This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Over spring break, a group of 16 Harker history students in grades 9 and 10 took an amazing trip through Italy and Greece, absorbing the rich history and culture of both countries. The journey gave the students the rare opportunity to see many historical sites in person and hear the fascinating stories behind them.
The students, accompanied by upper school world history teacher Andrea Milius, global education director Jennifer Walrod, and upper school dance teacher Karl Kuehn, arrived in Rome after a 12-hour flight. They checked into their hotel, then headed off to dinner, which included authentic Italian pizza and fried mozzarella.
The next day they ventured to the famous Trevi Fountain and Piazza Venezia before heading to Piazza Navona for gelato. After trekking through the city and sampling more local food, they headed to the Spanish Steps for a bit of shopping, then to the Piazza Del Popolo to take in some local scenery.
A highlight of the day was a trip to Vatican City, where the group toured the lovely gardens and a museum filled with papal carriages that had been used in the last several centuries to protect the pope on international visits. At the Vatican’s renowned art galleries, the students viewed works such as the sculpture of “Laocoon and His Sons.”
They also got an up-close look at the many paintings adorning the walls and ceilings of the Sistine Chapel, including the famous works of Michelangelo and Botticelli, and took a stroll through St. Peter’s Basilica, which houses Michelangelo’s sculpture of “Pieta.” After taking a break for lunch at St. Peter’s Square, they explored the Domitilla Catacombs, which Milius observed “were comprised solely of volcanic ash, which we could scrape off.” Returning to Rome, the students enjoyed more shopping, gelato and dinner near Via del Corso before returning to their hotel to rest up.
The students got an early start on day three with an 8 a.m. bus ride to the Colosseum, where they learned that Colosseum gladiators were “criminals, slaves or men looking to pay off their debts; they were trained in a school adjacent to the structure,” wrote Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 9, in one of several blog entries about the trip. “Because of the prize money and adoration, over time men would choose this profession.”
Their tour of the Colosseum was followed by a walk past the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Vesta, the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Senate House and more. Their hike through Rome continued with stops at the Castel Sant’Angelo (the burial site of Hadrian, one of the “Five Good Emperors”), the Palazzo delle Esposizioni museum and Via del Corso.
The day was capped off by another delicious meal and reflections on their trip through one of the world’s most historic cities. “We are sad to leave Rome, but excited to explore Naples and Capri tomorrow,” wrote Dharmaraj.
Waking up early the next morning, the students traveled by bus to Naples, where a spectacular view of the Mediterranean Sea awaited them. The group took a boat to the nearby island of Capri, where they admired its amazing rock formations and learned about its history as a popular vacation spot for Roman emperors and home to authors such as Norman Douglas, Friedrich Alfred Krupp and Axel Munthe.
At Capri Village, the group explored the various shops and purchased products made from lemons, a fruit for which Capri is particularly famous. They then boarded a boat bound for Sorrento, where they stayed the night. After unloading their luggage, they enjoyed dinner and a sampling of Sorrento’s nightlife. “It was awesome,” reported Dharmaraj, “We bought many different things, like ties, tea cups, leather gloves, sunglasses and clothes for great prices. We even saw a mini puppet show!”
The next day, everyone traveled by bus to Pompeii, the city famous for being buried under ash and rock during the 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The students viewed casts of some of the bodies discovered by archaeologists, and their tour guide gave them a look into Pompeiian daily life and commerce.
“Pompeii was a business city, so there were small businesses around every corner,” Dharmaraj wrote. “Along these streets, various items were sold: clothes, drinks and foods.”
After wrapping up their tour of Pompeii, the group boarded a ferry to Greece to begin the second stage of their trip. On their first day in Greece, the group started their lengthy trip to Delphi, stopping for lunch in Glovinos and enjoying a brief jaunt on the shore of the Ionian Sea. Upon reaching Delphi, they explored the narrow streets and local shops, and purchased food to feed the stray dogs they encountered. “From goats to stray cats and chickens, we were pleasantly surprised by the wonders of this alcove in the altitudes of Greece,” Dharmaraj wrote.
The group awoke early the next morning ready for a full day in Greece which began with a tour of Delphi’s historical sites, including the Temple of Apollo.
“Our tour guide Angelica first introduced us to some background on Delphi itself, the small town actually originally being a religious center rather than a city,” Dharmaraj reported. “Legend has it that Apollo’s first arrival in Delphi angered Mother Nature, so to reconcile with her, he demanded that priestesses instead of priests should be the main religious guides.”
These priestesses of the Oracle of Delphi were said to receive divinations by inhaling gases and then sharing their insights with visiting diplomats and rulers. Continuing on, the group also explored the ruins of the stadium, which was the site for many Olympic games. Their last stop in Delphi was a nearby museum, which housed one of only two Greek charioteer
statues left in the world. Dharmaraj briefly recounted the story of its miraculous discovery: “An earthquake buried this statue, saving it from Emperor Nero, who stole most of the others.”
On the bus trip to Athens, the group admired the Greek countryside and stopped at a local restaurant for lunch. Upon arriving, they enjoyed a short walk through the town square and briefly explored the city. That evening, they took a guided tour of the legendary Greek Orthodox church, the Metropolis, and explored the streets of Athens and its many shops and eateries before returning to their hotel for a good night’s rest.
The next morning the students toured numerous landmarks in Athens, including the statues of important Greek Civil War-era politicians and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“Whereas in America, the memorial contains a tomb of the remains of an actual unidentified soldier, the memorial in Athens is dedicated to the numerous soldiers who died in all the wars of the history of the Peloponnesian peninsula,” observed Brian Park, grade 9.
At the Acropolis, known first as a citadel for Athens and later as a place of religious significance, the students took in the wonder and history of one of the world’s most famous landmarks. “According to legend, King Cecrops, the first king of Athens who also happened to be half man half snake, built his palace there,” Park wrote. “As time passed, the Acropolis of Athens soon became a place of worship.
During the Golden Age of Athens, temples such as the Parthenon began to be constructed.” The Acropolis’ accompanying museum housed many statues that were once housed in the famous structure. “While many of the statues were damaged in some shape or form, we were able to see how careful the sculptors were in constructing them,” wrote Park.
