This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
China has taken on a new relevance for 20 middle school students, who in early April spent an action-packed week touring and meeting with their buddies at the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS), Harker’s sister school in Shanghai.
Upon their arrival in China, the students were warmly welcomed at the Pudong International Airport by their pals from WFLMS, upper school dean and chaperone Kevin Williamson recalled. From there, they hopped on a bus for the short drive into the city to meet their host families. Then, they experienced a full day of school, “WFLMS style,” he said.
The students’ time at WFLMS ended with a touching farewell party and dinner.
The tour of Beijing included a moving visit to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace.
Another highlight of the trip was a visit to the Great Wall of China. After taking a ski lift to the top of the mountain, the group entered the wall. Students took many photos of the renowned structure and were thrilled to enjoy a fun toboggan ride back down the mountain.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In May 23 Harker middle school students headed to Japan to meet their Tamagawa buddies, view the country’s many signature sights and more. The students’ first stop was Harker’s sister school, Tamagawa Academy (K-12) & University in Tokyo, where they were greeted warmly by Tamagawa families and treated to performances by students.
Over the next few days, Harker students – who stayed with Tamagawa families – spent time with their buddies and enjoyed various on-campus activities, such as visiting classes, touring the facilities and even seeing a beehive up close.
After saying goodbye to their buddies, the Harker group boarded a bullet train to Kyoto, where they visited many of the city’s most famous landmarks. They also traveled to Miyajima Island and Peach Memorial Park.
On their final day in Japan, the students visited the Monkey Park in Gion, where they enclosed themselves in small huts to feed the monkeys.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Education activist Kakenya Ntaiya, Ph.D., founder of the Kakenya Center for Excellence, gave an eye-opening and inspiring talk in early May as a guest of the Harker Speaker Series. After being introduced by young activist Aliesha Bahri, grade 8, Ntaiya first took the audience back to Kenya, where she was born into one of 42 tribes, each with different languages, customs and traditions. Her tribe, the Maasai, “are very, very famous,” she said, known for the jumping dances performed by the tribe’s warriors and their red attire.
By the time she was 5, Ntaiya’s marriage had already been arranged. “They put a [necklace] on my neck, and that was always a reminder for me that I have a husband,” she said. Ntaiya attended school as a child, because she remembered that her mother had wished she could have stayed in school longer. “She would tell us, ‘Do you see the member of parliament? I was smarter than him in class,’” she recalled.
At the age of 12, Ntaiya realized that her days of attending school could soon end, as she was nearing the day when she would undergo the Maasai’s female genital cutting ritual – a painful and often life-threatening procedure – and would soon thereafter be married. “I had to come up with a way of escaping that,” she said. Ntaiya normally would have to send her mother to inform her father of her intentions to continue school. However, fearing that her mother would be beaten for delivering bad news, she delivered the message herself as tradition forbid him from beating her. She told him she would go through with the cutting if she could be allowed to continue her education. If he refused, she would run away, bringing shame upon on him. Her father agreed.
During high school, Ntaiya applied and was accepted to Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia. Initially, she faced resistance from the other villagers, but managed to convince them to pay for her trip overseas to begin her college career. She later learned much about the plight of girls around the world who did not have access to a good education. “I started questioning every little thing because what I was reading in books was my life,” she said.
Her newfound purpose led her to work at the United Nations after finishing her undergraduate degree. She also visited home on a number of occasions, often hearing “horrible stories” about the people she once knew in her village. Moved by these accounts, she decided to build a school for girls.
In May 2009, the Kakenya Center for Excellence opened in Kenya for girls in grades 4-8. It now serves 170 students in grades 1-8. The school provides uniforms, books and other materials, but it was the added importance of providing lunch that caught Ntaiya by surprise. “It had never registered in my mind that that actually made a difference,” she said. Normally, girls would only have a cup of tea in the morning, walk anywhere from 2 to 5 miles to school and not eat until the evening, “because you can’t just run another 5 miles to go have lunch.”
