina was probably the purest athlete to ever be an upper school student (at least in the time I have been here), male or female. She was a Division 1 volleyball player, but easily could have been a Division 1 soccer player if that is where she had put her heart,” he said.
“She literally won games for us single-handedly,” Thiele added. “The first game I ever coached (I was a mid-year replacement), I did not really know what the team was like, and we were losing by several goals and really had no business being on the field with the other team. In the last 10 minutes of the game, Kristina scored two or three goals all by herself to give us the win. She also dropped back and basically prevented the other team from scoring the tying goal as well.”
Bither joined the Villanova team and had a solid first season, playing in 95 sets, averaging 1.75 digs per set, and reaching a career high of 18 digs in a game vs. Princeton. In 2010, her second year at Villanova, she played in 55 sets, made 70 digs, including two games where she got double digits. She was named a Big East Academic All-Star for the 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Unfortunately, Bither suffered a back injury, ending her career at Villanova during her second year.
Bither went on to complete a marketing degree at Villanova, then studied at Tufts School of Medicine to become a physician assistant.
Bither looks back on her years at Harker with fondness. “My favorite memory is, of course, when our volleyball team was able to play in the state championship game,” she said. “I will never forget how the entire Harker community rallied behind us. It was also really special to be able to play with my younger sister, Veronica, for one year.
“I am thankful to have had such a close relationship with Coach Smitty, who coached both my Harker and club volleyball teams. I am absolutely a more fearless and resilient person today because of her. I would also like to thank Coach Barth, who always made me feel valued, respected and capable of succeeding.”
Being an active athlete in high school also was helpful in life, Bither noted. “I think I have gained skills in time- and stress-management, as well as important perspectives on how to work well as a team. Now having worked in both the emergency department and operating room settings, I am able to stay calm and function well under pressure, which is a strength I believe came from all of my sports training.
“I enjoyed athletics at Harker because I was able to play on so many different teams and make relationships with a lot of people that I wouldn’t have otherwise. It truly is inspiring to see the successes of so many Harker athletes nowadays!” she added.
Founded in 2018, The Harker School Athletic Hall of Fame honors those who have made outstanding contributions to its athletic program. Candidates for selection exemplified desirable character traits during their years at Harker and beyond, and have distinguished themselves in competition representing Harker, their college or at the professional level. Candidates may also be non-graduates who, through long service to Harker, have distinguished themselves in the field of athletics.
Today’s Family & Alumni Picnic brought hundreds of members of the Harker community to the lower school campus to enjoy games, food, student performances and more. Ever-popular carnival games attracted visitors to the campus blacktop to try their hands at winning various prizes. Despite the unseasonable warmth, attendees also ventured out of the shade to drive around in bumper cars, climb the rock wall and attempt to drop Harker teachers into a dunk tank. One of the more popular attractions was a mechanical unicorn that students attempted to ride without being thrown off.
At the Nichols Hall amphitheater, various student performing arts groups entertained the lunchtime audience with a show based on the popular board game Candy Land, featuring none other than Head of School Brian Yager as the Candy King. The food court was another favorite destination of this year’s picnicgoers, who dined on pizza, Indian food and more while also partaking of the confections offered at the bake sale and senior class’ candy sale. Meanwhile, the pony rides were a hit with the youngest attendees, and assortment of adorable animals at the petting zoo drew a steady crowd.
Many thanks to all who gathered with their fellow community members at this year’s picnic. See you next year!
Annie Ma, grade 12, has had a number of poems published in The RavensPerch, an independent literary magazine. Just search for Annie Ma to read the others!
During the second half of September, Harker welcomed Longxiang “Rick” Jiang, an English teacher at the Shanghai World Foreign Language Academy, as part of this year’s teacher exchange with the school. Jiang began his visit at the middle school, where he sat in on a variety of classes, including grade 8 American History, as well as some writing and English classes. He also taught three sessions of Xiuyu Gao’s Mandarin class.