For more student comments, details and photos from this trip, visit the Italy and Greece student blog!at http://harkeritalygreece2016. blogspot.com/. To read more global education stories, visit Harker News at https://staging.news.harker.org/tag/ global-education.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Harker library director Sue Smith and upper school librarians Lauri Vaughan and Meredith Cranston contributed an article on information literacy to the May/June issue of Knowledge Quest, the journal of the American Association of School Librarians. In the article, titled “An Argument for Disciplinary Information Literacy,” they discuss the importance of teaching information literacy to students in a manner appropriate for each discipline.
In April, Daniel Hudkins, Harker’s director of learning, innovation and design (LID), attended the Associated Technology Leaders in Independent Schools (ATLIS) Conference in Atlanta. He co-presented with Jamie Britto, CIO of the Collegiate School in Richmond, Va., on the topics of security and data privacy, sharing a recent occurrence of ransomware appearing on Harker’s network. The conference also provided Hudkins with valuable lessons.
“Among the most important were the importance of having and maintaining planned responses to emergency situations, and that the role of information technology in independent schools is continuing to grow not only as it applies to student learning, but also as it is used as a better way of analyzing data and enhancing productivity,” he said.
Upper school art teacher Pilar Agüero-Esparza was recognized as an artist laureate by SVCreates for her contribution to the arts and culture of Silicon Valley. SVCreates, which identifies itself as “a network of leaders” whose goal is to “ignite investment and engagement in our creative culture,” recognizes five artist laureates each year, awarding them with a cash prize to help them continue their work in the arts. In addition to her work as an arts educator, Agüero-Esparza has been active as an artist and arts administrator throughout the Bay Area. Her work has appeared at the San Jose Museum of Art, Triton Museum of Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Santa Cruz Museum, among others.
Please welcome Whendy Carter as Harker’s new preschool director! Carter comes to Harker from New York City, where she served as an educational coach for the NYC Department of Education and Bank Street College of Education. Her previous experience also includes directing the Montclare Children’s School and the Church of the Epiphany Day School and several years as a preschool teacher. As a preschool advisor to The Parents League of New York, she led workshops on early childhood education, and as adjunct professor at Hunter College’s School of Education, she taught a graduate course in early childhood creative arts.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
By Zach Jones and William Cracraft
Business and entrepreneurship (B.E.) and DECA students have been busy! DECA students attended and earned accolades at the International Career Development Conference in April and the State Career Development Conference in March, and a B.E. student won a $20,000 award for managing personal finances in a nationwide contest.
History Made at 2016 ICDC
In late April, 20 students from Harker’s DECA chapter attended the 2016 International Career Development Conference (ICDC) at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn., with great results, including a first place win.
“The four-day business conference featured competitions with tough opponents, skill building leadership academies and unforgettable experiences,” said Shania Wang, grade 9, director of communications for Harker DECA.
Two Harker teams finished in the top 20 during preliminary competitions, earning them the chance to compete in the final round. And, for the first time in Harker DECA history, a student from the chapter received first place in a role-play event at ICDC. Enya Lu, grade 9, took top honors in the principles of finance category, while teammates Dolan Dworak, Brandon Mo and Michael Sikand, all grade 10, were finalists in the independent business plan category.
“It was a great opportunity to learn about how business works in a culture like that of Nashville and get feedback from local business owners about how to appeal to a non-Bay Area market,” said Shreyas Chandrashekaran, grade 10, Harker DECA vice president of competitions and strategy and a competitor in the finance operations research category.
Harker advanced two teams to the final round of competitions: Lu and the team of Dworak, Mo and Sikand. Harker DECA members exploded in cheers as Lu was named a top 10 finalist. Within minutes, it was announced that Lu won first place in her event. “It felt amazing,” said Lu. “I was very surprised and I was kind of scared when I went up. I was really excited and I thought that I did well already, but I really wasn’t expecting it. When they announced third and second, I thought that I wouldn’t get it, but then I did, and it was amazing.”
“This year’s ICDC was an amazing experience for students who were able to connect professionally, serve their community, and develop further as future business professionals and emerging leaders,” added Juston Glass, Harker DECA advisor. Read the full story in Harker News: http://wp.me/pOeLQ-7z9.
CardioBand wins at DECA Career Conference
Grade 9 students Natasha Maniar and Kelsey Wu won first place at the DECA State Career Development Conference in March for a product they designed called CardioBand.
“CardioBand is an innovative three-in-one personal medical and fitness device which will revolutionize the way people monitor their heart health,” said Maniar. The proposed device will function as an electrocardiogram, emergency alert and a fitness monitor. Utilizing a Velcro harness and an app, CardioBand would be able to detect irregular heartbeats and prevent deaths related to sudden cardiac failures.
Maniar and Wu recently had their plan reviewed by venture capitalists and financial analysts, and are happy with the feedback they received. “CardioBand is a huge step up,” said Alex Antebi of Connective Capital Management. “It leapfrogs the competition with its continuous monitoring and proactive notification system.” Read the full story in Harker News: http://wp.me/pOeLQ-7CY.
Freshman Entrepreneur Nails Life Finance Challenge
Rithvik Panchapakesan, grade 9, was named an H&R Block Budget Challenge scholarship winner! Panchapakesan won the award for proving himself a personal finance master in the game of “life.”
Students who participated in the challenge were given a virtual job, complete with a 401(k), credit card bills and student loans. They then had to successfully manage their paychecks for 10 weeks. Panchapakesan competed with thousands of students nationwide and was one of only 22 to receive the $20,000 scholarship.
“The most challenging part of the budget challenge was managing my credit card utilization rate,” said Panchapakesan. “I think this challenge will help me manage my money in life because it brought the different issues of money management to my attention.” Read the full story in Harker News.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
By Greg Achten and Jenny Alme
Harker’s speech and debate team finished the 2015-16 season strong, with many students earning national honors and awards. The end-of-the-year championship tournaments were a capstone to another great season in which Harker students competed against the best and brightest students nationwide. The success of our students at those tournaments is a testament to their hard work and all that they have learned this year.
Upper School Team Success
Harker’s upper school speech and debate team attended several end-of-year championship tournaments. Qualifying for these tournaments was a great honor, resulting from top performances throughout the year. Twelve Harker students competed at the National Debate Coaches Association National Championship in Orlando, Fla. At the tournament, Raymond Xu and Srivatsav Pyda, both juniors, advanced to the elimination rounds in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Xu lost in the first elimination and finished 17th in the nation, while Pyda reached the quarterfinals and finished fifth in the nation. Several Harker debate students also qualified to the Tournament of Champions, held in Lexington, Ky. Pyda was joined by teammates Aditya Dhar, grade 11, and Michael Tseitlin, grade 11, as well as Alexander Lam, grade 11, in congressional debate; Joyce Huang, grade 11, Emily Chen, grade 10, and Jimmy Lin, grade 10, in international public forum debate; and Emaad Raghib, grade 11, and Suraj Jagadeesh, grade 12, in public forum. At the tournament, Lam and Huang entered the elimination rounds as the top overall seed. They were joined in the elimination rounds by Chen and Lin.
