Hollis Thompson, who attended Harker from 1996 to 2001 for kindergarten through fourth grade, recently signed back-to-back 10-day contracts with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. After his time at Harker, Thompson moved to Southern California before attending Georgetown University and going undrafted in the NBA draft. Thompson then played in the NBA Development League before signing with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013. He was released by Philadelphia earlier this year, and was soon acquired by another NBA Development League team before being picked up by the Pelicans for a 10-day contract. Thompson averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in five games during his first contract with New Orleans before signing another 10-day contract on Sunday.
Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team had a good week as it went 2-1 over its last three games. In a 10-3 win over Newark, Mahlet Demissachew, grade 12, led the Eagles with four goals and an assist, while Lauren Russell, grade 11, and Elise Mayer, grade 10, added two goals each. Later in the week, in a close 9-8 loss to Los Altos, Demissachew once again led the scoring with four goals with Russell adding two goals. Finally, in a 14-9 win over York, Demissachew scored six goals to lead the way for the Eagles, with Mayer chipping in three goals. This week, the Eagles host Castilleja on Tuesday and Mitty on Friday.
Softball
The softball team defeated Terra Nova 14-4 last week, going to 2-0 on the season. This week the Eagles host Yerba Buena on Wednesday and El Camino on Friday.
Track and Field
The track and field team had a very strong showing at the Willow Glen Invitational over the weekend. Highlights included Grace Koonmen, grade 11, tying for fourth place in the 100-meter; Anthony Contreras, grade 11, finishing eighth in the 200; Niki Iyer, grade 12, taking third in the 800; Sameer Prakash, grade 9, placing fourth in his first-ever hurdle race; Tiffany Shou, grade 11, and Davis Howard, grade 12, setting personal records in the shot put; and Rishi Chopra, grade 11, and Aman Ahluwalia, grade 11, setting personal record in the 800. This Saturday, the Eagles will compete at both the King’s Track Classic at The King’s Academy and the K-Bell Invitational at Bellarmine.
Boys Tennis
Last week, the boys tennis team defeated Sacred Heart Prep 7-0 before traveling to Clovis over the weekend to compete at the California Tennis Classic. The Eagles went 4-1 taking third place in the Division 3 bracket, with wins over Clovis West, Los Altos and Buchanan. It’s a busy week for the boys as they take on Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday, Menlo on Wednesday and The King’s Academy on Thursday.
Baseball
The Harker baseball team fell to Del Mar 11-1 last week, before defeating O’Connell 7-6 on Saturday. In the loss to the Dons, Nate Kelly, grade 11, drove in the only Eagle run. Varun Haltore, grade 12, led the offense in the win over O’Connell driving in two runs. Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Westmoor in Daly City on Thursday, followed by a home game versus Pinewood on Friday.
Boys Golf
The boys golf team finished fifth out of 24 teams at the Cowboy Classic in Livermore last week. Daulet Tuleubayev, grade 11, had a great showing as he ended in a tie for first place. This week, the Eagles take on Valley Christian at Coyote Creek, followed by a match with Crystal Springs Uplands at The Peninsula Golf and Country Club. They then travel to Nevada to compete in the Pahrump Valley Invitational on Thursday.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team improved to 4-0 on the season as it defeated Monterey 3-0, Oak Grove 3-0 and Cupertino 3-1 last week. This week, they travel to Monta Vista on Wednesday and Los Altos on Friday.
Swim
The swim team competes next at the Small School Invitational at Sacred Heart Prep on March 18.
The boys golf team started its season with a bang as it brought home the program’s first-ever tournament win. The victory at the Joe Gambetta Tournament in Antioch was highlighted by first place medalist Victor Shin, grade 11, shooting a 1-over-par 73, edging out teammate Jaimin Bhagat, grade 9, who had the same score, but took second with a scorecard playoff. Ryan Vaughan, grade 12, tied for third with a 76. This Wednesday, the Eagles travel to Livermore to compete in the Cowboy Classic at The Golf Course at Wente Vineyards.
Basketball
The boys and girls basketball season came to end last week as both teams lost in the first round of CCS.
In a 64-51 loss to Carmel, the boys team recovered from a 23-point first quarter deficit to pull to within 6 at halftime, but the Padres pulled away in the second half to move on in the tournament. Playing in their final high school game, Justin Jia and Jordan Goheen, both grade 12, led the Eagles with solid performances. Jia led the team with 13 points and four steals, while Goheen added 11 points and team-high seven rebounds.
The girls team traveled to Santa Cruz, where it played to a tough 57-53 loss in a game that was close throughout. Jordan Thompson, grade 12, finished her illustrious high school career with a game-high 24 points.
