Maverick McNealy ’13 was noted in the San Jose Mercury News on July 16 for holding down third place at the inaugural Barbasol Championship PGA golf tournament in Opelika, Ala. See story at http://bayareane.ws/1Okicw1. McNealy, who won the Haskins Award as the top college linksman, is also the 2015 Division I recipient of the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, presented by Barbasol on June 5.
An article posted at www.Nicklaus.com notes McNealy’s accomplishments this year:
“A sophomore from Portola Valley, Calif., McNealy led NCAA Division I with six collegiate victories this year. He posted a dominant 10-stroke win at the Pac-12 Conference Championships, where his 18-under aggregate score of 262 established a new league tournament scoring record. The Pac-12 Conference Player owns a 69.05 season scoring average, the second best in recorded NCAA history. McNealy claimed medalist honors at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, Southwestern Intercollegiate, Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, The Prestige at PGA West and The Goodwin. McNealy was selected to compete this summer on the United States Palmer Cup team.”
Shrish Dwivedi ’15 finished the golf season, and his career at Harker, with a great round, tying for second place – and missing first place by one stroke – at the California Interscholastic Federation State Golf Championships, yesterday!
Dan Molin, upper school athletic director, added another exciting accolade. “Shrish has gone further than any Harker athlete in any individual sport,” he noted, putting him solidly in Harker record books..
Dwivedi shot a 2-under-par 69 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, finishing with a birdie. He shot birdies at holes 7, 9, 10, 16 and 18, according to the San Jose Mercury News report.
Dwivedi qualified in May for the NorCal Championships after shooting a 69 to finish one shot off the lead at third, then tied for sixth place at the Northern California Championship at Corral De Tierra Country Club in Salinas to qualify for state. Dwivedi not only is the first Harker male golfer to compete at NorCals, he’s also the first Harker golfer ever to qualify for the state tournament.
“We are all very proud of Shrish and his accomplishments this post season,” said Ie-Chen Cheng, Harker golf coach. “Since his freshman year, Shrish has always been a true student of the game, studying all aspects. His attention to detail, from his preparation leading up to match day, and his on course management is what separates him from others. He studies the course meticulously, then goes and practices the shots he needs to succeed. Over time, as he finetuned his swing, he had to learn how to play with the swing he has that day and grind out the round, whether or not his swing is working for him or not. That is one thing that younger players needs to learn: is to learn how to play with what you have that day and make the best of it.
“This year, we demanded a lot from Shrish in terms of being the team captain. Having him show the underclassmen what it takes to succeed allowed him to lead by example. He shared what worked and what didn’t for him so that others can learn. I think having Shrish lead the charge in the past couple years has allowed him to grow into the all-around golfer that he is today. Shrish had to learn that it’s not just about being concerned with his own game, but to show his teammates why it is more important to make others around him better.”
“He is truly playing at an elite level,” said Molin. “Please congratulate him on an outstanding year and Harker career as he continues to play golf at Duke University next year!”
Business Insider’s list of the year’s 20 most impressive high school graduates is hot off the press – and it includes four Harker alums.
In the case of our recent grads, their continued academic success – resulting in acceptances to some of the nation’s top research universities – is matched only by their commitment to furthering the future of health care. With a deeply ingrained foundation of community service, civic engagement and social justice, the high-flying foursome is giving back in a big way.
A freshman-year battle with hypothyroidism and a passion for mitigating global health inequalities led National High School Journal of Science peer reviewer Samantha Madala to establish the Healthy Scholars Foundation, a nonprofit that removes health-related barriers to education around the world through screening, treatment, awareness and research. Since its founding in 2013, Healthy Scholars has received a $250,000 multiyear grant from The Hans Foundation, raised more than $200,000 and provided free health screenings to nearly 10,000 schoolchildren in India.
Accepted into the University of California San Diego Medical Scholars Program for a combined B.S./M.D., Madala’s professional experience includes internships in neurobiology, immunology and health policy at Stanford University’s School of Medicine as well as the co-authoring of an abstract for the world-renowned Endocrine Society. She is a member of the National Honor Society and the recipient of Harker’s Love of Learning Award and Mission of the School Award.