Qualified teachers were also very important. “We had teachers who are very, very caring,” she said, “teachers who came there, who knew that it’s a girls school and all the girls have dreams and we’re going to cultivate those dreams to become a reality.” This was crucial because girls are often neglected at school, as they are assumed to be getting married. Toward the end of her talk, Ntaiya spoke briefly about her work with Girls Learn International, which partners schools in the United States with those in other countries where girls struggle with access to education. “If you look at me, if I got the mentorship that I needed when I was 12 years old, where do you think I would be?” she asked. “If we can give these girls that mentorship, if we can mentor them … you will see a different world.”
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
To honor beloved former faculty member Jason Berry, who unexpectedly passed away last summer, this year’s graduating class has dedicated their senior gift to creating an orchard in his memory.
“The Berry Orchard is this year’s senior class gift. It will be a beautiful orchard located in the space between Dobbins and Nichols halls, in memory of Jason. The seniors have raised most of the money to fund it, to pay for trees, a statue, a pathway, a bench,” said Melinda Gonzales, Harker’s managing director of advancement.
Through class fundraising and their senior donations, the students rallied together to raise $8,414. A donation from the graduating class also will be made to The Jason Berry Endowed Scholarship Fund.
An initial tree-planting ceremony heralding the coming of the orchard took place at the end of April, with many students participating, including Berry’s former advisees, soccer players he coached, English students he taught and members of the senior class.
According to Gonzales, Modern Woodmen of America also donated and took part in the planting of four fruit trees for the planned orchard. In past years, representatives from Modern Woodmen of America have donated trees to the upper school campus, in conjunction with Earth Day and National Tree Planting Day, as part of the group’s charter to give back to the community. Founded in 1883, Modern Woodmen of America is a fraternal society that provides financial services and other benefits to its members, which number more than 750,000 nationwide.
Berry was an English teacher and athletics coach at Harker. He died suddenly on Aug. 24, 2013 of a pulmonary embolism resulting from a blood clot in his leg. A memorial was held Aug. 29, and family and friends filled nearby WestGate Church to say goodbye. Heartfelt memories of his childhood and early years as a teacher were shared; the loss to his family and the community was mourned.
A large group, many of whom were alumni, then proceeded to Harker’s upper school campus for a reception. Family members joined the group shortly thereafter, and Head of School Chris Nikoloff and two of Berry’s colleagues briefly addressed the group, followed by more memories exchanged, and more tears shed for the life cut short.
Born in New Hampshire and highly regarded by students during his five-year run at Harker, Berry wrote as a critic during his time as a member of the American College Theatre Festival and was honored for excellence in teaching by the Clemson University PanHellenic Council. The Harker Class of 2012 selected him as the faculty speaker for the 2012 baccalaureate ceremony, during which he said to the soon-to-be graduates, “Be who you want to be, and if that doesn’t agree with you, then find, once again, your center, your inner voice; don’t settle for an imitation of yourself. Bend the rules, but try not to break them.”
During his high school years, Berry was a decorated All-American soccer player, an experience he later applied at Harker as a head coach of the girls’ soccer team, leading the team to record seasons during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years.
“Jason’s life reflected his wise counsel, and he was always, authentically, himself,” said Nikoloff. “He impacted many with his wisdom, wit and warmth, and is deeply missed.”
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Girls Volleyball
Junior Varsity B1 (grade 5), coached by Laura Wolfe, went 7-0 and were league champs in the WBAL! MVP: Michelle Ning; Eagle Award: Santoshi Tirumala and Julia Yusupov; Coaches Award: Alexandra Baeckler.
Junior Varsity B2 (grade 5), coached by Miles Brown, went 1-6 overall and took seventh place in the WBAL. MVP: Advika Phadnis, Eagle Award: Pramiti Sankar; Coaches Award: Anika Fuloria.
Intramural (grade 4), coached by Ellie Crane and Vanessa Rios, enjoyed a few months of learning the game of volleyball. Eagle Award: Anishka Raina; Coaches Award: Uma Misha.