Next, Jiang headed to the upper school, where he visited a business leadership class, an AP English literature class and a theater class, among others. As he did at the middle school, Jiang spent some time teaching to Shaun Jahshan’s Mandarin students.
Jiang wrapped up his visit with a day at the lower school, attending a special assembly with storyteller Jim Cogan and enjoying lunch with a group of teachers. Despite his busy schedule, Jiang did find some time for leisure, taking in the sights around San Francisco, Monterey and Santa Cruz!
This past spring, Harker received an endorsement from the Global Education Benchmark Group, a nonprofit organization that “researches and establishes best practices in the field of global education and supports member schools to prepare students to thrive in increasingly interconnected world systems,” according to its website. Endorsements are awarded to GEBG member schools that exemplify the high standards established by the organization.
GEBG representatives visited Harker last winter and met with administrators, students, parents, department chairs, teachers and other people in the Harker community who were involved with the Global Education program. The committee’s report commended many aspects of the program, including the level of support from school administration, the availability of professional development opportunities (such as the Vegesna Foundation’s Teacher Excellence Program) and the school’s capacity for creating global citizens who are knowledgeable and empathetic.
“Over the past many years, I’ve observed students and teachers embark on life-changing international experiences, participate in hands-on global projects that enhanced their classroom experiences and met talented educators from across the world,” said Global Education director Jennifer Walrod. “I’m thrilled that we received this endorsement and look forward to our continued growth as I work towards implementing all the committee’s constructive feedback.”
Attendees at Friday night’s Harker Concert Series season opener got an earful, as Laila Biali brought no shortage of energy and emotion, performing a wide selection of original songs and arrangements of several of her favorite songs, all driven by her powerful vocals and accomplished piano work.
Biali had a story for each of the songs she performed with her trio – drummer Mike Quigg, bassist Josh Thurston-Milgrom and trumpeter (and upper school music teacher) Dave Hart – which worked in her favor, as her ability to tell stories made each tune feel a little more special, as though she was sharing the songs with the audience, and not just playing for them.
The opening two songs, both inspired by her experiences living in New York City, were also two of the evening’s highlights. “We Go” celebrates the city’s famous nightlife with an up-tempo, shoulder-moving urgency that provides the perfect backing for Biali’s impressive vocal talents and skyscraper-climbing range. Meanwhile, “Got to Love” is a fast moving paean to the borough of Brooklyn as it undergoes and attempts to beat back the gentrification that has swept over the area in the last decade.
Biali also has a keen ear for covers and how to arrange them to suit her strengths without sacrificing the power of the source material. This rare talent was most apparent on her rendition of K.D. Lang’s “Simple,” featuring a delicate vocal over a shimmering piano, effortlessly bringing out the aching joy in Lang’s lyrics. Meanwhile, concert closer and David Bowie hit “Let’s Dance” retained the no-nonsense beat of the original while incorporating Biali’s jazzy sensibilities and putting her smoky, bluesy vocals in place of Bowie’s throaty theatrics.
Biali’s trio turned in stellar work throughout the evening, particularly impressive as Biali noted that they had been playing much of this music for the first time. Although Biali was the star of the night, Quigg, Thurston-Milgrom and Hart each left their mark with stand-out solos and tight interplay.
Attendees at Friday night’s Harker Concert Series season opener got an earful, as Laila Biali brought no shortage of energy and emotion, performing a wide selection of original songs and arrangements of several of her favorite songs, all driven by her powerful vocals and accomplished piano work.
Biali had a story for each of the songs she performed with her trio – drummer Mike Quigg, bassist Josh Thurston-Milgrom and trumpeter (and upper school music teacher) Dave Hart – which worked in her favor, as her ability to tell stories made each tune feel a little more special, as though she was sharing the songs with the audience, and not just playing for them.