Harvard University-bound (computer science and biology) Andrew Jin created a machine-learning algorithm that could help researchers better understand human evolution and potentially develop new gene therapies, vaccines and treatments for disorders like schizophrenia, earning him the first place Medal of Distinction for Global Good and a cash prize of $150,000 at the Intel Science Talent Search 2015, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious pre-college science and math competition and a program of Society for Science & the Public.
No newcomer to the awards circuit, Jin previously won second place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the largest pre-college scientific research event in the world, and third place in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the flagship initiative of the Siemens Foundation. He has secured a summer machine-learning internship at Facebook, based in Menlo Park, where he will assist the online social networking service’s search team.
Like Jin, Rohith Kuditipudi was named a finalist at this year’s Intel Science Talent Search based on his scientific research and overall potential as a future leader of the scientific community. His project, “Network-Based Integration of High-Throughput Gene Expression and Methylation Data Reveals New Insights into NAFLD Progression,” involved collaborating with researchers at the University of California San Diego to examine the evolution of fatty liver disease and analyze valuable data linking the disease to more serious afflictions such as liver cancer. He was also recognized among the top 10 competitors in both the Harvard Pre-Collegiate Economics Challenge and the Stanford Math Tournament.
Kuditipudi co-founded the India Literacy Project and volunteers at Breakthrough Silicon Valley, where he tutors underprivileged children in math. This fall, he will enter Duke University as one of just 15 Angier B. Duke Scholars, studying a combination of his three favorite disciplines: mathematics, economics and computer science.
Yale University-bound (pre-med) Daniela Lee and her 2014 Google Science Fair project partner, Sadhika Malladi, grade 11, developed a noninvasive imaging system for predicting test results in triple-negative breast cancer patients, leading to their standing as one of the top 15 global finalists representing the United States, Australia, Canada, England, France, India, Ireland, Russia and Ukraine.
A research intern at Stanford University’s School of Medicine for the past two years, Lee presented additional findings that could help to decrease treatment time and increase patient comfort at the 2014 Focused Ultrasound Symposium, where she was recognized by Vice President Joe Biden as the only high school student speaker.
Business Insider editors solicited nominees for this list via a post and sought out notable students for consideration via news searches, said Melissa Stanger, associate editor of lists for Business Insider. “We were also surprised by the incredible range of talent at The Harker School,” Stanger said. “I think this is the first year we’ve had more than two high school graduates from the same school appear on our list!” Stanger noted those listed were “chosen for their above-average accomplishments in a number of fields,” and in finalizing the list, they strove to diversify the selections to include those “doing impressive things in science, the arts, philanthropy, tech, etc.”
The boys remain in first place in league thanks to a big victory over Pinewood last week. Senior Shrish Dwivedi led all golfers with a 34 while sophomore Sandip Nirmel shot a 36. They face King’s Academy on Tuesday and league rival Sacred Heart on Friday
Track and Field
Sophomore Winnie Li and freshmen Aria Coalson, Gloria Guo and Grace Koonmen won the sprint medley and set a Harker record at the DeAnza Invitational! Sophomore Niki Iyer followed that up by setting a new Harker record in the 3200-meter at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational. The team has a league meet Tuesday and a big invitational next Saturday in San Mateo.
Softball
Softball had a dramatic 6-5 win over Saint Francis Watsonville thanks to a tremendous game-saving catch in the top of the seventh by junior Tong Wu. The Eagles got big hits from seniors Briana Liang and Sarah Bean, sophomore Vivian Isenberg and freshman Kristin LeBlanc. They host Mercy on Tuesday.
Lacrosse
The girls walloped Aragon 14-6 last Wednesday, with goals by seniors Hannah Bollar, Allison Kiang, Priscilla Pan and Leeza Kuo, junior Natasha Mayor and sophomore Taylor Iantosca. Sophomore goalie Meilan Steimie had nine saves in the win. The Eagles play Sequoia on Wednesday.