Both teams reached the octofinal round of the tournament, finishing in the top 20 in the nation. In congressional debate, both Dhar and Tseitlin advanced to the semifinals. Dhar also qualified for the National Catholic Forensics League National Tournament in Sacramento, where he reached the final round of the tournament and finished fifth overall in the nation. In speech competitions, three Harker students qualified for the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions in Denver. Sana Aladin and Divya Rajasekharan, both grade 11, qualified to the tournament in duo interpretation of literature, and Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 9, qualified in original oratory. Dharmaraj advanced to the final round of the tournament and finished fourth overall out of more than 140 students! Dharmaraj is the first Harker student to reach the final round of this prestigious tournament. He also qualified to the National Speech & Debate Association’s National Tournament in Salt Lake City, which will take place in mid-June.
Young Debaters Winning Big
One of the bright spots of the season was the success of grade 9 students throughout the year and especially at the end-of-the-year tournaments. Students from Harker’s team earned top honors at several late-season tournaments designed for students in their first or second year of competition.
The St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas holds a championship tournament in May for grade 9 and younger debaters. At that tournament Anusha Kuppahally, grade 9, and Maddie Huynh, grade 8, reached the semifinals and finished third overall. Both Kuppahally and Huynh also won individual speaker awards. At the Western JV & Novice National Championship at San Francisco State University, three Harker students were crowned national champions in their respective events. In second year public forum, Cindy Wang and Clarissa Wang, both grade 9, lost only one ballot on their way to winning the tournament. In novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Kelly Shen, grade 9, also won the final round of her division and was named a national champion.
Many other Harker students also won awards at the Western tournament. In policy debate, Esha Deokar, grade 9, and Deven Shah, grade 6, reached the semifinals of the novice division and finished third in the nation. Meghna Phalke and Alycia Cary, both grade 9, reached the octofinal round of novice policy, finishing ninth in the nation.
Kuppahally and Jacob Ohana, grade 10, finished ninth in the second year policy debate division. In novice public forum, Raymond Banke, grade 9, Floyd Gordon, grade 10, Aimee Wang, grade 6, and Alina Yuan, grade 6, finished in the top 20 in the nation, while Sascha Pakravan, grade 6, and Anshul Reddy, grade 6, were in the quarterfinals of the tournament and finished fifth overall. In second year public forum, Betsy Tian, grade 7, and Shomrick Mondal, grade 8, finished the tournament in the top 10 in the country.
In novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Karoun Kaushik, grade 6, and Aditya Tadimeti, grade 7, reached elimination rounds and finished in the top 20 overall. Also in novice Lincoln-Douglas, Rishi Jain, grade 6, reached the quarterfinals. In second year Lincoln-Douglas, Cat Zhao, grade 8, Avi Gulati, grade 8, Satvik Narasimhan, grade 9, Nishant Ravi, grade 9, and Suraj Pakala, grade 9, all reached the elimination rounds and finished in the top 20. Annie Ma, grade 8, and Neha Tallapragada, grade 9, both reached the quarterfinals and finished in the top eight in nation. Given the success of these young students, the future of the program is indeed very bright.
Middle School Team Success Harker’s middle school team recently attended the California Middle School State tournament at Skyline High School in Oakland, and many of our students won awards! In impromptu speaking Bryan Wang, grade 8, reached the finals and was crowned state champion. Avi Gulati also reached the finals of impromptu. In storytelling Gulati, Katelyn Chen, grade 8, Arusha Patil, grade 7, and Rhea Nanavati, grade 7, all were finalists.
In prose Nikki Solanki, grade 8, was a finalist. In oratory Gulati and Patil were finalists. In duo interpretation of literature, Chen and Wang were finalists. In dramatic interpretation Solanki was a finalist. In public forum debate the teams of Amanda Cheung, grade 8, and Jason Pan, grade 8, as well as Krishay Mukhija, grade 7, and Anshul Reddy were quarterfinalists.
Also in public forum, the team of Kenneth Liou, grade 8, and Jeremy Ding, grade 8, as well as Zain Awais, grade 7, and Chandan Aggarwal, grade 8, reached the octofinals and finished in the top 20, while the team of Datha Arramreddy, grade 8, and Vibha Arramreddy, grade 8, were double octofinalists. In Lincoln-Douglas Annie Ma and Cat Zhao reached the quarterfinals. Aditya Tadimeti was an octofinalist.
The following students reached the double octofinals in Lincoln Douglas: Sachin Shah, grade 8, Aditi Vinod, grade 7, Akhilesh Chegu, grade 6, and Montek Kalsi, grade 8. In congressional debate Nakul Bajaj, grade 8, and Andrew Sun, grade 7, were finalists.
The middle school team also attended the Glendale Middle School Championships. In policy debate Andy Lee and Jason Lin, both grade 7, were the tournament champions. The teams of Quentin Clark, grade 8, and Shah, as well as Jai Bahri, grade 8, and Deven Parikh, grade 7, were semifinalists.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, the team swept the tournament, claiming all of the top seven spots with the following students being named co-champions: Shah, Akshay Manglik, grade 7, Tadimeti, Kalsi, Ma, Chegu and Zhao. In public forum Reddy and Mukhija were octofinalists and the teams of Liou and Ding as well as Cheung and Pan reached the quarterfinals.
In congressional debate Sun, Bajaj, and Reiya Das, grade 8, all finished in the top eight at the tournament.
The following students reached the final round of speech competition: Aaditya Gulati, grade 6; Shyl Lamba, grade 8; Annamma Vazhaeparambil, grade 7; Wang and Chen. Patil won the oratory competition while Avi Gulati finished first overall in impromptu speaking and storytelling and Solanki was named tournament champion in both prose and dramatic interpretation.
Karina Momary, head coach of the Harker middle school team, credits the success of the program to the work of the students. “This group of students has certainly worked hard individually, but more importantly has worked collectively as a team to support each other. Our success this year is a direct result of our students working with and for each other,” she said. The middle school team next heads to the National Junior Forensics League National Championship Tournament in Salt Lake City in mid-June.
