Stanford University is hosting the 2009 Summer National Senior Games, this summer, and needs volunteers to help out at events and ceremonies. Volunteers sign up online at http://www.2009seniorgames.org/become-a-volunteer, and must affiliate with Harker when creating their accounts by clicking “Harker “under “organization.” There are 25 sports to choose from, from archery to fencing to water polo, so potential volunteers are encouraged to sign up soon to secure a spot in their preferred sport. Locations range from San Jose to Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay. See the links below for more information.
Liza Turchinsky, Gr. 3, was recently recongized by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth for her exceptional performance on an above-grade-level test administered to second through sixth graders. For her accomplishtment, Turchinsky and other students who did well on the exam were invited to a state-wide awards ceremony held in their honor. Congratulations!
During a morning assembly in May, members of the MS Blue Planet group gave a presentation on the importance of clean water. Students were shown an enlightening video documenting developing nations’ unsanitary water conditions and their fight to install clean water wells. Afterwards, a highly entertaining “water dance” was performed by some members of the group and free water bottles were handed out. Inspired by Harker Speaker Series guest Rick Smolan, the middle schoolers have worked hard to raise both awareness and funds to support this organization.
In addition to the five Harker students who committed to collegiate sports competition last month, three more seniors have also committed to play at the college level next year. They are Alex Abarca, basketball at UC Santa Cruz; Candace Silva-Martin, volleyball at George Washington University; and Sam Levine, cross country at Pomona Pitzer College.
Despite an early relay team disqualification in Wednesday’s trials, Harker’s girls swim team was able to overcome and win their first league championship. The title was in question until the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The girls not only won the event, but smashed the league record by 3 seconds with a time of 3:46.68.
Harker event winners were: 50 & 100 Free – Jessica Khojasteh, 100 Breast – Vivian Wong, 200 Free Relay – Katie Siegel, Tiffany Wong, Vivian Wong, Jessica Khojasteh, and 400 Free Relay – Jessica Khojasteh, Katie Siegel, Vivian Wong, Tina Ma. All were won in league record time except the 100 free. New CCS qualifications were achieved by Tiffany Wong in 200 IM and 100 Back, and Lucy Cheng in 200 IM. Next Friday and Saturday, May 15-16, the team of Sabrina Paseman, Vivian Wong, Tina Ma, Jeanette Chin, Jessica Khojasteh, Katie Siegel, Tiffany Wong, Lucy Cheng, and Rachelle Koch will be representing Harker at the CCS Championships.
The boys team also had a great meet, finishing second behind a tough Menlo squad. Event winners were: 50 & 100 Free – Cole Davis, 100 Fly – Andrew Chin, 200 IM – Kevin Khojasteh, 200 Free Relay – Kevin Khojasteh, Andrew Chin, Daryl Neubieser, Cole Davis. The team of Andrew Chin, Cole Davis, Michael Clifford, Stefan Schwartz, Darren Syu, Hassaan Ebrahim, Kevin Khojasteh, and Daryl Neubieser will represent Harker at the CCS Championships.
Final girls scores were:
Harker School – 74
King’s Academy – 63.5
Castilleja – 61
Menlo School – 41
Notre Dame – San Jose 29
Pinewood – 20
Priory – 14.5
Mercy Burlingame – 3
Mercy SF – 2
Final team scores were:
Menlo School – 109
Harker School – 91
King’s Academy – 31
Pinewood – 23
Priory – 22
Virtually the entire population of the Blackford campus arrived at the field on April 24 for the third annual Harker Cancer Walk. Students, parents, faculty and staff all showed up with their walking shoes on to raise money for Camp Okizu, an organization that provides recreational activities and peer support to families with cancer-stricken children.
Money was raised by selling t-shirts, wrist bands and bake sale items, as well as through donations, which were still being collected after the event concluded. The current total is $9,677, most of which was raised on the day of the Cancer Walk. “I continue to be humbled by the level of giving from this community as this year we raised even more than we have in the past,” said MS computer science teacher Michael Schmidt, who began coordinating the Cancer Walk in 2007 after his mother passed away battling the disease the previous year. “In fact, we achieved an unprecedented feat – we sold out of everything! I think the teachers would have sold the tables and chairs if possible.”