Baseball
Junior Varsity B (grade 5), coached by Jon Cvitanich and Joe Mentillo, went 2-2-1 overall. They did not report final league standings due to the grade 5-6 crossover play. MVP: Levi Sutton, grade 5; Eagle Award: Kishan Sood, grade 5; Coaches Award: Eric Zhu, grade 5.
Intramural (grade 4), coached by Jim McGovern and Tobias Wade, enjoyed developing their baseball skills in the spring sunshine. Eagle Award: Jack Hayashi and Arnav Dani; Coaches Award: Kaden Kapadia
Theresa Smith and Karriem Stinson would like to thank all who have supported the Harker lower and sports program over the 2013-14 school year. GO EAGLES!
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In early May, Grandparents’ Day events were held at Harker’s lower school and, for the first time, at the new Harker Preschool. On this charming day, grandparents and grandfriends visited the campuses to tour and participate in activities with the special children in their lives.
“Grandparents’ Day is already a wonderful and long-standing tradition at Harker’s lower school. Now, preschoolers on the Union campus have joined in on the fun!” enthused Andrea Hart, director of Harker Preschool.
The captivating morning of exploration and play for students and their honored guests served as an opportunity for preschool teachers and specialists to provide a glimpse of all the incredible happenings at Harker Preschool, according to Hart.
“On hand was a variety of displays and interactive activities from the preschool’s talented staff, including the art instructor, music and movement teacher and STEM specialist,” she said.
At the lower school, the event was marked by an elaborate circus theme.
During the day, students and their special guests were treated to entertaining demonstrations by an array of circus folks, including hula-hoopers, stilt walkers, jugglers, clowns, balloon artists and face painters. The entertainers walked throughout the lower school campus, interacting with participants.
“Our goal was to entertain and also to create awareness about the abuse of circus animals. We had more than 450 visitors,” reported Teré Aceves, director of preschool-5 volunteer programs.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Harker once again hosted the annual Harker Golf Classic at the Stanford University Golf Course, consistently rated one of the finest university courses in the world. The event, held April 14, raised $28,000 for Harker’s general endowment fund.
First-place winners were Greg Lawson, Meurig Morgan and Allen Beede. Second-place winners were Scott and Susan McNealy, and Andrea and Chris Umdenstock. Longest drive went to Erik Verbeek (men) and Susan McNealy (women). Closest to pin was achieved by Evan Barth (men) and Dorothy Scarpace (women).
After the final round, golfers were joined by spouses and guests at the McNealys’ home for a fabulous wine reception (son Maverick ’13 plays on Stanford’s nationally third-ranked golf team and just qualified for the U.S. Open). Participating wineries were Corvalle and Left Bend, as well as distributor Joseph George Fine Wines. The Stanford golf course, designed in 1930 by renowned golf course architects William Bell and George C. Thomas, is located in the foothills above the Stanford University campus. In 2009 it was rated the nation’s third-best college course by golf coaches.
After the event, the advancement department gave special thanks to the day’s presenting sponsors: Sarvajna and Seema Dwivedi, Shi An Liu and Ping Xu, Ram and Indira Reddy and social network company Wayin. Further sponsorship was provided by Big Valley Ford Lincoln, Golfsmith, Golftec, C. Denise Brodersen and Harry and Lovelee Singh.
At the end of the day, beyond enjoying a good game of golf, all the participants left secure in the knowledge they had helped raise funds for Harker’s general endowment, which will benefit generations of students to come.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
At the annual Head of School’s Circle Celebration on May 2, Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, announced that Jeff and Marieke Rothschild (Isaac, grade 12; Jackiel, grade 10) had generously made a $10 million matching gift challenge. The annual celebration honors Harker’s leadership donors, who are recognized, thanked and shown the impact of their donations.
The Rothschilds will match, dollar-for-dollar, all gifts to the capital campaign up to $10 million that meet the following criteria: 1) pledges must be made between April 21 and Oct. 12, 2014, and 2) pledge payments must be made in the years 2014, 2015 and/or 2016.
The challenge is meant to inspire all members of the Harker community to join in and make a gift to help build a much-needed theater and gymnasium. The matching gift challenge, if achieved, will allow the school to begin construction on the new events center a full year earlier than previously thought possible without a gift of this magnitude.