Tennis
Boys tennis now has a 12-2 overall record after a 6-1 victory over Pinewood last week. The team travels to Priory on Tuesday and hosts Crystal Springs on Thursday.
Volleyball
The boys beat Monterey and Live Oak at the Bellarmine Tournament over the weekend to go 2-3 overall in the competition. Their record now stands at 6-12 overall. They’ll look to improve that mark when they hit the road to play in Mountain View and Los Gatos this week.
Baseball
The Eagles dropped to 6-7 overall after a 9-4 loss at Fremont last week, but junior Miles DeWitt was featured in the Mercury News Highlight Reel for his huge two home run performance against Trinity Christian. Learn more here:
Come support our swimmers this Friday at the Singh Aquatic Center as they compete in their second home meet of the season!
Moving On
Last but never least, Shreya Dixit, grade 12, has been noted by the Yale women’s volleyball coach as an incoming athlete for the class of 2019. Read her write up, here!
This article originally appeared in the spring 2015 Harker Quarterly.
Basketball Teams Leave Their Mark; Wrestlers Qualify; Boys Tennis Kicks off Season with a Big Win
Basketball
The gents went 16-10 this year, finishing in fourth place in the league, winning a CCS academic championship and reaching the CCS quarterfinals. Their biggest win of the year, a 71-38 crushing of Del Mar High School at home in front of a raucous crowd in the second round of the CCS championships was punctuated by senior Sriv Irrinki’s 20 points and senior Eric Holt’s breakaway dunk!
Holt racked up 315 points and 162 rebounds, averaging a team-high 17.5 points per game. Irrinki, meanwhile, led the team with 330 points, averaging 13.2 points and a team-high nine rebounds per game. He also was named the San Jose Mercury News’ Santa Clara County Boys Athlete of the Week earlier in the year for his 35-point performance against King’s Academy, which included eight 3-pointers and a perfect record from the free-throw line. Senior Dylan Patel led the team with 80 assists, while junior Elijah Edgehill averaged 10.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
The girls also reached the CCS playoffs after finishing with a 12-12 record, losing in the first round. They also had a Senior Night for the ages; when Crystal Springs forfeited, the girls played an intrasquad scrimmage in which Team Green defeated Team White!
Jordan Thompson, grade 10, led the team with 451 points, 20.5 points per game, seven rebounds per game and a free-throw percentage of 66. She also was honored by the San Jose Mercury News after she scored 38 points with 11 rebounds against Woodside Priory and then followed that performance up with 28 points against Crystal Springs. Senior Lekha Chirala led team with 53 assists.
Wrestling
For the second year in a row, Davis Howard, grade 10, qualified for CCS after finishing in fifth place at the league wrestling championships. He represented Harker with two tough loss against talented opponents. Anthony Contreras, grade 9, finished in eight place at the league wrestling championships and was named a second alternate for CCS. Contreras is only the fourth freshman in Harker history to place at the varsity level in league finals. Senior Ryan Palmer had one of the most memorable weeks of the year, going 2-0 by winning by pin against Homestead on his Senior Night and then winning again by pin against Lynbrook on their Senior Night.
Soccer
The girls just missed qualifying for the playoffs after finishing 7-8-1 overall. Sophomore Joelle Anderson had an amazing season, racking up 31 goals with 12 assists. She was recognized in the San Jose Mercury News twice: once for scoring five goals with two assists in an 8-3 win over Priory, and once for scoring three goals against Mercy-Burlingame and then three again versus Crystal Springs. Kailee Gifford, grade 10, scored 14 goals and led the team with 13 assists this year.
For just the second time in school history, the boys soccer team defeated Menlo this season, beating them 3-1 on Harker’s Senior Day. They finished with a 10-4-2 record. Overall, junior Omar Hamade led the team with 15 goals. Senior Jeremiah Anderson had seven goals and seven assists, while senior Alan Guo tied for the team lead with seven assists.
Volleyball
This winter, senior Shreya Dixit was named to the All-Mercury News second volleyball team for her performance in the fall. This recognition honors her as one of the best players in the section.