Welcoming a New Coach
In fall, Marjorie Hazeltine will transition from the middle school to the upper school to become the head coach of the Harker speech and congressional debate teams. Hazeltine had previously worked with the Harker middle school team, in addition to teaching English classes. She joins returning upper school coaches Jenny Alme and Greg Achten. Department chair Alme noted, “The upper school students and coaches are thrilled to have Ms. Hazeltine join us. She is very talented and has a great track record of success as a coach.”
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
By Greg Achten and Jenny Alme
Harker’s speech and debate team finished the 2015-16 season strong, with many students earning national honors and awards. The end-of-the-year championship tournaments were a capstone to another great season in which Harker students competed against the best and brightest students nationwide. The success of our students at those tournaments is a testament to their hard work and all that they have learned this year.
Upper School Team Success
Harker’s upper school speech and debate team attended several end-of-year championship tournaments. Qualifying for these tournaments was a great honor, resulting from top performances throughout the year. Twelve Harker students competed at the National Debate Coaches Association National Championship in Orlando, Fla. At the tournament, Raymond Xu and Srivatsav Pyda, both juniors, advanced to the elimination rounds in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Xu lost in the first elimination and finished 17th in the nation, while Pyda reached the quarterfinals and finished fifth in the nation. Several Harker debate students also qualified to the Tournament of Champions, held in Lexington, Ky. Pyda was joined by teammates Aditya Dhar, grade 11, and Michael Tseitlin, grade 11, as well as Alexander Lam, grade 11, in congressional debate; Joyce Huang, grade 11, Emily Chen, grade 10, and Jimmy Lin, grade 10, in international public forum debate; and Emaad Raghib, grade 11, and Suraj Jagadeesh, grade 12, in public forum. At the tournament, Lam and Huang entered the elimination rounds as the top overall seed. They were joined in the elimination rounds by Chen and Lin.
Both teams reached the octofinal round of the tournament, finishing in the top 20 in the nation. In congressional debate, both Dhar and Tseitlin advanced to the semifinals. Dhar also qualified for the National Catholic Forensics League National Tournament in Sacramento, where he reached the final round of the tournament and finished fifth overall in the nation. In speech competitions, three Harker students qualified for the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions in Denver. Sana Aladin and Divya Rajasekharan, both grade 11, qualified to the tournament in duo interpretation of literature, and Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 9, qualified in original oratory. Dharmaraj advanced to the final round of the tournament and finished fourth overall out of more than 140 students! Dharmaraj is the first Harker student to reach the final round of this prestigious tournament. He also qualified to the National Speech & Debate Association’s National Tournament in Salt Lake City, which will take place in mid-June.
Young Debaters Winning Big
One of the bright spots of the season was the success of grade 9 students throughout the year and especially at the end-of-the-year tournaments. Students from Harker’s team earned top honors at several late-season tournaments designed for students in their first or second year of competition.
The St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas holds a championship tournament in May for grade 9 and younger debaters. At that tournament Anusha Kuppahally, grade 9, and Maddie Huynh, grade 8, reached the semifinals and finished third overall. Both Kuppahally and Huynh also won individual speaker awards. At the Western JV & Novice National Championship at San Francisco State University, three Harker students were crowned national champions in their respective events. In second year public forum, Cindy Wang and Clarissa Wang, both grade 9, lost only one ballot on their way to winning the tournament. In novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Kelly Shen, grade 9, also won the final round of her division and was named a national champion.
Many other Harker students also won awards at the Western tournament. In policy debate, Esha Deokar, grade 9, and Deven Shah, grade 6, reached the semifinals of the novice division and finished third in the nation. Meghna Phalke and Alycia Cary, both grade 9, reached the octofinal round of novice policy, finishing ninth in the nation.
Kuppahally and Jacob Ohana, grade 10, finished ninth in the second year policy debate division. In novice public forum, Raymond Banke, grade 9, Floyd Gordon, grade 10, Aimee Wang, grade 6, and Alina Yuan, grade 6, finished in the top 20 in the nation, while Sascha Pakravan, grade 6, and Anshul Reddy, grade 6, were in the quarterfinals of the tournament and finished fifth overall. In second year public forum, Betsy Tian, grade 7, and Shomrick Mondal, grade 8, finished the tournament in the top 10 in the country.
In novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Karoun Kaushik, grade 6, and Aditya Tadimeti, grade 7, reached elimination rounds and finished in the top 20 overall. Also in novice Lincoln-Douglas, Rishi Jain, grade 6, reached the quarterfinals. In second year Lincoln-Douglas, Cat Zhao, grade 8, Avi Gulati, grade 8, Satvik Narasimhan, grade 9, Nishant Ravi, grade 9, and Suraj Pakala, grade 9, all reached the elimination rounds and finished in the top 20. Annie Ma, grade 8, and Neha Tallapragada, grade 9, both reached the quarterfinals and finished in the top eight in nation. Given the success of these young students, the future of the program is indeed very bright.
Middle School Team Success Harker’s middle school team recently attended the California Middle School State tournament at Skyline High School in Oakland, and many of our students won awards! In impromptu speaking Bryan Wang, grade 8, reached the finals and was crowned state champion. Avi Gulati also reached the finals of impromptu. In storytelling Gulati, Katelyn Chen, grade 8, Arusha Patil, grade 7, and Rhea Nanavati, grade 7, all were finalists.
In prose Nikki Solanki, grade 8, was a finalist. In oratory Gulati and Patil were finalists. In duo interpretation of literature, Chen and Wang were finalists. In dramatic interpretation Solanki was a finalist. In public forum debate the teams of Amanda Cheung, grade 8, and Jason Pan, grade 8, as well as Krishay Mukhija, grade 7, and Anshul Reddy were quarterfinalists.
Also in public forum, the team of Kenneth Liou, grade 8, and Jeremy Ding, grade 8, as well as Zain Awais, grade 7, and Chandan Aggarwal, grade 8, reached the octofinals and finished in the top 20, while the team of Datha Arramreddy, grade 8, and Vibha Arramreddy, grade 8, were double octofinalists. In Lincoln-Douglas Annie Ma and Cat Zhao reached the quarterfinals. Aditya Tadimeti was an octofinalist.
The following students reached the double octofinals in Lincoln Douglas: Sachin Shah, grade 8, Aditi Vinod, grade 7, Akhilesh Chegu, grade 6, and Montek Kalsi, grade 8. In congressional debate Nakul Bajaj, grade 8, and Andrew Sun, grade 7, were finalists.
