The San Jose Mercury News published a story yesterday on Gargeya’s achievement, noting that he “appears to have already swayed Google judges.” Read the full story.
—-
Rishab Gargeya, rising senior and Saratoga resident, was recently named a regional finalist in the international Google Science Fair 2016! Thousands of participants from more than 100 countries entered their projects in the competition. Gargeya’s project is one of only 100 finalists selected from around the globe. It is currently one of the top 50 projects in the 16-18 age category identified as having the potential to change the world.
The project summary notes, “This study develops a novel smartphone-based diagnostic tool that can automatically detect any retinal abnormality within seconds. Through the use of a low-cost external ophthalmic lens attachment, individuals can diagnose themselves with their smartphones at any time, allowing them to seek medical attention accordingly to prevent any potential vision complications.”
Rising senior Niki Iyer won the women’s age 17-18 3000-meter race in 10:05.08 at the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships at Sacramento State University in late July! Check out this great interview with her as she recaps her motivation for the race and talks about her upcoming season at with the Harker team.
The speech and debate team had some outstanding success in June! The upper school team was represented by Nikhil Dharmaraj, rising sophomore, at the National Speech & Debate Association championship in Salt Lake City, Utah, June 12-17. The tournament is the most competitive national championship for individual speaking events, which are his specialty.
Dharmaraj was one of 250 students in the country to qualify in original oratory (out of thousands who tried to qualify). He made it to the quarterfinals, ranking him 28th in the nation as a ninth grader. His topic was how we need to be better about avoiding the “sunk cost” fallacy or why it is better to admit mistakes and move on than to keep pouring resources into failed strategies based on bad decisions.
During the same week, the middle school team was represented by a large group at the National Junior Forensic League Tournament, also in Salt Lake City, June 14-17. The biggest news from NJFL was that Harker won the top Overall School of Excellence Award for the fifth consecutive year!
A detailed breakdown of individual accomplishments at the NJFL is below. All grades listed are for the 2016-17 school year:
Original oratory
Avi Gulati, grade 9, 2nd place
Arusha Patil, grade 8, 6th place
Public Forum Debate
Jeremy Ding and Kenneth Liou, both grade 9, double octofinalists
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Sachin Shah, grade 9, finalist (2nd place)
Akshay Manglik, grade 8, quarterfinalist
Aditi Vinod, grade 8, octofinalist
Policy Debate
Jai Bahri, grade 9 and Jason Lin, grade 8, semifinalists
Andy Lee, grade 8 and Deven Shah, grade 7, quarterfinalists
Dramatic Interpretation
Nikki Solanki, grade 9, 9th place
Storytelling
Avi Gulati, grade 9, 6th place
Impromptu
Avi Gulati, grade 9, 2nd place
Prose Interpretation
Nikki Solanki, grade 9, 6th place
The coaches were incredibly proud of all of our students. They represented Harker very well as strong competitors and excellent community citizens. Recent graduates Karen Qi, Zarek Drozda and Panny Shan, all Class of 2016, came along to coach the middle school students. “Harker has a reputation for being smart, well spoken and gracious whether we win or lose, and that image is a result of how our students conduct themselves at every tournament,” noted Jenny Alme, department chair of communication studies.
The Harker DECA officer team, 15 strong, attended the DECA Emerging Leader Summit (ELS) at the Hilton San Francisco Financial District in early July to partake in leadership workshops and develop as a team. Officers from all over the country traveled to San Francisco for leadership training, networking opportunities and keynote speakers.
The group attended several workshops on communication, professional behavior, fundraising and chapter development. The students also attended an etiquette luncheon, took a bus tour of the city and held a chapter dinner.
“ELS was a good opportunity for the officer team to reconnect and get stuff ready and planned for DECA Launch,” co-CEO Alexis Gauba, grade 12, said. “It was also an opportunity for the officer team to bond and have some fun together, and it was definitely valuable that the teams had some designated team time.”
The team is now preparing for DECA Launch, which will happen Aug. 15-16.
Harker DECA is an international competitive business organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Harker’s DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business and promotes competition so that the next generation will be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders.
Four members of Harker’s girls lacrosse team were recently named Academic All-Americans by TopLaxRecruits.com. Taylor Iantosca, Aditi Maheshwari, Alayna Richmond and Priyanka Taneja, all rising seniors, earned the title after an impressive season on the field and in the classroom.
It’s summer break for Harker students, but two Eagle athletes are still competing at a high level.
This past season, Niki Iyer, grade 12, was the WBAL and CCS champion in the 3200-meter run, before finishing third in state. This past week she added another title to her impressive resume. On Saturday, Iyer won the Junior Olympic 17-18-year-old 3000m in Sacramento. The win qualifies her for the National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in July, also in Sacramento. Congrats and good luck, Niki!
Davis Dunaway, grade 12, was a WBAL champion in the pole vault and finished second in the 300m hurdles to earn a ticket to CCS last year. This weekend he will compete in his first decathlon. Dunaway will participate in the 100m, 110m hurdles, 400m, 1500m, shotput, high jump, long jump, discus, pole vault and javelin. Good luck, Davis!