The event had visitors from the Bucknall and Saratoga campuses as well, making it a collaborative schoolwide effort. As a highlight, Schmidt performed a special victory dance, and was soon joined by dozens of others to bring the event to a fittingly celebratory close.
“It is truly a blessing to find myself amongst such a wonderful group of people,” Schmidt said. “The outpouring of support for the Cancer Walk is why it’s such a wonderful time.”
Boys Volleyball
Varsity had a 15-5 overall record as we went to press. In an early season tournament at Aptos, they won the silver division championship (fifth place out of 16 teams), with their only loss coming against eventual gold division champion Mountain View. In a repeat match when they opened league play against Mountain View, they won in an exciting victor y in four games. The team also hosted their fourth-annual 12-team tournament and took second place, losing to Leigh High School in the finals, 29-27, in the third game. Chad Gordon, Gr. 11 and Matt Gehm, Gr. 12, made the all-tournament team.
Softball
At press time, the softball team was 5-6 overall and 3-4 in league. The girls are led by the strong pitching of senior Shelby Drabman and sophomore Tracey Chan, as well as by strong hitting from Drabman, Chan and senior Sarah Christiano. Outstanding defensive players include shortstop Andrea Thomas and catcher Candace Silva-Martin, both seniors. The girls have defeated Yerba Buena High 13-8, Menlo 13-5, Pinewood 13-5, and Mercy- San Francisco 8-5. Even in losses to Santa Catalina, King’s Academy, Mercy Burlingame and Castilleja, the team played very hard and kept the score respectable. Coach Raul Rios reports that the team goal this year is to make CCS for the first time in school history. He proudly states, “Our motto is, ‘In order to achieve you must believe.’” He is proud of the girls for bringing a “refuse to lose” attitude and for having the most energy of all the teams they have played against, win or lose. “The team is very supportive of one another, almost like a family atmosphere,” Rios explained.
Boys Golf
The golf team is continuing to experience success, with its only two losses to Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo, two of the top teams in the CCS. The golf team also set a school record with its score of 200 against Sacred Heart. Juniors James Feng, Yash Khandwala and Jeremy Whang, along with seniors Kyle Hall, Aaron Lin and Sean Doherty and sophomore Ram Seeni are leading the team, with Feng ranked one of the top players in the league. They are coached by John Zetterquist.
Lacrosse
The Harker lacrosse team recently won their first game since becoming a varsity program, defeating Woodside High School 15-9. Their league record stands at 1-3 and overall at 1-4. The team’s leading scorer is senior Clara Lyashevsky with 11 goals, including six goals against Los Gatos. Players scoring in the Woodside game included seniors Lyashevsky, Priya Thumma, Michelle Lin and Alyssa Boyle; juniors Julia Shim and Manasa Reddy, and sophomores Monisha Appalaraju and Shreya Nathan.
Tennis
Boys varsity tennis began with a 3-1 preseason, notching wins against CCS powerhouses Mitty and Aragon. They lost their first WBAL match to a stubborn Sacred Hear t Prep squad, and stood at 9-2 at the end of March. According to coach Craig Pasqua, “It will take some work, but look for them as they continue their quest for a record sixth-consecutive CCS appearance.” The team is led by Karthik Dhore, Gr. 10, Adarsh Ranganathan, Gr. 10, Harrison Schwartz, Gr. 12 and captain Aadithya Prakash, Gr. 11.
Baseball
At the end of March, varsity baseball was 7-6 overall, with a 1- 1 league record. The team has been led by the strong pitching of Greg Plauck, Gr. 11 and Barrett Glasauer, Gr. 12. Of fensively, the team has been led by Glasauer, Stefan Eckhardt, Gr. 11 and Jeff Mandell, Gr. 12. All three lead the team in batting average, hits, stolen bases and on-base percentage. Senior Taylor Martin has done an outstanding job on defense, pitching and being a team leader. The J.V. was 1-5, losing a tough game to Monta Vista 14-13 and Milpitas 2-4. The team has been led by sophomores Greg Cox and Amir Mortazavi, and freshman Noah Levy. Mortazavi leads the team in hits and batting average; Cox has the team’s only win, and Levy has done a good job at the plate, as well as behind it as the catcher. Ben Tien, Gr. 10, has also done a good job on the mound, at the plate and in the field for the team, reports coach C.J. Cali.