The middle school team also attended the Glendale Middle School Championships. In policy debate Andy Lee and Jason Lin, both grade 7, were the tournament champions. The teams of Quentin Clark, grade 8, and Shah, as well as Jai Bahri, grade 8, and Deven Parikh, grade 7, were semifinalists.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, the team swept the tournament, claiming all of the top seven spots with the following students being named co-champions: Shah, Akshay Manglik, grade 7, Tadimeti, Kalsi, Ma, Chegu and Zhao. In public forum Reddy and Mukhija were octofinalists and the teams of Liou and Ding as well as Cheung and Pan reached the quarterfinals.
In congressional debate Sun, Bajaj, and Reiya Das, grade 8, all finished in the top eight at the tournament.
The following students reached the final round of speech competition: Aaditya Gulati, grade 6; Shyl Lamba, grade 8; Annamma Vazhaeparambil, grade 7; Wang and Chen. Patil won the oratory competition while Avi Gulati finished first overall in impromptu speaking and storytelling and Solanki was named tournament champion in both prose and dramatic interpretation.
Karina Momary, head coach of the Harker middle school team, credits the success of the program to the work of the students. “This group of students has certainly worked hard individually, but more importantly has worked collectively as a team to support each other. Our success this year is a direct result of our students working with and for each other,” she said. The middle school team next heads to the National Junior Forensics League National Championship Tournament in Salt Lake City in mid-June.
Welcoming a New Coach
In fall, Marjorie Hazeltine will transition from the middle school to the upper school to become the head coach of the Harker speech and congressional debate teams. Hazeltine had previously worked with the Harker middle school team, in addition to teaching English classes. She joins returning upper school coaches Jenny Alme and Greg Achten. Department chair Alme noted, “The upper school students and coaches are thrilled to have Ms. Hazeltine join us. She is very talented and has a great track record of success as a coach.”
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
By Greg Achten and Jenny Alme
Harker’s speech and debate team finished the 2015-16 season strong, with many students earning national honors and awards. The end-of-the-year championship tournaments were a capstone to another great season in which Harker students competed against the best and brightest students nationwide. The success of our students at those tournaments is a testament to their hard work and all that they have learned this year.
Upper School Team Success
Harker’s upper school speech and debate team attended several end-of-year championship tournaments. Qualifying for these tournaments was a great honor, resulting from top performances throughout the year. Twelve Harker students competed at the National Debate Coaches Association National Championship in Orlando, Fla. At the tournament, Raymond Xu and Srivatsav Pyda, both juniors, advanced to the elimination rounds in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Xu lost in the first elimination and finished 17th in the nation, while Pyda reached the quarterfinals and finished fifth in the nation. Several Harker debate students also qualified to the Tournament of Champions, held in Lexington, Ky. Pyda was joined by teammates Aditya Dhar, grade 11, and Michael Tseitlin, grade 11, as well as Alexander Lam, grade 11, in congressional debate; Joyce Huang, grade 11, Emily Chen, grade 10, and Jimmy Lin, grade 10, in international public forum debate; and Emaad Raghib, grade 11, and Suraj Jagadeesh, grade 12, in public forum. At the tournament, Lam and Huang entered the elimination rounds as the top overall seed. They were joined in the elimination rounds by Chen and Lin.
Both teams reached the octofinal round of the tournament, finishing in the top 20 in the nation. In congressional debate, both Dhar and Tseitlin advanced to the semifinals. Dhar also qualified for the National Catholic Forensics League National Tournament in Sacramento, where he reached the final round of the tournament and finished fifth overall in the nation. In speech competitions, three Harker students qualified for the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions in Denver. Sana Aladin and Divya Rajasekharan, both grade 11, qualified to the tournament in duo interpretation of literature, and Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 9, qualified in original oratory. Dharmaraj advanced to the final round of the tournament and finished fourth overall out of more than 140 students! Dharmaraj is the first Harker student to reach the final round of this prestigious tournament. He also qualified to the National Speech & Debate Association’s National Tournament in Salt Lake City, which will take place in mid-June.
Young Debaters Winning Big
One of the bright spots of the season was the success of grade 9 students throughout the year and especially at the end-of-the-year tournaments. Students from Harker’s team earned top honors at several late-season tournaments designed for students in their first or second year of competition.
The St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas holds a championship tournament in May for grade 9 and younger debaters. At that tournament Anusha Kuppahally, grade 9, and Maddie Huynh, grade 8, reached the semifinals and finished third overall. Both Kuppahally and Huynh also won individual speaker awards. At the Western JV & Novice National Championship at San Francisco State University, three Harker students were crowned national champions in their respective events. In second year public forum, Cindy Wang and Clarissa Wang, both grade 9, lost only one ballot on their way to winning the tournament. In novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Kelly Shen, grade 9, also won the final round of her division and was named a national champion.
Many other Harker students also won awards at the Western tournament. In policy debate, Esha Deokar, grade 9, and Deven Shah, grade 6, reached the semifinals of the novice division and finished third in the nation. Meghna Phalke and Alycia Cary, both grade 9, reached the octofinal round of novice policy, finishing ninth in the nation.
Kuppahally and Jacob Ohana, grade 10, finished ninth in the second year policy debate division. In novice public forum, Raymond Banke, grade 9, Floyd Gordon, grade 10, Aimee Wang, grade 6, and Alina Yuan, grade 6, finished in the top 20 in the nation, while Sascha Pakravan, grade 6, and Anshul Reddy, grade 6, were in the quarterfinals of the tournament and finished fifth overall. In second year public forum, Betsy Tian, grade 7, and Shomrick Mondal, grade 8, finished the tournament in the top 10 in the country.
In novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Karoun Kaushik, grade 6, and Aditya Tadimeti, grade 7, reached elimination rounds and finished in the top 20 overall. Also in novice Lincoln-Douglas, Rishi Jain, grade 6, reached the quarterfinals. In second year Lincoln-Douglas, Cat Zhao, grade 8, Avi Gulati, grade 8, Satvik Narasimhan, grade 9, Nishant Ravi, grade 9, and Suraj Pakala, grade 9, all reached the elimination rounds and finished in the top 20. Annie Ma, grade 8, and Neha Tallapragada, grade 9, both reached the quarterfinals and finished in the top eight in nation. Given the success of these young students, the future of the program is indeed very bright.