“Marieke and I looked at the Harker community, what the school has meant to our children; we know that this events center is not going to be here for their benefit, directly, but everything on this campus is here for a reason. It is here because the Harker community envisioned it and pulled together and made it happen, and this project will be no different,” Rothschild said at the event, surrounded on stage by performing arts and athletics students.
The Rothschilds had previously made a $1 million gift to the school to help with the purchase of the preschool campus. They decided to contribute again with a transformational gift, leading the fundraising effort for the events center because they recognize the impact the building will have on the entire Harker community. Structuring their matching gift challenge as they did – by matching the pledges and gifts made within the given time frame – will enable Harker to provide this much-needed facility to benefit the students and families one year sooner.
If the match is met and construction goes as planned, the Harker community will cut the ribbon on the events center in fall 2016. Current Harker families, as well as alumni and parents of alumni, will be able to enjoy games and productions in much more suitable facilities, improving the experience significantly. The enhanced school spirit and pride invoked by the activities that will take place in this new building is one of the most anticipated benefits.
Preparing students for college and beyond by providing academic and programmatic excellence is at the heart of the Harker mission and will continue to be the central focus of the school’s whole-mission approach. Head of School Chris Nikoloff said that the events center will have a positive impact on Harker’s century-old mission both directly, from the numerous activities and events that will take place there, and also through the ability to allow other departments to expand into spaces currently used by athletics and performing arts that will be vacated when those activities move into the new facility.
Donors who rise to the challenge and make a capital gift during the match period will be recognized as a member of the Partners’ Circle, with their name added to an inaugural plaque in the atrium of the events center. Securing the $10 million in matching gift pledges from the Harker community over the next few months is a tall order, but, as the Rothschilds said at the Head of School’s Circle Celebration, “Together we can all make this happen. The sooner, the better.”
Many parents and faculty members already have started planning their pledges and making gifts to be matched. Harker parents Alex Franz and Keiko Horiguchi (Kai, grade 7; Maya, grade 5; Nina, grade 3) stated, “We can see the strategic importance of the theater and gymnasium project for all of Harker, so we wanted to join the campaign to support this construction. Harker provides an exceptional setting where kids can unfold their potential and reach for the stars. The amazingly generous matching grant, which lets us double our contribution, led us to donate before the beginning of the next school year, and we wanted to support the best-case construction schedule so we just decided to make the donation right away.”
Those interested in learning more about the proposed events center can visit www.harker.org/eventscenter to review the “Case for Supporting the Events Center” booklet. A video featuring a virtual tour and several members of the Harker community – students, parents and teachers alike – sharing the impact they envision the new building will have on the Harker community is also available on the website, alongside Harker’s Vision Statement, which illustrates how the construction of the events center is aligned with Harker’s overall strategic plan through 2020.
Interest in making a capital pledge can be expressed by clicking the “Pledge Now” button on the events center website or by contacting Rosenthal directly at joe.rosenthal@harker.org or 408.345.9266.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Many baseball and softball teams would be blessed to have a trio of aces. Tina Bean and Aaron Bean ’85 have given Harker that many from one family. Their three children – Sarah, Nicolas and Annalyn – are all Harker students, and all pitchers. The eldest is Sarah, a junior. She is also the newest to pitching – or at least to pitching again. When Harker’s softball coaches learned before the start of the season that their expected pitcher would not be able to play, they asked Sarah to step up. “It was completely unexpected that we weren’t going to have a pitcher,” Sarah said. Luckily for the team, however, the coaches knew that Sarah had pitched a bit when she was younger.
A few months before the season began, Sarah started working with the coaches, pitching semiweekly. At practices, the team would simulate pitching in a live game to get her up to speed. “The coaches had faith in me. It has been a huge responsibility, but one that I have been willing to take on because of my love of the team and of the sport,” she said. Last year, the team had the best pitcher in the league, with the most strikeouts. Replacing her would be daunting. “This year, it was such a void that needed to be filled,” Sarah said.