The opening two songs, both inspired by her experiences living in New York City, were also two of the evening’s highlights. “We Go” celebrates the city’s famous nightlife with an up-tempo, shoulder-moving urgency that provides the perfect backing for Biali’s impressive vocal talents and skyscraper-climbing range. Meanwhile, “Got to Love” is a fast moving paean to the borough of Brooklyn as it undergoes and attempts to beat back the gentrification that has swept over the area in the last decade.
Biali also has a keen ear for covers and how to arrange them to suit her strengths without sacrificing the power of the source material. This rare talent was most apparent on her rendition of K.D. Lang’s “Simple,” featuring a delicate vocal over a shimmering piano, effortlessly bringing out the aching joy in Lang’s lyrics. Meanwhile, concert closer and David Bowie hit “Let’s Dance” retained the no-nonsense beat of the original while incorporating Biali’s jazzy sensibilities and putting her smoky, bluesy vocals in place of Bowie’s throaty theatrics.
Biali’s trio turned in stellar work throughout the evening, particularly impressive as Biali noted that they had been playing much of this music for the first time. Although Biali was the star of the night, Quigg, Thurston-Milgrom and Hart each left their mark with stand-out solos and tight interplay.
Attendees at Friday night’s Harker Concert Series season opener got an earful, as Laila Biali brought no shortage of energy and emotion, performing a wide selection of original songs and arrangements of several of her favorite songs, all driven by her powerful vocals and accomplished piano work.
Biali had a story for each of the songs she performed with her trio – drummer Mike Quigg, bassist Josh Thurston-Milgrom and trumpeter (and upper school music teacher) Dave Hart – which worked in her favor, as her ability to tell stories made each tune feel a little more special, as though she was sharing the songs with the audience, and not just playing for them.
The opening two songs, both inspired by her experiences living in New York City, were also two of the evening’s highlights. “We Go” celebrates the city’s famous nightlife with an up-tempo, shoulder-moving urgency that provides the perfect backing for Biali’s impressive vocal talents and skyscraper-climbing range. Meanwhile, “Got to Love” is a fast moving paean to the borough of Brooklyn as it undergoes and attempts to beat back the gentrification that has swept over the area in the last decade.
Biali also has a keen ear for covers and how to arrange them to suit her strengths without sacrificing the power of the source material. This rare talent was most apparent on her rendition of K.D. Lang’s “Simple,” featuring a delicate vocal over a shimmering piano, effortlessly bringing out the aching joy in Lang’s lyrics. Meanwhile, concert closer and David Bowie hit “Let’s Dance” retained the no-nonsense beat of the original while incorporating Biali’s jazzy sensibilities and putting her smoky, bluesy vocals in place of Bowie’s throaty theatrics.
Biali’s trio turned in stellar work throughout the evening, particularly impressive as Biali noted that they had been playing much of this music for the first time. Although Biali was the star of the night, Quigg, Thurston-Milgrom and Hart each left their mark with stand-out solos and tight interplay.
On Nov. 8, the Harker Speaker Series will host “An Evening With David Amram,” one of America’s most treasured composers and conductors. A professional musician for nearly 70 years – starting out in 1951 as a French hornist in Washington, D.C.’s National Symphony Orchestra – Amram has performed with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Charles Mingus, and composed the scores for the classic American films “Splendor in the Grass” and “Manchurian Candidate.”
Amram’s career throughout the 20th century led him to collaborations with influential figures including beat writer Jack Kerouac, Bob Dylan, Betty Carter, Tito Puente, Hunter S. Thompson and Leonard Bernstein, who in 1966 appointed Amram the New York Philharmonic’s first composer in residence. Several of Amram’s compositions – including 2007’s “This Land, Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie” and 2002’s “Giants of the Night” – have become some of the mostly widely performed pieces in contemporary music.
“An Evening With David Amram” will include an interview with Amram conducted by upper school English teacher Charles Shuttleworth, a sit-in performance with Harker instrumental groups and an audience Q&A session. Amram’s famous wit, talent for storytelling and perspectives on the current music industry are sure to make this an event not to be missed!