Middle School Team Success Harker’s middle school team recently attended the California Middle School State tournament at Skyline High School in Oakland, and many of our students won awards! In impromptu speaking Bryan Wang, grade 8, reached the finals and was crowned state champion. Avi Gulati also reached the finals of impromptu. In storytelling Gulati, Katelyn Chen, grade 8, Arusha Patil, grade 7, and Rhea Nanavati, grade 7, all were finalists.
In prose Nikki Solanki, grade 8, was a finalist. In oratory Gulati and Patil were finalists. In duo interpretation of literature, Chen and Wang were finalists. In dramatic interpretation Solanki was a finalist. In public forum debate the teams of Amanda Cheung, grade 8, and Jason Pan, grade 8, as well as Krishay Mukhija, grade 7, and Anshul Reddy were quarterfinalists.
Also in public forum, the team of Kenneth Liou, grade 8, and Jeremy Ding, grade 8, as well as Zain Awais, grade 7, and Chandan Aggarwal, grade 8, reached the octofinals and finished in the top 20, while the team of Datha Arramreddy, grade 8, and Vibha Arramreddy, grade 8, were double octofinalists. In Lincoln-Douglas Annie Ma and Cat Zhao reached the quarterfinals. Aditya Tadimeti was an octofinalist.
The following students reached the double octofinals in Lincoln Douglas: Sachin Shah, grade 8, Aditi Vinod, grade 7, Akhilesh Chegu, grade 6, and Montek Kalsi, grade 8. In congressional debate Nakul Bajaj, grade 8, and Andrew Sun, grade 7, were finalists.
The middle school team also attended the Glendale Middle School Championships. In policy debate Andy Lee and Jason Lin, both grade 7, were the tournament champions. The teams of Quentin Clark, grade 8, and Shah, as well as Jai Bahri, grade 8, and Deven Parikh, grade 7, were semifinalists.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, the team swept the tournament, claiming all of the top seven spots with the following students being named co-champions: Shah, Akshay Manglik, grade 7, Tadimeti, Kalsi, Ma, Chegu and Zhao. In public forum Reddy and Mukhija were octofinalists and the teams of Liou and Ding as well as Cheung and Pan reached the quarterfinals.
In congressional debate Sun, Bajaj, and Reiya Das, grade 8, all finished in the top eight at the tournament.
The following students reached the final round of speech competition: Aaditya Gulati, grade 6; Shyl Lamba, grade 8; Annamma Vazhaeparambil, grade 7; Wang and Chen. Patil won the oratory competition while Avi Gulati finished first overall in impromptu speaking and storytelling and Solanki was named tournament champion in both prose and dramatic interpretation.
Karina Momary, head coach of the Harker middle school team, credits the success of the program to the work of the students. “This group of students has certainly worked hard individually, but more importantly has worked collectively as a team to support each other. Our success this year is a direct result of our students working with and for each other,” she said. The middle school team next heads to the National Junior Forensics League National Championship Tournament in Salt Lake City in mid-June.
Welcoming a New Coach
In fall, Marjorie Hazeltine will transition from the middle school to the upper school to become the head coach of the Harker speech and congressional debate teams. Hazeltine had previously worked with the Harker middle school team, in addition to teaching English classes. She joins returning upper school coaches Jenny Alme and Greg Achten. Department chair Alme noted, “The upper school students and coaches are thrilled to have Ms. Hazeltine join us. She is very talented and has a great track record of success as a coach.”
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Read the full Eagle Report in Harker News, with team statistics, and player and coach interviews, at http://wp.me/pOeLQ-7ER.
Boys Volleyball
Boys volleyball 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. All told, they ended their season with a 16-12 record.
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. Their season ended in the next round of CCS as Gunn High defeated Harker 5-2.
Swimming
The 2016 swim season was full of amazing individual and team achievements, and led to many All-League selections. 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. Read the full Eagle Report in Harker News, with team statistics and player and coach interviews, at http://wp.me/pOeLQ-7ER.
Girls Lacrosse
It was a tough season for the girls lacrosse team as team members played their hearts out through a 2-18 season. 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.
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. I am proud of the efforts each of the players put into the season. These guys worked hard and steadily improved as the season went along.”
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. Read the full story on the boys golf team.
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. Junior Niki Iyer had a particularly stellar season; read more about Iyer, here!
Lower, Middle School Spring Athletes Finish Strong
By Theresa “Smitty” Smith
It was another great season for lower and middle school athletes!
VA (Grades 7-8) Girls Volleyball: The Varsity A team, coached by Diana Melendez and Stephanie Coleman, finished as league champs in the WBAL with a record of 7-1. Team awards went to Emily Cheng, grade 8 (Eagle), and Julia Yusupov, grade 7, and Lauren Beede, grade 8 (Coaches).
VB (Grades 7-8) Girls Volleyball: The Varsity B team, coached by Xiaofeng Foret, finished in third place in the WBAL with a record of 5-2. Team awards went to Rachel Abellera, grade 8 (MVP), Hannah Grannis, grade 7 (Eagle) and Anvitha Tummala, grade 7 (Coaches).
VB2 (Grades 7-8) Girls Volleyball: The Varsity B2 team, coached by Josh Miller, finished in sixth place in the WBAL with a record of 3-4. Team awards went to Anu Selvaraj, grade 8 (MVP), Aria Wong, grade 7 (Eagle) and Ayla Tanurhan, grade 8 (Coaches).
JVA (Grade 6) Girls Volleyball: The Junior Varsity A team, coached by Tina Mai, finished in fifth place in the WBAL with a record of 2-4. Team awards went to Tara Ozdemir (MVP), Leyla Artun (Eagle) and Sarah Leafstrand (Coaches).
JVB6 (Grade 6) Girls Volleyball: The Junior Varsity B6 team, coached by Sarah Bell, finished as league champs in the WBAL with an undefeated record of 6-0. Team awards went to Michelle Liu (MVP), Emily Tan (Eagle) and Elizabeth Shchegrov (Coaches).
JVB1 (Grade 5) Girls Volleyball: The Junior Varsity B1 team, coached by Ellie Pereria, finished in second place in the WBAL with a record of 5-1. Team awards went to Claire Chen (MVP), Shea Bryden (Eagle) and Lexi Nishimura (Coaches).
JVB2 (Grade 4) Girls Volleyball: The Junior Varsity B2 team, coached by Sydney Voss, finished in ninth place in the WBAL with a record of 0-6. Team awards went to Kate Grannis (MVP), Margaret Cartee (Eagle) and Masha Velikhovskaya (Coaches).
