Harker’s team of physicists took third place overall at the United States Invitational Young Physicists Tournament, held late last month at Philadelphia’s University of the Sciences. The team – comprising senior Manan Shah, juniors Neelesh Ramachandran and Selin Sayiner, and sophomores Ayush Pancholy and Ashwin Rammohan – earned 70.5 points to tie for third place, trailing just 1.5 points behind the second place finisher.
Important to the team’s success in Philadelphia was the work done by the research team of juniors Joanna Lin and Justin Xie and sophomores Nishant Ravi and Kaushik Shivakumar. These students spent many hours after school performing research and running experiments that provided valuable information to the team that represented Harker at the tournament.
The Young Physicists Tournament is held in a round-robin format and has schools debate solutions to various problems. Teams are evaluated based on the quality of their theoretical solutions, experimental evidence and answers during Q&A portions.
A score of female Harker students attended the Watermark Conference for Women this year, thanks to the conference organizer, which provided 20 tickets for Harker students.
The conference “was a fun and valuable opportunity for many of our female students involved in business and entrepreneurship at Harker,” said Neha Tallapragada, grade 10. “They learned not only about the different spheres of business, but also about personal lessons to apply to their lives outside of their future vocations.”
Speakers included Madeleine Albright, Sheryl Sandberg, Condoleezza Rice and the prolific and accomplished actor, Viola Davis.
“Of the keynote speakers, the most popular was Viola Davis, who spoke at the conference about her hardships and financial instability growing up, and how she persevered past that to achieve both personal and career success,” said Tallapragada.
“Enya Lu, grade 10, of Harker DECA and Harker Podcast, said that it was ‘really inspiring’ to listen to Davis and garner wisdom from her experiences,” Tallapragada noted. “Sheryl Sandberg spoke at the conference as well, and was also a crowd favorite among the Harker students. Overall, Watermark was a supportive, motivating, and exciting time for our Lady Eagles and we are definitely looking forward to returning next year.”
About Watermark:
Watermark is a community of executive women in the San Francisco Bay Area, whose mission is to increase the representation of women at executive levels to drive innovation, human development and economic growth. The Watermark vision is to ensure women are able to make their mark in and for their companies, their careers and their communities by providing programs focused on connection, development and advocacy.
The women of Watermark have created and led the most innovative and successful enterprises, contributing to all aspects of business, nonprofits, technology, media, education, healthcare, law, government and society. Founded in 1993 as the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE), Watermark has since expanded to include women leaders in all disciplines and industries.
On Feb. 3, HarkerCTF held its first cybersecurity competition at the Nichols Hall atrium. About 60 students separated into teams to solve cybersecurity problems and answer lab questions, which required them to submit their own code for grading.
HarkerCTF, which aims to boost student interest in computer science and give advanced computer science students opportunities to test their abilities, organized the competition to give students a chance to utilize their knowledge of applied computer science concepts. In computer security, CTF (Capture The Flag) is a popular type of computer security competition.
“In order to allow all students to participate in the event regardless their previous computer science experience, and to promote more students to become interested in computer science, we have provided some introductory questions in our competition as well, so all students could learn from the competition,” said HarkerCTF president Johnny Wang, grade 10. HarkerCTF plans to invite students from other schools to attend future events.
Placing first at the event was team “VASP,” consisting of grade 11 students Sumer Kohli, Praveen Batra, Vijay Bharadwaj and Akhil Arun. The humorously named “Team Freshmen,” made up of juniors Swapnil Garg, Andrew Semenza, Adriano Hernandez and Derek Yen, placed second. In third place was “L33t Haxors,” consisting of seniors Misha Ivkov, Vedaad Shakib and Andrew Tierno.
In late January, upper school soccer teams took to Davis Field for this year’s Kicks Against Cancer event to benefit Camp Okizu, which organizes camp outings for children with cancer. The girls varsity, boys varsity and boys JV teams raised money in the week leading up to the event by selling T-shirts and wristbands. This year, the event’s organizers also sold special tie-dyed T-shirts, which proved to be great sellers.