Last week, Thompson also was recognized for her amazing career:
Daniel Reidenbach, grade 12, Eric Fang, grade 9, and Davis Howard, grade 12, competed at the CCS wrestling championship over the weekend. Howard picked up the only win for Harker with a win by fall over Half Moon Bay in his second match. Congrats on a great season, wrestlers!
Baseball
The baseball team opened its season with a 28-0 victory over Yerba Buena last week. Logan Frank, grade 10, had three hits and drove in two runs to lead the offense. Dominic Cea, grade 11, Zach Hoffman, grade 10, and Anthony Meissner, grade 10, each drove in three runs. This week the Eagles travel to Del Mar on Thursday and host O’Connell on Saturday.
Softball
The softball team kicked off its 2017 season with a 13-3 victory over Del Mar. Kristin LeBlanc, grade 11, and Cameron Zell, grade 10, led the Eagles with three hits each. LeBlanc, Mahi Gurram, grade 10, Grace Park, grade 12, Marti Sutton, grade 12, and Lily Wancewicz, grade 10, each drove in two runs. This Thursday, the Eagles host Terra Nova at Blackford.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team gets its season going this Tuesday versus Sacred Heart Prep before traveling to Clovis this weekend for the California Tennis Classic.
Lacrosse
The lacrosse team officially opens its 2017 season this Wednesday as it hosts Newark on Davis Field, followed by home games versus Los Altos on Thursday and the York School on Friday.
Swim
Harker swimming opened its season at the Palo Alto Invitational. Vivian Wang, grade 11, won the 200 IM and broke the school record in the 100 breaststroke while qualifying for CCS in both events. Ethan Hu, grade 9, broke the school record in the 200 free and also qualified for CCS in the 200 free, 100 fly, and 100 backstroke. On March 18 the swim team travels to Sacred Heart Prep to compete at the Small School Invitational.
Track and Field
The track and field season gets started this Saturday at the Willow Glen Invite.
Boys Volleyball
It will be a busy week for the boys volleyball team as it travels to Monterey High on Tuesday, before hosting Oak Grove on Wednesday and Cupertino for its opening league match on Friday.
Alumni Track
Izzy Connell ’13 lowered her own Pepperdine school record in the 400-meter run last week as she took second place during the three-team meet with her Waves, host Westmont and UC Santa Barbara. Connell also holds the Pepperdine school records in the 100m, 200m, 4×400 relay, as well as indoor records in the 60m, 200m and 4×400 relay. Check out the full story: http://www.pepperdinewaves.com/sports/c-track/recaps/021817aaa.html
The boys soccer team finished its season last week with a 4-1 win over Eastside College Prep and a 5-3 win over The King’s Academy. The wins were part of an impressive 7-0-2 finish to the season, but the Eagles fell just 1 point shy of qualifying for CCS, which would have snapped an 11-year drought. The boys ended the year with a 10-6-2 record.
Girls Soccer
After a 3-0 loss to Mercy Burlingame last week, the girls soccer team defeated Eastside College Prep 5-1 with Joelle Anderson, grade 12, scoring all five goals. Anderson ended the season leading the CCS with 43 goals and 90 points. In addition, Anderson ended her career at Harker as the all-time leading goal scorer with an amazing 101 career goals! The girls team finished the season with an 11-5-1 record.
Girls Basketball
Last week, the girls basketball team lost to The King’s Academy 38-31 with Jordan Thomson, grade 12, scoring 16 points and Selin Sayiner, grade 11, adding 9 points. Later in the week, the Eagles defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 53-19 on Senior Night. Thompson scored 28 points, which included six 3-pointers, and Haley Arena, grade 9, added 9 points. In the win over CSU, Thompson surpassed the 2,000 career point mark, further extending her lead as the all-time scorer in Harker basketball history. The 13-11 girls team will begin its CCS journey Tuesday night at Santa Cruz High School.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped its final two games of the season last week. In a 63-47 loss to Menlo, Jordan Goheen, grade 12, led the Eagles with 8 points. Later in the week, the boys lost to Pinewood 65-37 with Jarrett Anderson, grade 10, and Eric Jeong, grade 11, each scoring 8 points. Despite the losses, the 7-17 Eagles qualified for CCS and will travel to Carmel on Thursday.
Wrestling
The CCS Wrestling tournament begins this weekend with Daniel Reidenbach, grade 12, Eric Fang, grade 9, Davis Howard, grade 12, and Anthony Contreras, grade 11, all representing Harker.