Tennis
Harker’s varsity boys tennis team went an amazing 5-0 (6-0, 5-1, 5-1, 5-1, 5-1) to earn the Division 4 championship at the California Tennis Classic. It is “the most prestigious preseason tennis tournament in the state,” according to Dan Molin, upper school athletic director.
The wrestlers head to the league championship, while both the boys and girls soccer teams get ready to celebrate Senior Day! Let’s get to the scores!
Wrestling:
Senior Ryan Palmer went 2-0 last week, winning by pin against Homestead on his Senior Night and then winning by pin against Lynbrook on their Senior Night! Senior Anni Ankola went 1-1 last week, winning by pin versus Lynbrook as well. The wrestlers will compete in the league championship Feb. 13-14 at Milpitas High.
Soccer:
The girls are 6-5-1 overall despite losses last week to King’s Academy and Menlo. Sophomores Joelle Anderson and Kailee Gifford each scored for Harker. The Eagles celebrate Senior Day on Thursday with a game against Priory! The boys have their Senior Day on Wednesday on Davis Field, where they’ll look to defeat Menlo.
Last week, Anderson was also recognized by the San Jose Mercury News in its sports highlight reel of top performances for her five goals and two assists in an 8-3 win over Priory the week before.
Basketball:
The boys lost a heartbreaker to Menlo, falling short by a single point, but rebounded by beating Crystal Springs to bump their record up to 11-7 overall and 4-4 in league play. Senior Eric Holt racked up 28 points against Crystal, while Senior Sriv Irrinki netted 16 against Menlo. The boys will hit the road to play King’s Academy and Sacred Heart this week.
The girls, meanwhile, lost to two strong teams last week, dropping their games against Mercy and King’s Academy. In the game against King’s, sophomore Jordan Thompson scored 20 points and freshman Satchi Thockchom grabbed six rebounds. The team will look to rebound against Priory this Friday at Blackford.
Andy Fang ’10, co-founder of the Palo Alto based on-demand food delivery startup DoorDash, was included on Forbes magazine’s prestigious “30 Under 30” list of young movers and shakers in the consumer tech category.
DoorDash (www.doordash.com) hires its own drivers to offer home delivery from restaurants unable to provide such service. In just two years, 22-year-old Fang, a Stanford graduate with a degree in computer science, and business partner Stanley Tang, have raised an impressive $19.7 million in startup funding. DoorDash now serves five major metropolitan areas.
A leading source for reliable business news and financial information, Forbes is well known for its annual lists and rankings. The 30 Under 30 list (http://www.forbes.com/30under30/#/) prides itself on predicting the brightest and most ambitious young adults to watch in the coming year.
The 2015 categories include venture capital, enterprise technology, consumer technology, sports, social entrepreneurs, science, retail, music, media, marketing, manufacturing, law, entertainment, health care, games, food, finance, energy, education and art. More than 600 millennials were featured on the lists, with Silicon Valley at the forefront of startup culture.
Fang, a former Harker Quarterly cover boy (having been featured in a graduation photo in the summer 2010 edition), said he is honored to have been selected. “I’m grateful for my friends and family for helping me get to this point and glad to have the support of the Harker community!”
If any readers know of other Harker alumni to have made the Forbes lists that we may have overlooked, please bring them to our attention by writing News@harker.org.
Today Society for Science & the Public announced that Harker seniors Andrew Jin, Rohith Kuditipudi and Steven Wang were named finalists in the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search (STS), making Harker the only school in the country with three finalists. This also breaks Harker’s previous record of two finalists, set in 2011. Harker has now produced a total of nine finalists since it began participating in the Intel STS during the 2005-06 school year, when Yi Sun ’06 took second place nationally.
Jin, Kuditipudi and Wang were among 15 semifinalists from Harker – the most of any school in the nation – who were named earlier this month. They now join 40 other high school students from across the United States who will travel to Washington, D.C., in March for the final stage of the competition, where more than $1 million in cash prizes will be awarded.
While in Washington, the finalists will have the opportunity to demonstrate their research to key figures in the scientific community and national leadership. Winners will be announced at a special invitation-only gala at the National Building Museum on March 10.
