Prep2Prep recently announced its All-CCS boys soccer teams, and our Eagles were well-represented among the best players in the South Bay and Peninsula.
Andrew Cheplyansky, grade 12, was named first team All-CCS, while Laszlo Bollyky, grade 10, was a third team honoree. Ishaan Mantripragada and Sasvath Ramachandran, both grade 10, each earned an honorable mention. Check out the full list of honorees here:
Nine Harker students won national medals in this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, one of which is the first Harker middle schooler to receive a national medal in the contest.
Trisha Iyer, grade 8, received a silver medal for her poem, “Argan (T)oil.”
Senior Michael Tang was a gold medal winner for his piece, “The Pugilist.” Seniors Annie Ma and Ashna Reddy; junior Betsy Tian; sophomores Emily Tan, Esther Wu and Gloria Zhu; and freshman Austina Xu were silver medal winners, with Zhu winning a pair of medals, one for a hoodie design she created for the class of 2022.
National medalists are traditionally invited to participate in the national events celebration in New York City. This year’s events were unfortunately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a virtual celebration has been planned for June 4.
Many upper school teachers are incorporating a variety of methods to manage the amount of screen time their students are having each day due to the shift to remote learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With students both attending classes and doing homework on laptops and other devices, educators are concerned about the amount of time students are spending in front of screens. “I am alarmed at the extent of screen time and lack of physical movement,” said upper school chemistry teacher Smriti Koodanjeri, who has been going on short walks with her daughter, Anya.
Sharing Koodanjeri’s concerns, business and entrepreneurship teacher Michael Acheatel included 15 minutes of light exercise into his Zoom classes. “I am also keeping my screen time-based assignments as light as possible,” he said. He’s also worked with business & entrepreneurship teacher Juston Glass and athletics coach Loren Powers to organize online exercise periods, to which all students are invited. Upper school history teacher Carol Green suggested including slides in presentations that remind students to take stretch breaks. Last week, she and fellow history teacher Julie Wheeler “unintentionally added a lot of movement to our class” by giving students the option to submit their assignment as a video made on the video sharing service TikTok. “The TikTok format gets the students moving!” Green said.
“Honestly, my biggest suggestion would be to cut down the amount of material we are trying to cover,” said upper school English teacher Tia Barth. ” I’m trying to give only about 80 minutes of work with class time and homework combined. Everything we teach and do is important, but we’re going to have to prioritize and scale back to make this approach sustainable.”
While understanding teachers’ concerns, upper school LID director Diane Main cautioned that screen time shouldn’t be altogether avoided. “Are they passive consumers of content, or are they interacting and creating? The more we can have them doing the latter, and for shorter stretches rather than an hour or more at a time, the better it is likely to be for them,” she said.
It was an historic winter season for the Eagles and it showed in the announcement of the WBAL all-league teams.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team made it to the CCS D4 playoffs, winning its opening round game before falling in the second round. Jack Connors, grade 12, finished his Harker career with a second team honor.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team earned a 9 seed in the CCS D4 playoffs, but fell in its opening round game. Maria Vazhaeparambil, grade 11, dominated on the court and earned a first team honor; Alexa Lowe, grade 10, took home a second team award; and Cindy Su, grade 10, earned an honorable mention.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team won the first CCS title in program history and just the third team title in Harker history. In addition, it also made it all the way to the NorCal championship. Andy Cheplyansky, grade 12, was named league midfielder of the year; Sasvath Ramachandran and Ishaan Mantripragada, both grade 10, earned first team honors; Ryan Tobin, grade 11, and Arthur Kajiyama, grade 10, were named to the second team; and Darshan Chahal and Asmit Kumar, both grade 12, earned honorable mentions.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team won its first league title since 2014 and finished the season with a 13-2-3 record, but narrowly missed out on the CCS playoffs. Megha Salvi, grade 10, led the way as she was named league midfielder of the year; Amla Rashingkar, grade 12, and Emma Boyce, Sarah Baicher and Aria Wong, all grade 11, were named to the first team; Ashley Barth and Kalyn Su, both grade 10, and Lexi Wong, grade 9, each took home second team honors; and Kate and Sarah Leafstrand, both grade 10, earned honorable mentions.
The ongoing school closure, which began last week as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, has dramatically changed the day-to-day lives of Harker students and faculty, but the community is still finding ways to continue both instruction and socializing by switching to platforms such as Zoom. Yesterday, the advisory of Office of Communication Director Pam Dickinson and Performing Arts Chair Laura Lang-Ree met via Zoom, and The Harker School Jazz Band decided to try taking its practice online. Upper School Admission Director Jennifer Hargreaves’ advisory posed for a photo during its Zoom meeting, and juniors Nilisha Baid, Anoushka Buch, Ruya Ozveren and Sabrina Takemoto took the opportunity for an online hangout during today’s lunch.
