Harker junior Jerrica Liao had a pair of very respectable finishes at the January North American Circuit event in Columbus, Ohio, this past weekend. Liao, an A-rated foilist with scores of tournaments behind her, finished 63rd of 166 fencers the senior event, which includes international and Olympic fencers and is largely composed of collegiate and older fencers. She had a great finish at No. 24 in the junior event.
In the senior event, Liao split her pool – three wins and three losses – seeding 98th, then flipped her 33rd-seeded opponent out of the 64 bracket by a score of 10-4, putting herself into the 64th slot. She then lost to one of the top foilists in the country to end her day.
Two days later, in the junior event, Liao won five of her six pool bouts and, in a reversal of her senior event, seeded 33rd, and cleaned up her first elimination bout against the 96th seed, 15-7. Liao went on to again flip up a bracket, beating the 32 seed to move into the top 32. Then, in a twist of fate, she fell to the No. 1 seed, the same fencer who defeated her in the senior event earlier in the week, putting Liao at No. 24, a very solid finish.
The points earned at senior events count toward National Team membership. Liao is just breaking into the senior events as she ages out of the cadet category (up to age 17). She has been fencing for many years and trains at Silicon Valley Fencing Club. Liao is nationally ranked in three categories: 56th in cadet, 74th in junior and 98th in senior – and it is early in the season. Go, Jerrica!
On Tuesday night, Butch Keller reached an impressive milestone: his 600th career win as a boys basketball coach.
In a 66-50 win over Crystal Springs Uplands, the Eagles brought home the benchmark in Keller’s 31st season as a coach. In 2007, after 25-plus years coaching in Virginia, where he racked up eight state finals appearances, won three state championships and was named Coach of the Year a wondrous 18 times, Keller and wife, Jane, a upper school math teacher, came to Harker. Keller began coaching Harker’s boys basketball in 2011.
Amazingly, Keller’s 600 wins do not even include his AAU, summer league or girls basketball wins. “Six hundred is just a number, a big number, but just a number nonetheless,” said Keller, also Harker’s upper division head, with characteristic humility. “It means I have been coaching a long time.”
Over the years, what has continued to impress Keller is the athletes he has coached. “I have been blessed with the opportunity to coach a lot of incredible young men for 31 seasons. The work ethic, attitude and talent that they bring to the sport has made coaching an incredible privilege,” stated Keller. “The wins, championships and accolades are all a by-product of the process and relationships.”
Student athletes spoke to Keller’s leadership skills. Tri-captain Eric Jeong, grade 11, scored a team-high 17 points in the win over CSU and was quick to point out the bond between Keller and his players. “Coach Keller always has great relationships with every player on the team,” said Jeong. “He knows how to get the best out of every player and always encourages us to be ourselves on the court.”
Jordan Goheen, grade 12, added, “What impresses me the most about Mr. Keller is that he genuinely cares about each player on the team.”
Being a coach requires a lot of extra time on nights and weekends, and Keller said he couldn’t do it without his family. “The support that I have received from everyone in the schools I have worked has been phenomenal, but the biggest thing has been the support I have always had from my family,” said Keller. “My family has sacrificed a lot to allow me to coach and I am very grateful.”
And there are a thousand young men who played under Keller who are grateful, too. Heartfelt congratulations, Coach Keller, and unending thanks for your time and dedication; Harker is fortunate to have you. Here’s to many more wins with the Eagles!
The girls soccer team continued its hot start to the season as it picked up two wins last week. In an 8-0 victory over Mercy San Francisco, Joelle Anderson, grade 12, had four goals, with senior Lyndsey Mitchell and sophomores Sahana Narayan, Sara Min and Julia Amick scoring the remaining goals. Later in the week, the Eagles defeated Pinewood 4-2 behind three goals from Anderson and another from Amick. Anderson now has 22 goals in seven games this season, which is highest in the CCS according to maxpreps.com. The 5-1-1 girls team hosts Pacific Collegiate on Tuesday and travels to Priory on Thursday.
Girls Basketball
Last week, the girls basketball team dropped two league games as it was defeated 51-47 by Notre Dame San Jose and 65-56 by Mercy San Francisco. In the loss to Mercy, Jordan Thompson, grade 12, led the way with 28 points, while Selin Sayiner, grade 11, added 11 points. In the loss to NDSJ, Thompson led the Eagles with 28 points to become Harker’s all-time career scoring leader, passing Alex Abarca ’09 who held the previous record with 1,723 career points. Last year, Thompson passed Daniza Rodriguez ’13 to become the all-time female scorer in Harker history. Thompson is currently the leading female scorer in the CCS, averaging 27.1 points per game, according to maxpreps.com. The Eagles take on Castilleja on Tuesday and Mercy Burlingame on Friday, both at the Blackford campus.