LS Intramural Girls Volleyball: Team awards went to Emily McCartney and Maggie Yan, both grade 4 (Eagle), and Emma Cai, Ceren Erdogan and Cecilia Yang, all grade 4 (Coaches). The team was coached by Maria Maldonado.
VA (Grade 8) Boys Volleyball: The Varsity A team, coached by Pete Anderson, finished as league champs in the ADAL with an undefeated record of 8-0 and an overall record of 9-0. Team awards went to Jeffrey Kwan (MVP), Vedanth Sundaram (Eagle) and Vance Hirota (Coaches).
JVA (Grades 6-7) Boys Volleyball: The Junior Varsity A team, coached by Pete Anderson, finished in second place in the ADAL with a record of 6-2. Team awards went to Marcus Page, grade 6 (MVP), Avery Young, grade 7 (Eagle) and Sujith Pakala, grade 6 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 7-8) Baseball: The Varsity A team, coached by Jeff Paull and Matt Arensberg, finished in fifth place in the WBAL with a record of 1-4 and an overall record of 2-4. Team awards went to Nicholas Coulter (MVP), Marcus Anderson (Eagle) and John Lynch (Coaches), all grade 7.
JVA (Grades 6-7) Baseball: The Junior Varsity A team, coached by Jon Cvitanich and Richard Amarillas, finished in fifth place in the WBAL with a record of 0-3-1 and an overall record of 0-5-1. Team awards went to Richard Amarillas, grade 6 (MVP), Chirag Kaushik, grade 6 (Eagle) and George Wehner, grade 7 (Coaches).
JVB (Grades 4-5) Baseball: The Junior Varsity B team, coached by Dan Pringle, Randy LeGris and Kristian Tiopo, finished in fourth place in the WBAL with a record of 2-4. Team awards went to Frederick Hoch, grade 5 (MVP), Tyler Beede, grade 5 (Eagle), and Wyatt Cote, grade 5, and Ashwin Kuppahally, grade 4 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 6-8) Water Polo: The Varsity A team, coached by Ted Ujifusa and Allie Lamb, finished with a WBAL record of 0-5 and an overall record of 1-6. Team awards went to Cassandra Ruedy, grade 8, and Bayden Yazalina, grade 7 (MVP), Anna Arnaudova, grade 7 (Eagle) and Chloe Affaki, grade 7 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 6-8) Tennis: The Varsity A team, coached by JP Fruttero and John Fruttero, finished as league champs and tournament champs of the WBAL with a record of 7-0. The team also finished as league champs of the MTP with a record of 4-0. In the MTP playoffs, Harker lost 5-4 to Kennedy in the finals. The Eagles finished the season with an impressive 13-1 record. Team awards went to Mihir Sharma and Ramanand Vegesna (MVP), Simar Bajaj and Gina Partridge (Eagle), and Jack Hansen, Bryan Wang and Rachel Broweleit (Coaches), all grade 8.
VB (Grades 6-8) Tennis: The Varsity B team, coached by Matt McGee, JP Fruttero and John Fruttero, finished as league champs and tournament champs of the WBAL with an undefeated record of 6-0 and an overall record of 8-0. Team awards went to Fonda Hu, grade 7, and Shika Tseitlin, grade 6 (MVP), Dawson Chen, grade 6 (Eagle), and Alexander Liou and Dhruv Saoji, both grade 6 (Coaches).
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Alumna Shatters Records at Pepperdine
It has been a very good year for Izzy Connell ’13! After a break from track while she spent her sophomore year abroad in Florence, Italy, Connell returned as a junior this year to set three Pepperdine University records in indoor track (60-, 200- and 4×400-meter relay) and four school records in outdoor track (100-, 200-, 400- and 4×400-meter relay). Connell actually broke her own record in the 200 three times throughout the season!
“At the beginning of the season, I wasn’t focused on the records,” said Connell. “I concentrated on achieving my own goal times in specific events and breaking records was just icing on the cake.” This is the school’s first year competing in indoor track, and Connell had the unique experience of traveling to Arizona with her teammates to race against collegiate and professional runners.
“Racing in between professional women was intimidating but the competition made me faster,” she recalled. Connell, who is studying psychology, has been named a scholar-athlete both seasons that she has competed at Pepperdine. Her secret to success is managing her time well.
“I never procrastinate because that just makes things worse in the long run,” Connell said. “Being a student athlete has definitely taught me to be disciplined when it comes to my studies.” Connell ran varsity track all four years at Harker, qualifying for CCS every year. She also set school records in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 runs and the 4×400 relay, all of which still stand, except the 800, which was broken by Niki Iyer, grade 11.
Niki Iyer Continues Stellar Career
In her time at Harker, Niki Iyer, grade 11, has accomplished a lot. The distance runner has multiple first team and league MVP awards; she holds the Harker record in the 800-meter, the 1600 and the 3200; she has been a top three CCS finisher in cross country and a top five CCS finisher in the 3200 for the past three seasons, with back to back fifth place finishes at the state cross country finals; she briefly held the top high school 3200 time in the country earlier this year; and, most recently, she was the 2016 CCS champ in the 3200 that led to a third place finish at the state finals.
The week before CCS, Iyer was ranked eighth in the state in the 3200, but according to coach Scott Chisam, “She has not pushed a fast race since early April … she will go all out this Friday.” And go all out she did, taking home a CCS championship, outrunning the next runner by 2.5 seconds and earning a trip to the state finals. At state, Iyer ran an incredible race, finishing third, less than a second behind the second place finisher.
“It’s been such a fun experience this past season, because I was blessed by being healthy,” said Iyer. “I’ve never had a full season where I’ve been injury-free, so it was pretty awesome to go out there and actually be able to perform to the best of my ability.” Heading into her senior year, Iyer hopes to leave Harker with a lasting impression of who she is as an athlete.
“I feel like the legacy I’d like to leave is not just one of fanfare and athletic accomplishments, but one in which people remember me as an athlete who just loved the sport,” she said.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
After another stellar season, the Harker boys golf program has proven itself as one of the best in the state. The team won its third consecutive league title, while going undefeated in league for the second year in a row, winning each league match by an average of 27 strokes and stretching its league winning streak to 22 matches. It placed second in CCS, third in NorCals and sixth in state, further cementing its position as a force to be reckoned with. Since her first year as head coach in 2011, Ie-Chen Cheng has seen the team steadily improve to the point where one of the most difficult parts of her job is deciding on a lineup. “This year, we have not fielded the same lineup once,” said Cheng. “We go 10-11 [golfers] deep. And it’s a very nice luxury to have.” In fact, eight different golfers led the team in scoring this season.