Spring Sports
The spring season kicks off this week with lots of action:
Baseball: Thursday vs. Yerba Buena at Blackford
Softball: Friday at Del Mar
Boys Golf: Wednesday at Lone Tree Golf Course for the Joe Gambetta Invitational
Boys Tennis: Tuesday at Priory
Boys Volleyball: Friday vs. San Lorenzo Valley at Blackford
Swim: Saturday at the Palo Alto Invitational
Lacrosse: March 1 vs. Newark at Davis Field
Track and Field: March 4 at the Willow Glen Invitational
Niki Iyer, grade 12, began her final high school track season with a bang as she placed second in the 3000-meter at the California Track & Field Winter Championships last week at Arcadia High School. In April, Iyer will compete in the 3200m at the Arcadia Invitational, which is one of the top high school meets in the country. Check out a post race interview with Niki:
The wrestling team took seven Eagles to the SCVAL Tournament over the weekend and returned with six medals and four CCS qualifiers. Diego Figueroa, grade 12, placed eighth in his weight class, while Justin Su, grade 11, placed sixth and is a CCS alternate. Danny Reidenbach, grade 12, Eric Fang, grade 9, and Anthony Contreras, grade 11, all placed fifth in their respective weight classes and qualified for CCS. Davis Howard, grade 12, placed third and also qualified for CCS. The CCS State Championships begin on Feb. 24.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team has been playing really well as of late, going 5-0-2 in its last seven matches. Last week Harker defeated Sacred Heart Prep 4-3 with Sparsh Chauhan, grade 11, delivering a hat trick and Jared Anderson, grade 10, scoring the remaining goal. Later in the week, the Eagles played to a 2-2 tie with first place Menlo. This week, the boys team will host Eastside College Prep on Tuesday and The King’s Academy on Friday.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team lost 8-1 to a very tough Priory team last week. Joelle Anderson, grade 12, scored the only Harker goal. This week, the 10-4-1 girls team will host Mercy Burlingame on Monday and Eastside College Prep on Wednesday to finish off the regular season.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team picked up a 53-43 win over Mercy Burlingame last week to bring its season record to 12-10. The team finishes off the regular season this week with a trip to The King’s Academy on Tuesday and a home game on Friday versus Crystal Springs Uplands.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped two league games last week. In a 55-47 loss to Eastside College Prep, Jack Connors, grade 9, led the Eagles with nine points. Later in the week, Connors led the way again, this time with eight points and five rebounds in the 55-43 loss to The King’s Academy. The Eagles take the court for their final two regular season games this week as they travel to Menlo on Tuesday and Pinewood on Thursday.
Track and Field
Niki Iyer, grade 12, continued her long run of success this past weekend by placing second in the 3000-meter at the California Track & Field Winter Championships, held at Arcadia High School in Southern California. Iyer will return to Arcadia High later this year for the Arcadia Invitational, where she plans to run in the 3200m.
Playing in two close matches last week, the girls soccer team fell to Pinewood 2-1 before taking care of Castilleja 2-1. Joelle Anderson, grade 12, scored a goal in each game, with Sahana Narayan, grade 10, adding the second goal vs. Castilleja. With a record of 10-3-1, the team sits in second place in the Skyline Division and will host first place Priory on Tuesday before Pacific Collegiate visits Harker for a non-league matchup on Friday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team picked up two big league wins last week, upending Priory 5-2 and Crystal Springs Uplands 3-2. The Eagles sit in fourth place in the WBAL, but are within striking distance of all three teams ahead of them. This week the team takes on the first and second place teams in the WBAL as it hosts Sacred Heart Prep on Wednesday and travels to Menlo on Friday.
Wrestling
Last week, the wrestling team was defeated 60-15 by Palo Alto before the Eagles picked up a win over Homestead by forfeit. In the loss to Palo Alto, Davis Howard, grade 12, won by pin, Diego Figueroa, grade 12, won 7-0, Anthony Contreras, grade 11, won 5-4, and Shikhar Solanki, grade 11, won 11-8. The Eagles travel to Lynbrook on Thursday before starting the SCVAL tournament this weekend.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team was defeated 60-52 by Mercy SF last week before rebounding with a 44-36 OT win against Castilleja. In the loss to Mercy, Prameela Kottapalli, grade 10, led the Eagles with 18 points, and Selin Sayiner, grade 11, added 15 points. In the OT win over Castilleja, Jordan Thompson, grade 12, led the way with 19 points, and Akhila Ramgiri, grade 10, added 14 points. The 11-10 Eagles travel to Mercy Burlingame this Wednesday.