Sarah, her younger brother, Nicolas, grade 9, and their younger sister, Annalyn, grade 3, have grown up with the sport. “We’ve always been a big softball and baseball family,” said Sarah. “As long as I can remember, we’ve always watched the Giants on TV, so as soon as I could start playing softball, I wanted to.” They have also grown up with tremendous encouragement from their parents. “With Dad coaching, and Mom coming to almost every game, it’s a great support base that we have,” said Nicolas. “It feels really good to have everybody out there.”
Nicolas has taken the Harker baseball team by storm. In his first year of high school, playing on the varsity team against the best players – much older players – on other teams, he had the highest batting average on the Eagles, hitting a preposterous .448, while also playing in all 25 of the team’s games and recording by far the most at-bats and plate appearances. His 39 hits and 21 runs scored led the team, as did his .713 slugging percentage.
While Nicolas is the middle child, Sarah says that when it comes to athletics, he’s a model for her. “I look up to him in sports so much,” she said. Nicolas “totally gives himself to the sport.” And, “he’s the best hitter I know.”
On the mound, Nicolas’ 29 innings pitched were fourth-most on the team, and his 31 strikeouts were second-most. That’s meant a lot to the ballclub, but nothing compared to what Sarah’s performance meant to saving the softball squad this year. She pitched 85 of the team’s 92 innings, starting 14 games. With some pitchers from the eighth grade team heading to the upper school next year, Sarah is ready to return to her favorite position: third base.
Sarah and Nicolas grew up not only rooting on for the Giants together, but also playing and working to improve together. “We have always tried to practice together and make each other better,” she said, adding that Nicolas “always complains that we use a softball when we play catch!”
The Beans also have a new pitcher on the way; Annalyn promises to be an asset for Harker one day in her own right. “She is a natural athlete,” said Sarah. “She is crazy athletic.” Sarah stopped by one of Annalyn’s pitching lessons and, shocked by the level of talent she saw, asked Annalyn to promise that she would work to one day play in college. “Even at this young age, she’s showing so much potential – bounds above where I was at that age,” says Sarah. Nicolas sees something else in Annalyn: her spirit. “Annalyn is very hardworking and just enjoys the game,” says Nicolas. “Overall, she just likes having fun out there with her friends, and that’s one of the most important parts of a sport.”
So, will Annalyn play for Harker one day?
“Yeah, for sure,” said Sarah.
Sarah is a more than effective advocate for Harker’s softball team. Though Sarah has played softball all of her life, she talks about falling in love with the sport all over again because of the team at Harker. “We are the strangest group of people ever,” she said, “but we just work for some reason.”
The closeness that she has within her own family translates to her team as well. “It’s a family thing,” she volunteered, “in that everyone on the team is like family. You get so close with the people you’re working with every day. I think that makes you appreciate them more.” For someone who knows what it is like to play the sport with the people she loves, it is a powerful sentiment and a testament to the atmosphere that the Harker coaching staff – led by Raul Rios with assistants Ray Fowler, Dan Hudkins and Rikki Martinez – has created.
“My love for softball comes from my love for the people I am playing with,” said Sarah. Harker’s softball team has given Sarah a new family, and like her actual family, it’s full of hurlers and sluggers, having a great time together. “Having fun – that’s what it’s all about for all of us,” says Nicolas. “The game is fun, and that’s why we want to go back out there.” With Sarah and Nicolas returning to their teams next year, and Annalyn surely on the way, the future looks bright for Harker’s baseball and softball teams, and for the Bean family pitchers.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
The 2014 Eagles varsity basketball squad made school history this winter, overcoming adversity and injuries to shock the league by becoming the first Harker boys team in any sport to reach the section finals. This is their tale.
With only three games left in the league season, Harker was staring down a potential under-.500 year. The team had lost all of its captains to injury at various points in the season and its final games were against top league teams, including two teams vying for first place. A few weeks later, the team had rewritten Harker’s record books. How did the Eagles pull it off?