“We only ordered 75 shirts, because we weren’t sure if they were going to be popular,” said senior Maile Chung, who helped organize the event. “Lucky for us, we sold out on the first day of Kicks week.”
Chung first got involved with Kicks Against Cancer as a freshman. “When the upperclassmen started telling me to wear purple for Kicks and sign up for selling, I was very excited to become more involved with this great fundraiser,” she said. “I wanted to help out as much as I could, not only for raising money for Camp Okizu, but also because I wanted to enhance my leadership skills.”
Although the amount raised had not been tallied at press time, Chung estimated that it was between $1,000 and $1,500.
“I’m really happy that I was able to take charge of this fundraiser and be a part of something that benefits others,” Chung said. “If I hadn’t put myself out there and tried to be a leader, I wouldn’t have had the amazing experience of being a part of Kicks, which I definitely would have regretted.”
Three Harker students had notable performances at Santa Clara University’s High School Mathematics Contest, held in November. Senior Kai-Siang Ang took first place among seniors at the contest, while Misha Ivkov, grade 12, and Joanna Lin, grade 11, both received honorable mentions. A total of 131 students participated in the contest.
Started in 1958, the High School Mathematics Contest is sponsored by SCU’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and consists of a three-hour exam that tests problem-solving skills and mathematical ingenuity. It is typically held on the second Saturday of November.
Playing in two close matches last week, the girls soccer team fell to Pinewood 2-1 before taking care of Castilleja 2-1. Joelle Anderson, grade 12, scored a goal in each game, with Sahana Narayan, grade 10, adding the second goal vs. Castilleja. With a record of 10-3-1, the team sits in second place in the Skyline Division and will host first place Priory on Tuesday before Pacific Collegiate visits Harker for a non-league matchup on Friday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team picked up two big league wins last week, upending Priory 5-2 and Crystal Springs Uplands 3-2. The Eagles sit in fourth place in the WBAL, but are within striking distance of all three teams ahead of them. This week the team takes on the first and second place teams in the WBAL as it hosts Sacred Heart Prep on Wednesday and travels to Menlo on Friday.
Wrestling
Last week, the wrestling team was defeated 60-15 by Palo Alto before the Eagles picked up a win over Homestead by forfeit. In the loss to Palo Alto, Davis Howard, grade 12, won by pin, Diego Figueroa, grade 12, won 7-0, Anthony Contreras, grade 11, won 5-4, and Shikhar Solanki, grade 11, won 11-8. The Eagles travel to Lynbrook on Thursday before starting the SCVAL tournament this weekend.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team was defeated 60-52 by Mercy SF last week before rebounding with a 44-36 OT win against Castilleja. In the loss to Mercy, Prameela Kottapalli, grade 10, led the Eagles with 18 points, and Selin Sayiner, grade 11, added 15 points. In the OT win over Castilleja, Jordan Thompson, grade 12, led the way with 19 points, and Akhila Ramgiri, grade 10, added 14 points. The 11-10 Eagles travel to Mercy Burlingame this Wednesday.
Also, Thompson was honored last week by CalHiSports.com as one of their State Stat Stars of the Week:
The boys basketball team went 1-1 last week in league play. In a 63-48 loss to Woodside Priory, Jack Connors, grade 9, led the Eagles with 13 points. Later in the week, Harker defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 69-44 with Jordan Goheen, grade 12, scoring 16 points. Next up for the Eagles is Senior Night on Tuesday versus Eastside College Prep, then a trip to The King’s Academy on Friday.
Cross Country/Track
Cross Country Express recently interviewed Niki Iyer, grade 12, on her illustrious high school career. Check out the full interview here:
A huge cast of 170 students twirled and tumbled their way through this year’s upper school dance production, “Circus,” held Jan. 27-28 at the Blackford Theater. Songs and routines were themed around the daring and bedazzling performances of three-ring circuses, with students dancing to songs including “Everybody Loves a Circus Show” by Take That, “Funhouse” by Pink and “Tightrope” by Janelle Monae. Continuing the long-standing tradition of faculty members performing at the show, Pilar Aguero-Esparza, Kristina Alaniz, Jill Bettencourt, Shaun Kelley Jahshan, Susan King, Diane Main, Suneeta Mani, Sue Prutton and Victor Squillacioti took the stage for a number driven by Flo Rida’s “Right Round.”