Business and entrepreneurship teacher Juston Glass’ students studied demographics for a marketing project and did a case study on how to market Apple products to previous generations. “The teams had great ideas utilizing the marketing mix strategy, also known as the four P’s: product, place, price and promotion,” Glass said. “And we are enjoying being able to remote learn and collaborate despite the circumstances.” During some extra break time in upper school science teacher Chris Spenner’s class on research on methods, the students were treated to an impromptu jazz performance by sophomore saxophonist Aaron Tran. “It was a poignant moment of community and support in strange times,” said Spenner, who was understandably “too entranced by the performance” to capture it in a video.
Last week, the COVID-19 virus not only sent all students home from school, but also from all extracurricular activities including sports. As of now, the spring season is postponed, but information is changing rapidly and the season will be evaluated at a later time. Before school was shut down, your Eagles were able to get a few games in:
Boys Volleyball
Last week, the boys volleyball team defeated Leland 3-0 before falling to Monta Vista 0-3. The Eagles were 6-4 at week’s end.
Boys Golf
The boys golf team defeated Pinewood 192-217 last week with Bowen Yin, grade 11, earning medalist honors shooting a 35.
Boys Tennis
All games were canceled for the boys tennis team last week. The Eagles were 6-2 and undefeated in league at the time.
Track and Field
The track and field team had no scheduled meets last week.
Swim
The swim team had no scheduled meets last week.
Lacrosse
Last week, the lacrosse team played to an 8-8 tie against Castilleja before the season came to a halt with the Eagles holding an 0-2-1 record.
Softball
All games were canceled last week for the softball team. The Eagles have a 0-2 record.
Baseball
The boys baseball team went 1-1 last week, bringing its abridged season record to 4-2. In a 1-3 loss to Prospect, Levi Sutton, grade 11, had two hits, while Andrew Chavez, grade 11, drove in the only Eagle run. Then, in a 26-1 win over Jefferson, all 12 Eagles drove in at least one run, with Sutton leading the way with four RBIs.
“Cmd-Delete,” a short documentary created by juniors Jason Lin, Sara Yen and Amar Karoshi, was today named the grand prize winner of C-SPAN’s 2020 StudentCam contest. It also received the Fan Favorite award for receiving the most votes among the contest’s 12 finalists. The documentary, which explores the impact of technology on the electoral process, will air on C-SPAN throughout the day on April 21, starting at 6:50 a.m. EST. A cash prize of $5,000 also was awarded. Nearly 5,400 students submitted entries into this year’s contest, which invited students to produce short documentaries on national issues. Other topics covered this year included climate change, prison rights, health care and the separation of immigrant families.
The boys soccer team’s season ended on Saturday after an historic postseason run. The week started with a 1-1 tie in the NorCal opening round to Galt High that ended in a 5-4 penalty kick win for the Eagles. The NorCal semifinal matchup with Ygnacio Valley also ended in a tie, this time 2-2, with Harker once again winning on PKs 4-3. The NorCal finals sent the Eagles to East Union High in Manteca where the boys were defeated 0-2. Congratulations on an amazing season!
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team defeated Sacred Heart Prep 5-2 last week before traveling to Clovis for the California Tennis Classic. The team competed in the top division for the first time and went 3-0 on the first day of competition, making the final four. The Eagles went 0-2 on the second day of matches, but played extremely well. This week, the boys host Menlo on Tuesday and Pinewood on Thursday.
Lacrosse
The lacrosse team dropped its only match of the week to Burlingame 4-16. This week, the Eagles host Castilleja on Tuesday and Sequoia on Thursday.
Boys Golf
The boys golf team opened the league season by defeating The King’s Academy 193-214. Bowen Yin, grade 11, earned medalist honors with a 2-over-par 37. Later in the week, the Eagles finished 16th out of 23 teams at the Livermore Cowboy Classic. This week, the Eagles take on Pinewood on Monday in their sole match.
Baseball
The baseball team went 1-1 last week to bring its season record to 3-1. In a 2-5 loss to Fremont, Bobby Wang, grade 10, and Max Lee, grade 12, each drove in a run. Later in the week, the Eagles defeated Woodside 7-3 with Mark Hu, grade 10, and Andrew Chavez, grade 11, each with two RBIs. This week, the Eagles travel to prospect on Tuesday and Jefferson on Thursday.
Softball
The softball team opened its season with two losses last week. In a 1-13 loss to Gunn, Natasha Yen, grade 11, led the way with two hits and an RBI. Later in the week, the Eagles fell to Monta Vista 5-15 with Emma Dionne, grade 11, knocking in two runs. This week, the girls host KIPP on Wednesday and ACE Charter on Friday.
Track and Field
The track and field team traveled to the Willow Glen Invitational this weekend and had some great results. The following students set personal records in their events:
Angela Gao, grade 10, 1,600 meters
Anna Weirich, grade 11, 3,200 meters
Jeremy Ko, grade 9, Akhilesh Chegu, grade 10, Eddie Sun, grade 9, Alan Jiang, grade 9, and Rosh Roy, grade 11, 400 meters
Andrew Chen, grade 10, long jump and triple jump
Along with some amazing personal records, the team also had a few runners who placed in their divisions:
Weirich took first in the 3,200 and now holds the second and third place school record in that event.