Early Hopes
When the season began, the Eagles looked like the championship squad it eventually would become. In scrimmages before the start of league play, the team faced off against teams it rarely plays, like powerhouses Gunn and Monta Vista. Harker ambushed Gunn 70-58, led by 16 points and eight rebounds from senior Will Deng and 15 points and seven rebounds from junior Eric Holt. Next, the team stunned Monta Vista, trumping them by 17 points on the back of Holt’s double-double, including a massive 19 rebounds. Harker was on a roll, and the whole team could feel it.
“Starting 2-0 with those as the two wins was very exciting,” coach Butch Keller reported months later. After a summer in which Harker had won the summer league and a fast start before the league season, Harker looked primed to go on a dynamic run.
Adversity Strikes
In the very next game, the adversity began. Harker entered the Lynbrook Tournament and drew Homestead, another top team, in the first game. They were well on their way to handily defeating Homestead, giving them three wins against three powerhouses by at least 10 points each, when captain Holt, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, broke his thumb. Holt was to be out for six to eight weeks. In their next game, Harker was crushed by Mills. “They beat us pretty badly,” recounted Keller. “The loss of Eric threw us into a little tailspin.”
The Road Gets Tougher
After the Lynbrook Tournament, Harker’s next major preseason competition was the Monta Vista Tournament. The team had so far survived the injury to Holt, rattling off a series of wins against beatable teams. Now, in the first game of the tournament, Harker would play Bellarmine, a fearsome team it had never played – and the Eagles’ toughest challenge yet. That’s when, in the final practice before the game, Harker’s all-league starting point guard of the last three years, senior captain Johnny Hughes, rolled his ankle. Bellarmine crushed Harker. The Eagles rebounded in their next game, but lost a heartbreaker in the third game of the tournament by a single point on the last play before the buzzer. It was a rough way to end the preseason, and a tough loss line in the final tune-up before league play began. The road would only get more challenging, however; in the weekend before the very first league game – against Pinewood, the eventual champ – Hughes’ replacement, junior Nicholas Nyugen, hurt his back. Harker would enter league play down three players, including two captains.
Rough Losses and Setbacks
Harker would lose to Pinewood and then to Sacred Heart Prep, starting the league season in an early 0-2 hole. As the team adjusted to the injuries, it rallied off a few wins, then a skid of losses, including to teams it expected to beat. Slowly, Holt, Hughes and Nyugen came back from their injuries, but just as the team had learned to adjust to life without them, they now had to learn how to gel again with the newly restored lineup. “When players come back, you’ve already adjusted, and it takes another adjustment to get used to that,” said Keller. As the season drew to a close, Harker faced a sobering prospect: a best-case scenario fourth-place finish, and a worst-case scenario sixth-place finish. “We were pretty shot,” recalls Keller. “We might end up finishing under .500 for the season.”
That was when the Eagles found themselves with three games left – against three of the top teams in the league: Woodside Priory, Sacred Heart Prep and Pinewood.
The Final Three Games
There was great news, though. For the first time all season, Harker had its whole team back. Against Woodside, the Eagles played like a team rejuvenated, leaping out to a 20-point lead at halftime. That was when injury struck again. The team’s all-league first-team center, Deng, who according to Keller, “put the team on his shoulders” during the most challenging days of the season, tore his ACL. The Eagles had their team whole for only half a game.
Harker finished off its win against Woodside, but the next game would be one of their toughest of the season as the team faced Sacred Heart Prep, a first-place team with only one loss for the year. As Keller would later recall, “nobody remembered the last time Harker beat Sacred Heart.” Now, Harker was to play them without their center, who had started every game for the last two years and was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder.
Deng’s replacement was senior Huck Vaughan, who would go on to have the game of his life in an upset that would shake the league and make the San Jose Mercury News. Vaughan would score 23 points, more than any other player in the game, to lead Harker to a 71-65 stunner and dash Sacred Heart’s hopes for a league title. Suddenly, something special was happening for Harker.