Also, Thompson was honored last week by CalHiSports.com as one of their State Stat Stars of the Week:
The boys basketball team went 1-1 last week in league play. In a 63-48 loss to Woodside Priory, Jack Connors, grade 9, led the Eagles with 13 points. Later in the week, Harker defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 69-44 with Jordan Goheen, grade 12, scoring 16 points. Next up for the Eagles is Senior Night on Tuesday versus Eastside College Prep, then a trip to The King’s Academy on Friday.
Cross Country/Track
Cross Country Express recently interviewed Niki Iyer, grade 12, on her illustrious high school career. Check out the full interview here:
The girls soccer team lit up the scoreboard again last week, defeating Mercy San Francisco 9-2. Joelle Anderson, grade 12, continued her amazing year with four goals. Julia Amick, grade 10, added two goals, with Lyndsey Mitchell, grade 12, Krishna Bheda, grade 11, and Alexandra Lu, grade 10, also scoring for the Eagles. Harker sits in second place, just one game behind Priory in the Skyline Division. This week, the team travels to Pinewood on Tuesday and hosts Castilleja on Friday.
Boys Soccer
Last week, the boys varsity soccer team defeated the German International School of Silicon Valley 7-1 before tying The King’s Academy 4-4 later in the week. This week, the Eagles host Priory on Wednesday before traveling to Crystal Springs Uplands on Friday.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team defeated Santa Clara 42-12 last week. Highlights included Diego Figueroa, grade 12, winning by fall, Kobe Howard, grade 10, winning by a 5-3 decision and Danny Reidenbach, grade 12, winning by a 5-4 decision. The Eagles host two matches this week, Tuesday against Palo Alto and Thursday against Homestead.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team split two league games last week. The Eagles beat Crystal Springs Uplands 65-22, but fell to Notre Dame San Jose 64-49 later in the week. The girls host Mercy San Francisco on Wednesday and Castilleja on Friday.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team lost two league games last week. In a 66-38 loss to Pinewood, Gene Wang, grade 10, led the Eagles with nine points. Later in the week, the Eagles fell to Sacred Heart Prep 55-36 with Jadan McDermott, grade 11, leading Harker scorers with seven points. Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Priory on Tuesday, then a home game versus Crystal Springs
Uplands on Friday.
The first Wednesday of February is a day that many elite high school athletes look forward to their entire careers – and for three Harker seniors, that day has arrived! Today, on National Signing Day, Joelle Anderson, Kailee Gifford and Lyndsey Mitchell inked commitments to play college soccer. Anderson will play for the Pepperdine University Waves, Gifford will play for the Golden Bears at UC Berkeley and Mitchell will travel to the Midwest to play for the Nebraska Wesleyan University Prairie Wolves.
Anderson, who played basketball and soccer at Harker, is currently leading all girls CCS soccer players in goals and points and was recently named the NSCAA/MaxPreps California Player of the Week. “This is unreal,” said Anderson. “I am so excited to attend Pepperdine in the fall.”
Gifford, who played basketball, football and soccer at Harker, hit 81 percent of her PATs this year for the varsity football team. However, at Cal she will concentrate on soccer. “I have worked hard for so many years,” stated Gifford, “and the view from the top of the mountain gives you a little retrospective on your journey, and it’s really cool.”
Mitchell, who played softball and soccer at Harker, is second on the girls soccer team in points this season, while mainly playing defense. Mitchell was turned on to NWU by her grandmother who took classes at the university. “This is really emotional,” said Mitchell. “All the hard work my family and I have put in to get here has paid off.”
Congratulations to Joelle, Kailee and Lyndsey on this exciting new chapter in their athletic careers! Go Eagles!
After starting the season on fire, Joelle Anderson, grade 12, was named the state Winter High School Player of the Week for Jan. 18-23 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/MaxPreps. Anderson has 31 goals in 11 games this year, which is currently tops in CCS girls soccer. She will attend Pepperdine next year, but this year she is trying to help lead the second-place Eagles to a WBAL title. Congrats, Joelle!
Congratulations to Dezi Johnsen, grade 7, for placing fourth in the nation in the 145-pound weight division at the 62nd Annual Flo Tulsa Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., this past weekend. Johnsen was among more than 2,000 wrestlers ages 4-16 years old, representing 40 states, to compete in the “oldest, most prestigious junior wrestling event in the world,” according to World of Wrestling. Awesome job, Dezi!