Also this week, the boys water polo team was named as the CIF State Academic Team Champion. Teams with the highest collective grade point average in their respective sport are rewarded with a CIF State Academic Team Champion banner. The Eagles led all boys water polo teams in California with a 3.77 GPA.
The boys volleyball team started off the season losing eight of its first 10 nonleague games, but dramatically turned things around when they started league play, winning a league title with a perfect 10-0 record and qualifying for CCS. It was the fourth league title for the boys volleyball program in school history, and the first since 2009.
In the first round of CCS, the Eagles hosted Westmont in a five-game battle that eventually went to the Warriors. All told, they ended their season with a 16-12 record.
Luke Wu, grade 12, thinks this team is only going to get better. “Next year, I know they will go to greater heights! With so much raw talent and such young players, I know that they will only get better and improve in skill,” he said.
Playing in the SCVAL, Andrew Gu, grade 11, was named league MVP; Ray Song was named Junior of the Year; Chris Gong and Charlie Molin were co-Freshman of the Year; Song, Gong, Molin and Jonathan Schwartz, grade 11, were named to the first team; Wu, Jarrett Anderson, grade 9, and Kurt Schwartz, grade 12, were named to the second team. In addition, the team was a CCS scholastic champion with a 3.6760 GPA.
Boys Tennis
It was an exciting year for the boys tennis program. Competing at the California Tennis Classic in Fresno early in the season, the Eagles went 1-2, but there was more to this weekend than just numbers. After winning the division 4 championship in the tournament last year, the Eagles were moved up two divisions to face some of the best teams in the state. Their sole victory came against defending section champ Clovis West, proving that they could play with the big boys.
The team then finished the season in third place in the WBAL, which produced a CCS berth. In their first-round matchup, the Eagles were able to defeat Santa Cruz 5-2. However, their season ended in the next round of CCS as Gunn High defeated Harker 5-2.
Claiming All-League honors were Ronak Baldua, grade 12, and David Wen, grade 10, making the first team; Edward Tischler, grade 11, and Gary Tsai, grade 10, earning second team honors; and Randy Zhao, grade 10, earning an honorable mention. Coach John Fruttero was enthusiastic about this group, calling them “the closest and hardest-working team that I have coached at the upper school.”
Swimming
The 2016 swim season was full of amazing individual and team achievements. Jack Farnham, grade 11, was the league champ in the 100 backstroke; the girls 200 medley relay and 400 free relay team of sophomores Taylor Kohlmann and Vivian Wang, and seniors Grace Guan and Angela Huang took second at the league finals; Guan took third in the girls 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke; Michael Auld, grade 11, was third in the boys 500 freestyle; and the boys 400 free relay team of Farnham, Auld, Justin Culpepper, grade 11, and Alex Yu, grade 9, was third in league.
And then there was Vivian Wang! Wang was the league champion in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, as well as second in CCS in the 200 individual medley (IM) and 100 freestyle, which sent her to the state finals, where she placed fourth in the 200 IM and seventh in the 100 freestyle! Swimming at state was “such an experience to remember because it was both exhilarating and nerve-wracking,” said Wang. “I made so many new friends and created so many fun memories that I will never forget.”
All these amazing performances led to many All-League selections as well. Wang was named WBAL Girls Most Outstanding Swimmer, Guan was a first team selection, and Huang and Kohlmann earned second team honors. On the boys side, Auld and Farnham were named to the first team, Yu to the second team and Culpepper received an honorable mention. In addition to their prowess in the pool, both the boys and girls swim teams were CCS scholastic champions with a 3.5441 and 3.8451 GPA, respectively. “We had a very committed core who were encouraged by their improvements,” said coach Tania Chadwick. “By the end of the season it was great to see swimmers come together showing their team unity and camaraderie as they supported each other during practice and meets.”
Softball
The Harker softball team started the year on fire as it went 4-0 in its first four games, winning each game by an average of nine runs! The Eagles would finish the season tied for fourth in the WBAL with a 6-10 overall record. Leading the team offensively were Grace Park, grade 11, and Kristin LeBlanc, grade 10. Park led the Eagles in RBIs (15), doubles (6) and home runs (2). LeBlanc led the team in hits (22), runs (17) and batting average (.537). “I’m already excited for next year and I think that we have a very good shot of making CCS,” said LeBlanc.
Harker softball was well represented on the WBAL All-League Team as LeBlanc and Anika Rajamani, grade 9, were named to the first team, Park and Marti Sutton, grade 11, to the second team, and Alisa Wakita, grade 12, received an honorable mention.
Girls Lacrosse
It was a tough season for the girls lacrosse team as team members played their hearts out through a 2-18 season. After coaching the team for nine years, Andrew Irvine took on an assistant coach role with the birth of his daughter. “I am so proud of the all the girls for pulling the team together during this transition and keeping the program moving forward,” said Irvine.