What’s more, the team has proven its prowess against some formidable opponents. “To keep everyone sharp with such a deep squad, we purposely scheduled a very tough season,” stated Cheng. “We play the best competition.” Early season success against this top competition gave the Eagles a confidence that they rode all the way to the state finals. “Our very first tournament was the Joe Gambetta Tournament at Lone Tree Golf Course in Antioch,” said Victor Shin, grade 10. “There, we had a nice fourth place finish, which really boosted our confidence, but showed us that we still had a long way to go.”
The team’s success continued as it finished third at the Marin Catholic Wildcat Invitational, where it beat many of the best teams in the Bay Area. “With the added confidence, we just kept moving forward,” stated Avi Khemani, grade 11. “We had our best finish ever at the Champions’ Invitational in Palm Springs, finishing sixth out of over 40 teams nationally.” Khemani led the Eagles in Palm Springs, tying for 17th out of 250 individual golfers. Sprinkled around these tournaments was a dominating undefeated league season that was a testament to the team’s devotion, passion and work ethic. “The amount of dedication and commitment that each of the players put into this game really defines this team and makes it this good,” stated Shin. “With everyone putting many hours into golfing and wanting to improve every day,” added Khemani, “we’ve become a team that has a great chance to win every tournament that we play.”
Although team members have their eyes on a state title, they also strive to be their best in the classroom. “After seeing the success of Maverick [McNealy ’13, Stanford University] and Shrish [Dwivedi ’15, Duke University] at an elite level, the boys had great role models and want to follow in their paths of success on and off the course,” explained Cheng. “Going to a great university which offers both excellent academics and a golf program is important to them.” Continuing on this path is the lone varsity senior Dakota McNealy, who will play golf with his brother at Stanford in the coming year.
The boys ended the year by facing the best competition in California at the state finals. Although they fell short of their ultimate goal, what they took from their time at state will only serve to help this talented group in the future. “We learned how to play in this type of environment,” said Sandip Nirmel, grade 11, “so next year we will have the experience to play even better.” Looking ahead to next year, the Eagles have reason to be very optimistic. “I think we have a good shot at making it to the state championship again next year, but nothing is guaranteed,” said WBAL Golfer of the Year Ryan Vaughan, grade 11. “We have to keep working and playing our game.”
Losing just one senior and returning all six golfers who competed at the state finals, as well as promoting some of the talented JV players and middle schoolers, the Harker golf team looks like it will continue to be among the best in the West for years to come.
McNealys Make Golf a Family Affair
Some of the success of Harker’s upper school golf program over the past few years can be credited to the talents of one family. Since 2009 the McNealy brothers – Maverick ’13, Dakota, grade 12, Colt, grade 11, and Scout, grade 9 – have helped the program become a powerhouse. When Maverick and Dakota were very young, their parents decided to choose a family sport that they could play with their children, and golf seemed like a natural fit. “We almost spend more time together on the golf course than off of the golf course,” stated Scout. All that time on the course was not only great for family bonding, but also developing the talents of the four boys.
With three McNealys on this year’s varsity boys golf team, the brothers are spending even more time together, and enjoying every day on the course.
“It’s definitely fun,” said Dakota. “Luckily, we are all mature enough now that we aren’t excessively competitive, so we aren’t a distraction to each other.”
The McNealys show this maturity, as well as their skill, in their scores. At a tournament earlier this year, “Scout led the field in par-3 scoring average, I led the field in par-4 scoring average and Dakota led the field in par-5 scoring average,” recalled Colt.
At this year’s CCS regionals, Scout tied with teammate Avi Khemani, grade 11, for the team lead and a fifth place finish. In the CCS finals, Dakota led the team with a fifth place finish. All three McNealy brothers helped advance this team further than any golf team in Harker history.
“What impresses me the most is how much they are each other’s biggest fans even during times when they are competing against each other,” stated Harker’s golf coach, Ie-Chen Cheng. “They don’t get jealous of each other’s accomplishments but rather utilize it to get better.”
When an entire family plays the same sport, the natural question becomes, “Who is the best?” Even though older brother Maverick is one of the best college golfers in the nation, Colt says the best McNealy golfer is their mom. “She could probably win a few LPGA major championships if she wanted to chase that career.” In the fall, Dakota will join Maverick at Stanford, but Colt and Scout still have time to help the Harker golf program reach its ultimate goal of a state title.
The varsity boys water polo team continues its hot streak as it defeated Santa Clara 13-3, Saratoga 13-5 and Heritage 9-7, last week. That’s nine straight non-tournament wins for the Eagles, bringing their season record to 13-4. This week, Harker travels to Cupertino on Tuesday and hosts Milpitas on Thursday.
Girls Golf
The girls varsity golf team went 1-1, last week, picking up a win over Notre Dame San Jose, followed by a loss to Menlo. Freshman sensation Katelyn Vo once again impressed in the win over NDSJ, shooting a par 34 to lead all golfers. This week, the Eagles face Notre Dame Belmont on Tuesday and Mercy Burlingame on Wednesday.
Cross Country
Competing at the first WBAL meet of the year, Peter Connors, grade 11, led the boys with a time of 16:59 for the 2.8 mile course. Leading the way for the girls team was Anika Rajamani, grade 10, and Lilia Gonzales, grade 10. This Saturday, the Eagles compete at the Monterey Bay Invitational at Toro Regional Park.
Girls Volleyball
The varsity girls volleyball team went 1-1 in league play last week, dropping a three-game match to Notre Dame Belmont, followed by a four-game win over Notre Dame San Jose. At 2-3 in league, Harker sits in fourth place in the West Bay Foothill League. Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Menlo on Tuesday, then a home match against Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday.
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team dropped a match with Sacred Heart Prep 5-2 last week, but looks to regain some league momentum as it faces off with Menlo on Tuesday and Crystal Springs Uplands on Thursday.
Girls Water Polo
The girls water polo team dropped two heart-braking matches last week. In an 8-7 loss to Santa Clara, Meghana Karinthi, grade 11, had three goals. Later in the week, the Eagles lost to Saratoga 5-4. The Eagles travel to Wilcox on Tuesday and host Milpitas on Thursday.
Football
The Eagles come off their bye week ready to travel to Modesto and take on Big Valley Christian on Friday.