Going into the game, Sacred Heart was tied with Pinewood for the league lead, with each team having only lost once this season. The loss thrust Sacred Heart into second place, but if Harker beat Pinewood – which would have to be an upset as well – Sacred Heart would finish first and potentially play Pinewood for the championship. So Sacred Heart Prep traveled to watch Harker take on Pinewood, and see if maybe, just maybe, they would tie for first. Lo and behold, in the final game of the regular season, still without Deng, Harker entered the second half trailing 29-21, then roared back, outscoring Pinewood 30-16 in the second half and winning 51-45. Harker was on a phenomenal run, and the clubhouse could feel it. “When we walked into the locker room” during this stretch, Holt recalled, “everyone had a smile on their face.”
Now, the CCS seeders had some work to do: Pinewood and Sacred Heart Prep finished tied for first, but Harker was the only team to have beaten them both, and had just laid a beating on Priory. Suddenly, from staring down the barrel of an under-.500 year, Harker had earned a first-round bye.
Big Playoff Wins
Harker’s first playoff game was against Carmel High. Despite what the coach called an “awful matchup without Will,” the team, through sheer tenacity, won the game, catapulting it into the quarterfinals. Now, the boys would travel to Santa Cruz to play Soquel in the massive Kaiser Permanente Arena, home to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA’s Developmental League.
Though Harker was the sixth seed and Soquel was the third, it was a sure bet that Soquel would not underestimate Harker as two years ago, a seventh-seeded Harker team had knocked out a second-seeded Soquel. Soquel’s star player now, a senior, was a sophomore when that happened and was not going to take Harker lightly.
Soquel jumped out early, building up a double-digit lead. That continued into the fourth quarter, which got off to a rough start for Harker. The coach called a timeout with just over six minutes to go and the team down a dozen points. The message was simple and stark: “You have been on an amazing run and nobody would blame you if it ended here, but I truly believe that we are the better team.” From that point on, Harker went on a 20-2 run, winning by nine. The arena went from rocking to so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Keller noted that that run, in that huge venue, was a highlight of his coaching career he will long remember.
Next up: The semifinals against Seaside, an athletic team with two Division 1 prospects and a deep bench. And while the players might not have underestimated Harker, Seaside’s fans sure did. Keller recalls a Seaside fan spotting two Harker fans in the stands and commending them for appearing while offering his condolences for the beating they were about to witness. “It’s so great of you to come out and support your team,” he is rumored to have said. “It’s going to be a tough afternoon. We’re probably going to score 100 points on you.” Famous last words, as the saying goes. Indeed, Seaside jumped on Harker hard, but just as they had all season, the Eagles rebounded, hitting 10 of 10 free throws down the stretch and winning by 10. The fan was stunned. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Keller recalls him lamenting.
The Season Ends
That game would mark the high point of Harker’s season. In their next game, despite a packed house of Eagles fans, Harker lost to Sacred Heart Prep. Harker had earned its first-ever trip to the section finals and traveled to play one last game, on the road, against the fourth-seeded team in all of Northern California, which it lost. However, the Eagles’ amazing run had rewritten the rules for Harker basketball. If the team, which has many of its players returning, makes it to the section finals again, it will do so with the experience of having already been there once.
For his part, Holt cites veteran leadership and a deep bench as one reason Harker excelled. “This was our first year of having mostly juniors and seniors on the team,” he says. “Their leadership really helped us battle through.” He saw that first-hand after his own injury. “A lot of my teammates were pretty depressed,” he recounted, “but they got over it pretty quickly, because they realized they had the ability to step up and play through it even without me, and I thought they played really well without me.” When pressed on who stepped up in his absence, Holt gives credit to the whole team, saying that “everyone, on every single night, had the ability to play really well,” whether it was junior Sriv Irrinki nailing a number of threes on a tough shooting night for the rest of the team, or senior Wei Wei Buchsteiner’s running up of 20 points.
Harker’s tenacity was particularly exemplified by Deng, who was knocked out late in the season and worked hard with the team’s trainer to finally be able to return for the very last game of the season, and the last of his Harker career, in the section finals. Many players off the bench had to step up from playing less than half the minutes of the game to playing nearly all of them. Throughout it all, one tough bunch of athletes weathered storm after crashing storm, stayed strong in the face of adversity and bonded to write a new page in Harker athletics history.