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team continued its impressive year as it picked up two league wins last week, bringing the team’s season record to 8-2-1. In a 5-3 win over Castilleja, senior Joelle Anderson scored two goals, with senior Lyndsey Mitchell, and sophomores Sara Min and Julia Amick, also scoring goals. Last Friday, at the Kicks Against Cancer game, the Eagles defeated Eastside College Prep 10-1, with Anderson scoring five goals, Mitchell and Sahana Narayan, grade 10, each scoring two goals, and Cameron Zell, grade 10, also scoring. Next up for the Eagles is a home match versus Mercy San Francisco on Thursday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team started the week with a 4-1 loss to Menlo, but finished the week with an impressive 3-0 victory over Eastside College Prep. Today, the boys team takes on the German International School of Silicon Valley at Davis Field, with a trip to The Kings Academy set for Wednesday.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team defeated Saratoga High 45-12 last week at its first home meet of the year. Justin Su, grade 11, Anthony Contreras, grade 11, and Diego Figueroa, grade 12, all won by pin, with Alan Hughes, grade 11, winning by decision and Dolan Dworak, grade 11, winning by DQ. Next up for the Eagles is a league matchup at Santa Clara High.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team lost two league games last week. In a tough 51-47 OT loss to The Kings Academy, Brando Pakel, grade 11, led the Eagles with 11 points and seven rebounds. Later in the week, Justin Jia, grade 12, led all Eagles with seven points in a 64-24 loss to Menlo. This week, the Eagles host Pinewood on Tuesday and travel to Sacred Heart Prep on Friday.
Girls Basketball
Picking up a 39-31 win over The Kings Academy last week, the girls basketball team improved to 9-8 on the season. Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday and a home game versus Notre Dame San Jose on Friday.
Congratulations to Michael Amick ’13, who was selected in the second round (32nd overall) of the MLS draft by the Portland Timbers. Amick played college soccer at UCLA, where he was a three-time team captain, first team All-Pac 12 selection in his sophomore year, honorable mention All-Pac 12 selection in his junior and senior years, Pac 12 All-Academic first team selection in his junior and senior year, and Pac 12 men’s soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year in his senior year. “When I finally heard my name, it was a huge relief and a very exciting moment to walk on stage, taking the next step to pursue my soccer career,” said Amick. See the moment when Amick was selected: http://www.timbers.com/post/2017/01/13/2017-mls-superdraft-defender-michael-amick-s-draft-day-podium-speech
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team dropped a close 37-35 game against Castilleja last week. Jordan Thompson, grade 12, led the Eagles with 18 points in the loss. Later in the week, the Eagles bounced back with a 60-33 win over Mercy Burlingame. Thompson again scored 18 points, with Selin Sayiner, grade 11, adding 11 points. The Eagles have most of the week off until they host The Kings Academy on Friday.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team picked up a 66-50 win over Crystal Springs Uplands last week, with Eric Jeong, grade 11, leading the way with 17 points. The victory also marked the 600th win in the impressive career of coach Butch Keller. However, later in the week, the Eagles fell to Eastside College Prep 51-44. Gene Wang, grade 10, led Harker with 11 points. Next up for the boys are home games versus The Kings’ Academy on Tuesday and Menlo on Friday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team dropped two matches last week, a 2-1 loss to Crystal Springs Uplands and a 4-0 loss to Sacred Heart Prep. This week, the Eagles host Menlo on Friday and Eastside College Prep on Friday.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team was defeated 8-0 by Woodside Priory last week, but looks to rebound with three matches this week. The Eagles travel to Castilleja on Tuesday and Mercy Burlingame on Thursday, before hosting Eastside College Prep on Friday.
US Wrestling
The Eagles wrestling team opened its league season with a 45-36 loss to Los Altos last week. Alan Hughes, grade 11, Eric Fang, grade 9, and Davis Howard, grade 12, all picked up wins by pin. This past weekend, the Eagles competed at the Los Gatos Wildcat Invitational with Fang finishing third in the 195-pound division, Devin Keller, grade 9, finishing fourth in the 136-pound division and Kobe Howard, grade 10, finishing seventh in the 132-pound division. The Eagles host their first match of the year this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Blackford against Saratoga High.
MS Wrestling
Congrats to Dezi Johnsen, grade 7, who took first in the grade 6-8 boys 142-pound division at the prestigious New Year’s Bash middle school wrestling tournament in Clovis this past weekend.
Congratulations to cross country and track coach Scott Chisam on being named a starter at this year’s state track meet. Chisam is a member of the CCS Starters Association and was nominated to join starters from other CIF sections at the finals in June.
Izzy Connell ’13 continues her stellar collegiate career at Pepperdine University as she set two school records in the first meet of the women’s indoor track season. At Northern Arizona’s Friday Night Duals last Friday, Connell broke her own school record in the 60-meter sprint, placing sixth in the event. She also placed sixth and broke the school record in the 400. Connell also holds the school records in the 100, 200, 400, 4×400 and the indoor 200.