Wrestling
Last week, the Harker wrestling team competed in the Ruppel 2nd Man Tournament and the Bianchini Varsity Tournament, both held at Cupertino High School. Highlights included Devin Keller, grade 9, taking fifth in the 132-pound division and Justin Su, grade 11, taking the consolation championship in the 113-pound division, both at the Ruppel 2nd Man Tournament. At the Bianchini Tournament, Davis Howard, grade 12, placed sixth in the 285-pound division. The Eagles open their league season this Thursday as they travel to Los Altos High.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team was defeated 5-2 by Hillsdale in its only match last week. This week, the Eagles host Crystal Springs Uplands on Wednesday and travel to Sacred Heart Prep on Friday.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped two league games last week, a 53-36 loss to Sacred heart Prep and a 61-39 loss to Priory. Jordan Goheen, grade 12, led the Eagles with nine points and 10 rebounds against SHP, and Justin Jia, grade 12, had eight points, eight rebounds and five steals against Priory. This week, the Eagles travel to Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday and Eastside College Prep on Thursday.
The boys basketball team went 1-2 over the break with their sole win coming in a 50-36 victory over Redwood Christian. Nice performances came from Brando Pakel, grade 11, with 11 points against Redwood Christian; Gene Wang, grade 10, with 11 points against Monta Vista; and Jordan Goheen, grade 12, with a 19-point, nine-rebound game also against Monta Vista. The Eagles host Sacred Heart Prep tonight and Priory on Friday.
Girls Basketball
Over the break, the girls basketball team went 2-4 with wins over Pacific Collegiate and Watsonville. Jordan Thompson, grade 12, once again led the Eagles in scoring, including a 31-point performance against Watsonville. Satchi Thockchom, grade 11, also had a good break with back-to-back 18-point games against Watsonville and Santa Cruz. The girls return to action tonight at Notre Dame San Jose and Friday at Mercy San Francisco.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team lost 3-0 to Saratoga High just before the break. The Eagles travel to Mercy San Francisco today and host Pinewood on Thursday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team picked up a 3-1 win over Wilcox the Friday before the break. The Eagles are now 3-2 on the season. This Friday, the boys travel to Hillsdale High School.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team will compete this Friday at the Ruppel 2nd Man Tournament at Cupertino High School.
Next fall, senior Niki Iyer will take her talents to UC Berkeley. Last week, she committed to run track and cross country for the Cal Golden Bears, a Pac-12 powerhouse. But initially Cal was not Iyer’s first choice. “Honestly, I didn’t start looking at Cal till probably September or October of this year,” stated Iyer. “In my junior year, I thought that I would most likely be heading to the East Coast, so I had turned my focus to a couple of Ivy League schools.” But after visiting a few of those schools, Iyer knew there was something missing. That’s when she visited Cal and knew she found her school. “The first thing I noticed about Cal … was the incredible team,” remembered Iyer. “I’ve never seen anything like it before, because the team is so unbelievably close knit.”
Iyer hopes to pursue biomedical engineering and gives a big “shout out to Dr. Koodanjeri and Mr. Pistacchi for inspiring me to pursue this field!”
During her time at Harker, Iyer was a WBAL league MVP three times in cross country and once in track; she was a top three CCS finisher in cross country all four years and a top five CCS finisher in the 3,200-meter three years in a row, including a CCS championship last spring; and she has finished as high as fifth at the state finals in cross country and third in the 3,200m. Iyer also holds the school record for the 800m, 1,600m and 3,200m.
Iyer still has the spring track season to look forward to before heading off to Berkeley. “It’s going to be so bittersweet to wear the H jersey for one last season, but I hope to go out with a bang.”
The girls soccer team went to a 3-0-1 season record after defeating both Gunderson and Yerba Buena 6-2 last week. In the win over Gunderson, Joelle Anderson, grade 12, had five goals and Julia Amick, grade 10, had one goal. In the win over YB, Anderson added three more goals, with Cameron Zell, Sara Min and Alycia Cary, all grade 10, adding the other three goals. Anderson now has 15 goals in the first four games. The Eagles take on Saratoga this Friday on Davis Field.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team went 1-2 at the Lynbrook Winter Classic over the weekend. In the team’s opening 58-34 loss to Monta Vista, Peter Connors, grade 11, led the Eagles with 6 points. Harker then picked up a 68-42 win over Andrew Hill, with both Jack Connors, grade 9, and Eric Jeong, grade 11, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The boys finished the tournament with a 48-37 loss to Woodside, with junior Brando Pakel and seniors Justin Jia and Jordan Goheen, grade 12, each scoring 7 points. This Saturday, the Eagles take on Redwood Christian at Blackford.
Girls Basketball
Last week the girls basketball team defeated Kirby Prep 62-31 behind 33 points from Jordan Thompson, grade 12, and 12 points from Satchi Thockchom, grade 11. Later in the week, however, the Eagles fell to Leland 74-59, with Thompson scoring 30 points in the loss. This Saturday, the girls take on Pacific Collegiate at Blackford.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team picked up two wins last week, defeating San Mateo 4-1 and Woodside Priory 4-0. The Eagles are now 2-2 on the young season. The boys travel to Wilcox this Friday.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team starts its season after the winter break.
The fall sports All-League teams were recently announced and Harker definitely made its presence felt.
The girls volleyball team was a CCS Scholastic Champion, with Rachel Cheng, grade 12, earning a first team nod, and Lindsey Trinh, grade 12, and Lauren Napier, grade 11, taking home honorable mentions.