Update: Hat trick for Harker athletes, today! First off, Srivinay Irrinki, grade 12, has been named the Merc’s Santa Clara County boys Athlete of the Week. Plus, Joelle Anderson and Jordan Thomson, both grade 10, were both named to the Merc’s Highlight Reel, today.
Joelle, Harker soccer, made the list for her three goals in a 6-0 win over Mercy-Burlingame and three more in the team’s 4-2 win over Crystal Springs. She has now scored 15 goals in just six games—go Joelle!
Jordan, Harker basketball, was honored for scoring 38 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in the team’s win vs. Woodside Priory and 26 points in the victory over Crystal Springs –Go Jordan!
It’s 2015, and Harker sports are in full swing. Both the girls varsity basketball and soccer squads went undefeated last week! Let’s get to the scores and news:
Basketball
The girls went undefeated last week, beating both Priory and Crystal Springs to open league play and improving to 8-3 overall. Against Priory, sophomore Jordan Thompson led the way with 38 points. The girls hit the road twice this week.
Senior Sriv Irrinki shot eight 3-pointers and went 9-9 on free throws en route to a career high 35 points while leading Harker to a 87-71 victory over King’s Academy. With that victory, Harker bounced back from a loss to Menlo earlier in the week. The boys play rival Sacred Heart Prep on Tuesday at Blackford. The junior varsity team will play at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity team at 7 p.m.
At the middle school level, the grades 7-8 Varsity B boys basketball team enter the WBAL playoff tournament this week. On Tuesday, they will host Sacred Heart’s second team at Blackford at 4 p.m. If the Eagles win, they will play the winner of Sacred Heart’s first team vs. Menlo’s third at Sacred Heart on Wednesday at 6 p.m. If they lose to Sacred Heart’s second team, they will play the loser of Sacred Heart vs. Menlo on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Menlo. Wins on both Tuesday and Wednesday would catapult the Eagles to the championship game at Sacred Heart on Thursday at 5 p.m. Let’s go Harker!
Soccer
The girls varsity squad improved to 4-1-1 overall after a 2-0 week in which the team defeated Mercy-Burlingame and Crystal Springs. The game against Crystal Springs was highlighted by a hat trick from sophomore Joelle Anderson. The Eagles have now won three straight games, having also defeated Pinewood 5-1 over the winter break thanks to goals from Anderson, senior Alyssa Amick and sophomore Kailee Gifford. Harker will host Menlo on Tuesday at Davis Field.
The boys, meanwhile, lost to Menlo 3-2 on Friday in their first league game of the year, despite goals from junior Omar Hamade and senior Alan Guo. This was the team’s first loss of the season; it had previously been 3-0-1 after a 4-1 win over the winter break thanks to goals from senior Ramzi Jahshan, senior Jeremiah Anderson, junior Kevin Hu and freshman Nick Acero. The Eagles will host Crystal Springs on Wednesday and Eastside College Prep on Thursday.
Wrestling
Freshman Anthony Contreras finished in third place at the Los Gatos Tournament on Saturday. During the winter break, seniors Anni Ankola and Ryan Palmer finished third and fourth, respectively, at the Cupertino Tournament. The wrestlers travel to Santa Clara this Thursday.
Volleyball
Congratulations to senior Shreya Dixit, who was named by the San Jose Mercury News to the All-Mercury News second team for girls volleyball, recognizing her as among the best players in the section.
You can read more here: http://www.mercurynews.com/high-school-sports/ci_27202476/all-mercury-news-girls-volleyball-first-team-second
Kudos to inspiring young social entrepreneur Suraya Shivji, grade 12, who created an altruistic app to raise money to help African orphans become self-sufficient.
Shivji taught herself to program iPhone gaming apps and get them posted on Apple’s app store. She is now using them, along with a crowd-funding campaign she began this year on her website, Rizikitoto, as a source of revenue for the needy orphans.
The website has generated about $1,300 for the children at a Ugandan orphanage, Bright Futures Home, with money from each app designated for a particular child. The orphanage program is further supported by Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit group that seeks to close the gender gap in technology and engineering.