The girls soccer team lit up the scoreboard again last week, defeating Mercy San Francisco 9-2. Joelle Anderson, grade 12, continued her amazing year with four goals. Julia Amick, grade 10, added two goals, with Lyndsey Mitchell, grade 12, Krishna Bheda, grade 11, and Alexandra Lu, grade 10, also scoring for the Eagles. Harker sits in second place, just one game behind Priory in the Skyline Division. This week, the team travels to Pinewood on Tuesday and hosts Castilleja on Friday.
Boys Soccer
Last week, the boys varsity soccer team defeated the German International School of Silicon Valley 7-1 before tying The King’s Academy 4-4 later in the week. This week, the Eagles host Priory on Wednesday before traveling to Crystal Springs Uplands on Friday.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team defeated Santa Clara 42-12 last week. Highlights included Diego Figueroa, grade 12, winning by fall, Kobe Howard, grade 10, winning by a 5-3 decision and Danny Reidenbach, grade 12, winning by a 5-4 decision. The Eagles host two matches this week, Tuesday against Palo Alto and Thursday against Homestead.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team split two league games last week. The Eagles beat Crystal Springs Uplands 65-22, but fell to Notre Dame San Jose 64-49 later in the week. The girls host Mercy San Francisco on Wednesday and Castilleja on Friday.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team lost two league games last week. In a 66-38 loss to Pinewood, Gene Wang, grade 10, led the Eagles with nine points. Later in the week, the Eagles fell to Sacred Heart Prep 55-36 with Jadan McDermott, grade 11, leading Harker scorers with seven points. Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Priory on Tuesday, then a home game versus Crystal Springs
Uplands on Friday.
The first Wednesday of February is a day that many elite high school athletes look forward to their entire careers – and for three Harker seniors, that day has arrived! Today, on National Signing Day, Joelle Anderson, Kailee Gifford and Lyndsey Mitchell inked commitments to play college soccer. Anderson will play for the Pepperdine University Waves, Gifford will play for the Golden Bears at UC Berkeley and Mitchell will travel to the Midwest to play for the Nebraska Wesleyan University Prairie Wolves.
Anderson, who played basketball and soccer at Harker, is currently leading all girls CCS soccer players in goals and points and was recently named the NSCAA/MaxPreps California Player of the Week. “This is unreal,” said Anderson. “I am so excited to attend Pepperdine in the fall.”
Gifford, who played basketball, football and soccer at Harker, hit 81 percent of her PATs this year for the varsity football team. However, at Cal she will concentrate on soccer. “I have worked hard for so many years,” stated Gifford, “and the view from the top of the mountain gives you a little retrospective on your journey, and it’s really cool.”
Mitchell, who played softball and soccer at Harker, is second on the girls soccer team in points this season, while mainly playing defense. Mitchell was turned on to NWU by her grandmother who took classes at the university. “This is really emotional,” said Mitchell. “All the hard work my family and I have put in to get here has paid off.”
Congratulations to Joelle, Kailee and Lyndsey on this exciting new chapter in their athletic careers! Go Eagles!
Harker recently received accolades for its participation in the 2016 High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM). In November, two teams of Harker students worked on solutions to real-world mathematical problems over a period of 36 hours. The first team – made up of sophomores Ayush Pancholy, Ashwin Rammohan, Nishant Ravi and Akshay Ravoor – devised a way to reduce course congestion during a 2,000-person triathlon, earning them an honorable mention in the contest.
The second team – comprising juniors Michael Kwan, Rajiv Movva and Shaya Zarkesh, and sophomore Katherine Tian – earned a successful participant designation for developing a method to expand a small business to serve the continental United States.
Both teams worked through an entire weekend, with each team creating a 30-page document outlining in detail how each of their solutions would work. “I could not be more thrilled by the energy, enthusiasm and fun the students had over the weekend,” said upper school math teacher Tony Silk.