The football team made it to the NCS playoffs for the second year in a row, thanks to many superb individual efforts. Anthony Contreras, grade 11 was the league offensive MVP and James Pauli, grade 11, was the league defensive MVP. First team honors went to seniors Will Park and Saketh Gurram, and juniors Nate Kelly and Angel Cervantes. Second team honors went to seniors Danny Reidenbach and Davis Howard, and junior Jalen Clark
Finishing ninth in CCS, the girls golf team was home to co-league MVP and league champion Katherine Zhu, grade 11. Katelyn Vo, grade 9, was a first team honoree. Vanessa Tyagi, grade 11, and Vienna Wang, grade 12, received second team honors, while Alexis Gauba, grade 12, and Larissa Tyagi, grade 9, received honorable mentions.
In girls tennis, junior Elizabeth Schick and freshmen Rachel Broweleit and Gina Partridge picked up first team league honors. Second team went to Srivani Vegesna, grade 9, and Connie Miao, grade 12. Kathleen Cheng, grade 11, and Amanda Cheung, grade 9, received honorable mentions.
The girls water polo team was represented by Meghana Karinthi, grade 11, who received first team honors, and Abigail Wisdom, grade 10, who earned second team honors.
The boys water polo team had an amazing year, earning its first trip to CCS as league co-champs and being named CCS Scholastic Champions. Arben Gutierrez-Bujari, grade 12, was named the most valuable field player and Misha Ivkov, grade 12, was named co-most valuable goalie. Gutierrez-Bujari, Ivkov and Arnav Tandon, grade 12, were all named to the first team, with Gutierrez-Bujari and Tandon also earning D2 coaches All-CCS honorable mentions. Matthew Hajjar, grade 10, was also named to the second team.
Niki Iyer, grade 12, finished her incredible high school cross country career as league MVP, league champion and third place in CCS. Lilia Gonzales, grade 10, Gloria Guo, grade 11, Ryan Adolf, grade 10, and Peter Connors, grade 11, were all cross country honorable mentions.
Congratulations to all the hard-working Harker student athletes! Go Eagles!
The girls basketball team went 3-0, winning the Pescadero Tournament over the weekend. The Eagles opened the tournament with a 57-12 win over host Pescadero. Jordan Thompson, grade 12, led the Eagles with 31 points. Next, the Eagles took down Alma Heights Christian 49-13, getting 22 points from Satchi Thockchom, grade 11. In the finals, the Eagles defeated Harbor 63-47, with another 31 points coming from Thompson. The Eagles face off with Kirby Prep on Tuesday and Leland on Friday, both at Blackford.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team went 2-1 and finished third at the James Lick Tournament over the weekend. Gene Wang, grade 10, had 14 points in the Eagles 74-38 win over Andrew Hill. In a 67-56 loss to Wilcox, both Wang and Jack Connors, grade 9, led the team with 11 points. And the Eagles took third place, beating the host team James Lick 63-62 in OT. Justin Jia, grade 12, earned all-tournament team honors. Next up for the boys basketball team is the Lynbrook Winter Classic starting this Thursday.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team played to a 3-3 tie with Half Moon Bay last week. Joelle Anderson, grade 12, scored all three goals for the Eagles. Harker travels to Gunderson on Tuesday and hosts Yerba Buena on Friday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team dropped a close 4-3 match with Mills last week. The Eagles try to pick up their first win of the season this week with a home game on Wednesday against San Mateo, then an away game on Friday at Woodside Priory.
The girls soccer team officially opened its season on Tuesday, defeating the visiting El Camino Colts 4-1. Joelle Anderson, grade 12, started the season on fire, scoring all four goals for the Eagles! Harker travels to Half Moon Bay on Thursday.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team opened its season with a 65-47 win over Greenfield. Jordan Thompson, grade 12, led the way with 31 points, including six 3-pointers. The Eagles will play in the Pescadero Tournament this weekend.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team defeated Greenfield 51-44 last week to open its 2016-17 season. Gene Wang, grade 10, led the Eagles with 11 points, and Justin Jia, grade 12, added 10 points. Next up for the Eagles is the James Lick Tournament starting this Wednesday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team traveled to Saratoga on Tuesday to open its season, but unfortunately fell 6-2. The Eagles travel to Mills High School on Thursday.
Wrestling
The wrestling team opens its season in January as it heads to Los Altos High School.
Niki Iyer, grade 12, finished third at the CCS Division 4 cross country championships over the weekend, earning her fourth trip to the state championships, which will be held on Nov. 26 in Fresno. Congrats also go out to Lilia Gonzales, grade 10, who competed in her second CCS championships.
Football
The Eagles’ football season came to an end last Friday as Harker was defeated 48-24 by Moreau Catholic in the first round of the NCS playoffs. The Eagles ended with a 5-6 record on the season.
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team won its opening round CCS match with Carlmont last week 5-2, but fell to St. Ignatius in the second round 6-1. That brought an end to the team’s season, but the duo of Lizzie Schick, grade 11, and Gina Partridge, grade 9, will continue their CCS quest as they play in the doubles tournament on Tuesday at the Bay Club Courtside.