Swimming
The girls swim team is showing much strength this season, with a 6-0 league record at press time and two more league meets to go. CCS qualifiers so far are Vivian Wong, Gr. 11, Jessica Khojasteh, Gr. 10, Katie Siegel, Gr. 9, Tina Ma, Gr. 11 and Tiffany Wong, Gr. 9. Coach Barton Wells looks for the girls be in the top five at CCS this year. The boys swim team is 3-1 in league so far this season, and Wells is looking to win the league championship and place in the top five at CCS. At the first meet of the season, Kevin Khojasteh, Gr. 9, smashed the school record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.88. CCS qualifiers so far are Khojasteh, Andrew Chin, Gr. 12, Cole Davis, Gr. 11, Daryl Neubieser, Gr. 9 and Michael Clifford, Gr. 11.
In only the second year that Harker has sent teams for all three levels, the Japanese program swept all three first-place team prizes at the National Japan Bowl in Washington, D.C., over spring break. The top-level team and their teacher were awarded a 10-day trip to Japan this summer where their itinerary includes the honor of meeting Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado.
The Japan Bowl is an annual team competition for high school students across the U.S. studying Japanese as their foreign language. There are three levels of competition – II, III and IV, with level IV being the most challenging – and three students per team. The competition tests not only the students’ language skills but also their knowledge of history, geography, politics, current events, U.S.- Japan relations and variety of cultural aspects such as arts, festivals, religions, pop culture, etiquette and gestures.
“Although it is a very challenging competition, we have shown ver y steady improvement ever y year,” said Masako Onakado, Japanese teacher. “Last year, we earned second place in both level II and level III and four th place in level IV, which was our best record until then. Earning the first place in all levels in this 17-year-old competition this year was truly remarkable.”
Chris Nikoloff, head of school, also noted, “This is an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations to the students and thanks to Masako for all of her ef for ts on their behalf.”
Student winners were: Level IV Sarah Wang, Gr. 11, team captain; Roslyn Li, Gr.11 and Kevin Wang, Gr. 12. Level III Kelly Chen, Gr. 11, team captain; Jerry Sun, Gr. 10 and Katie Liang, Gr. 10. Level II Nirupama Gadagottu, Gr. 12, team captain; Tiffany Jang, Gr. 9 and Victoria Liang, Gr. 10.
Harker’s Varsity C team was named “Best Overall” in the country by the Junior Engineering Technical Society’s (JETS) annual Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science (TEAMS) competition. The team, made up of seniors Daniel Kim, Hanh Dang, Jeffrey Mandell, Tsung-Ju Lu, Nikita Sinha, Kartik Venkatraman, Kevin Wang and Kevin Xu, will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
JETS is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to developing young people’s interest in engineering and technology. Each year, the organization holds its two-part TEAMS competition, in which students answer a series of questions dealing with different engineering scenarios. Every year, the competition has a different theme. This year’s theme explored the engineering principles used in theme parks.
Other Harker teams also performed well in the competition. At the national overall level, Harker’s Varsity D team (juniors Andy Fang, Jackie Ho, Vishesh Jain, Curran Kaushik, Arjun Mody, Haran Sivukumar, Kevin Zhang and Andrew Zhou) was ranked fourth, and the Varsity B team of seniors (Namrata Anand, Brandon Araki, Jeanette Chin, James Feng, Alex Han, Andrea Lincoln, Rachel Luo and Adam Perelman) placed eighth.
In the Division 2 category (which includes private schools containing more than 150 seniors), Varsity D took first place, with Varsity C earning second. Division 2 category rankings are based only on the second part of the competition. “D did better in part II, but C did better in part I, giving them the best ‘overall’ score,” said US math teacher and JETS advisor Anthony Silk. Also in Division 2, the Varsity A team took third. Tying for the 10th place spot was the Varsity B team of juniors Namrata Anand, Brandon Araki, Jeanette Chin, James Feng, Alex Han, Andrea Lincoln, Rachel Luo and Adam Perelman.