Armaan Thakker, grade 9, took third place in the 100-meter frosh/soph boys race and followed that with a second place finish in the 200-meter frosh/soph race.
Andrew Fu, grade 9, took first place in the frosh/soph long jump.
The Eagles will travel to St. Francis for the first league meet on March 19.
Swim
Harker swimmers competed at the Small School meet on Saturday and it was a day dominated by freshmen. The meet started with a bang as Kathy Xu, grade 9, earned her first CCS cut time in the 200 IM and a second place finish; Jasleen Hansra, grade 9, won the 50 backstroke; Vincent Zhang, grade 9, was second in the 50 butterfly, with fellow freshman Indigo Lee taking third. Nicholas Wei, grade 9, won the 50 breaststroke and Bora Koyuncuoglu, grade 9, was third. Andrew Chang, grade 11, won the 100 breaststroke. The swimmers will be back in the pool on March 19 as Harker hosts the first WBAL Jamboree of the year.
Boys Volleyball
Last week, the boys volleyball team dropped a league matchup with Mountain View 1-3 before defeating Saratoga 3-0. The Eagles have a busy week as they host Leland on Monday and Monta Vista on Wednesday, before traveling to Lynbrook on Friday.
Last month, seniors Finn Frankis and Sahil Gosain, juniors Arya Maheshwari and Saloni Shah, sophomore Sasvath Ramachandran and freshman Tiffany Chang competed at the 2020 US Invitational Young Physicists Tournament, held at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H. Each team took part in a “physics fight,” in which students present their solutions and are questioned by a member of another team. Teams are judged on the quality of their presentations as well as their ability to ask and answer questions. Although Harker was not one of this year’s top placing schools, the team was awarded the Clifford Swartz Trophy for having the best poster presentation. Harker won the tournament in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
The boys soccer team made Harker history as it earned the first CCS title in program history over the weekend. The boys started the week with a semifinals win over Sequoia High on penalty kicks. The Eagles then faced St. Francis in the D3 championship game, which was scoreless after regulation. The Lancers scored in the first overtime period, but Harker’s Justin Fung, grade 10, scored late in the second overtime period to send the game to penalty kicks. Laszlo Bollyky, grade 10, came up huge in the net for the Eagles as Harker won the game 3-1 on penalty kicks. The boys now host Galt High at 4 p.m. on Tuesday in the first round of the NorCal playoffs; a win would send the Eagles to Ygnacio Valley High on Thursday. In addition to the CCS title, the boys soccer team was honored as the No. 2 Winter Scholastic Championship Soccer Team with a 3.787 team GPA.
Baseball
Last week, the baseball team opened the season with a 19-2 win over Overfelt and a 5-0 win over Rancho San Juan. In the win over Overfelt, Max Lee, grade 12, led the offense with two hits and four RBIs; Bobby Wang, grade 10, added two hits and three RBIs. Mark Hu, grade 10, was the story of the day in the win over Rancho San Juan as he tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout, adding seven strikeouts. What made the game particularly special was this was the first game ever played at Rancho San Juan’s new high school. This week, the Eagles travel to Fremont High on Tuesday and Woodside on Thursday.
Boys Golf
The boys golf team won its season opener against Valley Christian by one stroke, 209-210. Gabriel Yang, grade 11, was the match medalist as he shot a 36 to lead all golfers. This week, the Eagles face off with The King’s Academy on Monday before competing in the Cowboy Classic in Livermore on Wednesday.
Lacrosse
Last week, the lacrosse team fell to Willow Glen 4-16 in the season opener. This week, the Eagles host Mountain View on Tuesday and travel to Burlingame on Thursday.
Swim
Harker Swimmers competed at the Spring Kick Off at Palo Alto High over the weekend. Sydney Adler, grade 9, swam a best time and won her heat; Vincent Zhang, grade 9, was close to a best time in the 50 free, while Matthew Chung, grade 11, was second in the 100 fly and first in the 100 back. This week, the swim team travels to Sacred Heart Prep to compete in the Small School Invitational.
Boys Tennis
Boys tennis opened its 2020 season with a 6-1 win over The King’s Academy and a 7-0 win over Nueva. This week, the Eagles host Homestead on Monday and Sacred Heart on Tuesday before traveling to Clovis for the California Tennis Classic over the weekend.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team began its season 1-2 as it lost in five games to both Wilcox and Homestead before defeating College Park 2-0 at the Washington Fremont Tournament. This week, the boys travel to Mountain View on Wednesday before hosting Saratoga on Friday.
Track and Field
This weekend, the team will compete at the Willow Glen Track & Field Invitational.
Softball
Softball begins the season this week with road games at Gunn High on Tuesday and Monta Vista on Thursday.