In addition to being a CCS scholastic champion, leading all CCS girls lacrosse teams with a 3.9098 GPA, the team also received many All-League awards. Alayna Richmond, grade 11, was the Defender of the Year in the WBAL Skyline Division; Elise Mayer, grade 9, received second team honors; and Taylor Iantosca, grade 11, and Natasha Mayor, grade 12, received honorable mentions.
Baseball
The varsity baseball team ended its season with a 9-13 record, but the future looks promising for this team. With only three graduating seniors on a 19-man roster, a solid core of players will return next year. “Even though we will only have one senior next year, we’ll have eight to nine juniors, all of whom will be beginning their third year on varsity,” said coach Mike Delfino. “So, we’re definitely optimistic about the next few years.” Miles DeWitt is one of the seniors leaving the team this year. He led the team in RBIs. “I would always give an extra effort because I knew I wanted to finish my last year playing hard,” said DeWitt.
The team was a CCS scholastic champion this year, leading all CCS baseball teams with a 3.7519 GPA. Also, there were many Eagles on the PAL All-League team. Nate Kelly, grade 10, and DeWitt were first team selections, while Dominic Cea, grade 10, Varun Haltore, grade 11, and Matt Kennedy, grade 10, were named to the second team. “I am proud of the efforts each of the players put into the season,” said Delfino. “These guys worked hard and steadily improved as the season went along.”
Track and Field
It was one of the best years in Harker history for the track and field team! Every meet seemed to produce multiple personal and/or school records. At the WBAL finals, the Eagles had 14 season bests, and five athletes earned trips to the CCS championships. Davis Dunaway, grade 11, took first in the pole vault and second in the 300-meter hurdles in the WBAL finals. At CCS, Dunaway cleared his opening vault and placed seventh in his 300-meter hurdle heat. Demonte Aleem, grade 9, took first in the WBAL in the shot put and was the only freshman thrower at CCS, where he finished 28 out of 34 athletes, setting the school record in the process. Kevin Wang, grade 12, finished second in the WBAL in the discus, earning a trip to CCS. Anthony Contreras, grade 10, finished second in both the 200 and 400 at the league finals, and placed fifth and sixth respectively in his heats in each event, but did not make the cut for the finals. The boys team finished the year with a 3.4807 GPA, making it a top five scholastic champion. Finally, Niki Iyer, grade 11, continued her amazing career as she won both the 1600 and 3200 league finals. She went on to compete in the 3200 at CCS and the state finals, winning at CCS and placing third at state.
Iyer was named the WBAL Girls Track MVP and a first team selection. Dunaway and Aleem also were first team selections, with Wang and Contreras earning second team honors.
Boys Golf
What a year for the boys golf team! They were WBAL champs for the third consecutive year and enjoyed a second-straight undefeated season, which included 22 consecutive league wins. They had a second place finish at CCS, third place finish at NorCals, and sixth place at state. As for individual honors, Ryan Vaughan, grade 11, was named WBAL player of the year; Avi Khemani, grade 11, was named to the WBAL first team; and Dakota McNealy, grade 12, Colt McNealy, grade 11, Scout McNealy, grade 9, and Sandip Nirmel, grade 11, were all named to the second team.
Congratulations to Model United Nations coach Carol Green, who recently was named a Diamond Coach Award winner by the National Speech & Debate Association. Green was one of 22 coaches who received the award, which recognizes success and time served.
“Model UN students still earn points towards degrees in the National Speech & Debate Association,” said Green, who recently shifted roles and began coaching Model UN after several years as Harker’s speech and debate chair. “So I am still an active coach in the organization.” Green and 21 other Diamond Coach Award winners will be honored next week at the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Salt Lake City.
Michael Zhao, another 2016 graduate, was recently named a 2016 winner of a National Merit Scholarship, bringing the total number of winners to 13. Congratulations!
Update: June 9, 2016
Three more members of the Class of 2016 have won National Merit Scholarships, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced in early June. These college-sponsored scholarship winners are Stephanie Huang (Northwestern University), Joshua Hung (University of Southern California) and Jonathan Dai (Northwestern University).
This announcement brings the total number of National Merit Scholarship winners from the 2016 senior class to 12.
—-
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation just announced this year’s $2,500 National Merit Scholarship winners, and six Harker seniors are among them. Karen Qi, Evan Lohn, Vivek Bharadwaj, Victoria Ding, Anika Mohindra and Allison Wang were among 2,500 scholarship winners nationwide, who were chosen from more than 15,000 finalists.
Last month, seniors Emily Pan, Esther Wang and Vineet Kosaraju were among 1,000 students nationwide to receive corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.
College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in June and July.
More than 1.5 million high school students were entered into this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program after taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in October 2014. Less than 1 percent of these students went on to the semifinal round of the competition, and 15,000 of those were named finalists. To be eligible for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists must demonstrate good academic standing, be recommended by a school official and receive scores on their SAT exams consistent with their performance on the qualifying tests. They must also complete an application that details the awards they’ve received, their extracurricular activities and leadership positions they have held.