At the state level, the Harker’s four varsity teams took all of the top four Division 2 spots, with Varsity C placing first, Varsity B coming in second, Varsity D at third and Varsity A at fourth. In Junior Varsity Division 2 competition, Harker’s Junior Varsity B team of freshmen Lucy Cheng, Alexander Hsu, Revanth Kosaraju, Jeffrey Kwong, Ramya Rangan, Pavitra Rengarajan, Katie Siegel and Albert Wu earned the top spot to become the only JV team in Division 2 to qualify for the national competition, where they placed 27th overall. Harker’s Junior Varsity A team – sophomores Tracey Chan, Josephine Chen, Isaac Madan, Jerry Sun, Ben Tien, Susan Tu, Karen Wong and Kevin Tran – earned fourth.
Although they were not directly sponsored by the school, ninth graders Michelle Deng, Patrick Yang, Eric Kong, Vishesh Gupta, Frederic Enea and Daryl Neubieser nonetheless participated, taking second place in Junior Varsity Division 2.
There is lots to report on the MS sports front following the end of the late winter sports season.
MS Girls Basketball
According to coach Tang Kitporka, the Gr. 8 girls varsity A team had lots of fun this season, playing their best to a 3-7 overall record. Priscilla Auyeung, Jacqueline Jordan and Shreya Vemuri were key players throughout the great season.
The Gr. 7 girls of the varsity B team, coached by Loreen Talagtag and Joe Mentillo, went undefeated with a record of 10-0 this season. They took first place in the WBAL league season and won the WBAL tournament, defeating Woodland School in the finals! Standout players included Regina Chen, Nithya Vemireddy and Mercedes Chien.
MS Boys Soccer
The Gr. 8 varsity A soccer team, coached by Manny Martinez, ended their season undefeated with a record of 9-0-1 this season. They took first place in the WBAL league and even beat a tough St. Joseph’s Sacred Heart team, who has not lost a match in years, 1-0. Their combined scoring total was 47 goals to 12 for their opponents. The team was led by Andy Perez, Michael Amick, Baris Demirlioglu and Kiran Arimilli.
The Gr. 7 varsity B boys, coached by Chris Fanara, had a respectable season at 4-4 overall. All of their games were close games and they did not lose any match by more than one goal. They finished the season with a convincing victory over non-league opponent San Jose Christian, 4-1. The team was led by Kevin Mohanram, Jeffrey Hanke and Kevin Moss.
Coach Cyrus Merrill reported, ”The sixth grade boys junior varsity A team scored more total goals this year than in both prior seasons!” Nikhil Kishore scored three goals in just one game. The team also received strong play from the defensive midfield play of Rishabh Jain and the vocal leadership of sweeper Allen Huang. The boys really began incorporating their one-touch passing and foot skills, focal points of Merrill’s training, into their play, even eliciting a compliment from a referee who commented on their improvement in play from the beginning up until the end of the season. Merrill summarized, “Although they ended up with a losing record, they did defeat a traditionally strong team from up the peninsula and they scored three goals against perennial soccer power Menlo. Although they lost the game they put a considerable scare into the opposition!”
MS Wrestling
Although wrestling is an early winter sport, the short season finished too late for last month’s issue. Coaches Karriem Stinson and James Arballo are excited about the progress of this year’s wrestlers. In two back-to-back weekends of impressive wrestling, the boys indicated the strong future of Harker wrestling. At the Mission Hills tournament Harker took fifth out of 16 teams with only 11 wrestlers. Baris Demirlioglu and Michael Chen, Gr. 8, and Koshu Takatsuji, Gr. 7, went undefeated at 5-0. At the New Brighton Classic, Harker had four second place finishers (Demirlioglu, Nikhil Baradwaj, Canaan Linder and Christian Lantzsch, all Gr. 8); Daniel Wang, both Gr. 8, took third place, with Corey Gonzales, Gr. 6 and Chen both placing fourth.