Nate Kelly, grade 10 was named offensive co-MVP and classmate Anthony Contreras, was named defensive co-MVP. Four Harker students were named to the first team: Demonte Aleem, grade 9; Johnathon Keller, grade 12; Jadan McDermott, grade 10; and James Pauli, grade 10. Four more were named to the second team: Jalen Clark, grade 10; Saketh Gurram, grade 11; Will Park, grade 11; and Trenton Thomas, grade 12. Congrats to all for a record season and for these honors!
The girls basketball team picked up a big league win versus Mercy Burlingame last week as the Eagles defeated the Crusaders 69-32. Jordan Thompson, grade 11, led all scorers with 30 points. On Tuesday night the Eagles defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 57-16. Thompson had another big game with 31 points. She was also featured in an article about her amazing year. Check it out on prep2prep: http://prep2prep.com/feature.aspx?ArticleID=9507
The Eagles finish the regular season with games against the top two teams in the WBAL Skyline division, Priory and Mercy SF.
The boys basketball team dropped two league contests last week to bring its season record to 11-9. In a heartbreaking 58-57 loss to Sacred Heart Prep, Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Then in a 71-63 defeat, Edgehill had a 19 point, 13 rebound game, and Evan Lohn, grade 12, had a season best 16 points. The Eagles travel to Eastside Prep tonight and then to Priory on Friday.
The boys soccer team fell to Menlo last Friday 4-1, dropping its season record to 6-5-1. The Eagles host Crystal Springs Uplands Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. on Davis Field.
Girls Soccer
On Tuesday King’s Academy defeated the girls soccer team 6-0. Earlier last week the Eagles lost to Menlo 3-0, Castiilleja 4-0 and Notre Dame SJ 1-0. The Eagles finish their season this Thursday at Menlo. Good luck girls!
Wrestling
The Wrestling team traveled to Homestead early last week and fell to the Mustangs 66-6. Later in the week, the Eagles hosted Lynbrook, but were also defeated 57-36. However, Anthony Contreras, grade 10, won by decision, and Diego Figueroa, grade 11, and Davis Howard, grade 11, each won by fall. This past weekend the Eagles competed in the Wilcox Tournament where Harker finished in 10th place as a team. In their respective weight classes, Kobe Howard, grade 9, finished second, Contreras finished third, and Dolan Dworak, grade 10, finished sixth. The Eagles begin the SCVAL tournament this weekend at Gunn High School.
The girls basketball team put up three huge wins last week as it defeated Mercy Burlingame, Crystal Springs Uplands and Pacific Collegiate School by an average margin of 40 points! Junior Jordan Thompson’s 28 points per game is still among the best in the CCS. The 13-3 girls team will travel to Immaculate Conception Academy on Wednesday.
Boys Basketball
After a tough league loss to Pinewood last week, the Harker boys team defeated Eastside Prep 64-53 on Thursday. Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, led the Eagles with 21 points. Cal-Hi Sports covered the game and you can see the highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR_rKhcSWBk
The boys team plays tonight at Blackford at 7 p.m.
Boys Soccer
Last Monday, the boys varsity soccer team picked up its fourth win in a row as it defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 4-2. Omar Hamade, grade 12, had two goals, while Nick Acero and Sparsh Chauhan, both grade 10, each had one. Later in the week, the Eagles fell to Menlo 3-0. This Wednesday the team hosts Eastside Prep at 3 p.m. on Davis Field.
Girls Soccer
The girls Varsity soccer team dropped games to Sacred heart Prep and Castilleja last week. Lyndsey Mitchell, grade 11, scored the only goal for Harker. Come support the girls team as it takes on Notre Dame San Jose today on Davis Field at 3:30 p.m.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team traveled to Saratoga High last Thursday and, although they won five individual matches, the team lost 24-42. Kobe Howard, grade 9, and Davis Howard, grade 11, won by decision, and Diego Figueroa, grade 11, Anthony Contreras, grade 10, and Danny Reidenbach, grade 11, each won by fall. Later in the week at the Jim Root Tournament held at Prospect High, Davis Howard placed fifth in his weight class; he is currently ranked 19th in CCS in the 285-pound division.
MS Wrestling
Continuing his impressive run, Dezi Johnsen, grade 6, took home a first place trophy at the New Mexico National Wrestling Tournament in the 12-and-under, 130-pound division. Johnsen defeated wrestlers from New Mexico and Texas to earn the first place finish.
Senior Dakota McNealy’s stellar golf career at Harker will come to an end this spring, but his future looks bright! McNealy recently signed on to play collegiate golf at Stanford, joining his brother Maverick McNealy ’13.
“I could not pass up the chance to get to be around so many outstanding people and play with my brother for a year on a great golf team,” said McNealy when asked why he chose Stanford. “Obviously playing with Maverick is going to be an awesome experience, but I’m also excited to focus solely on golf and academics.”
In an interview with Palo Alto Online, Stanford head coach Conrad Ray said, “We are excited to welcome Dakota McNealy to the Stanford family. He is amazing in the classroom, first and foremost, but also a tremendous athlete.” And it takes a tremendous athlete to play for the Stanford golf team, as it is currently ranked fifth in the nation.
Even though Dakota is excited about his future at Stanford, he is focused on finishing strong at Harker. “Playing for Harker has been a blast and I’m excited to see how far we can go this year,” he said.
Linked below are two of the many press notices on Dakota’s signing. Good luck this year and beyond, Dakota!
The Harker wrestling team dropped its league opener to Los Altos last Thursday, but Davis Howard, grade 11, and Anthony Contreras, grade 10, each picked up wins. Over the weekend, the Harker wrestlers traveled to Cupertino High for the Bianchini Memorial Tournament. Diego Figueroa, grade 11, and Kobe Howard, grade 9, placed third and fourth, respectively, in the JV tournament, while Davis Howard placed fourth in the varsity tournament. They travel to Saratoga High this Thursday for another league matchup.
On the middle school level, Dezi Johnsen, grade 6, placed second in the 12 and under division at the California Republic Tournament, which is one of the top tournaments in the state. Johnsen wrestles for Harker during the late winter season and for Bay Area Dawgz Wrestling Club during the off season.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team lost to Pinewood 3-1 and Crystal Springs Uplands 6-1 last week. Lyndsey Mitchell, grade 11, scored the lone goal for the Eagles vs. Crystal Springs. The girls team looks to pick up its first win of the season on Tuesday as it hosts Sacred Heart Prep at 3:30 p.m. on Davis Field.
Boys Soccer
Winning its third game in a row, the boys soccer team has been on fire as of late. Last Wednesday the boys team defeated Sacred heart Prep 2-1, getting two goals from Jared Anderson, grade 9. The team travels to Crystal Springs Uplands today at 3:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped two tough league games this past week. In a 73-54 loss to King’s Academy, Rohan Desikan, grade 12, led the Eagles with 17 points, while Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, added a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Later in the week the Eagles fell to Sacred heart Prep 72-46. Roy Yuan, grade 9, led Harker with 17 points. The Eagles host Pinewood on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Blackford.
Girls Basketball
Coming off back-to-back losses, the girls basketball team rebounded as it defeated King’s Academy 52-37 last Friday. Jordan Thompson, grade 11, once again led all scorers with 23 points. (Jordan also got some love from CalHiSports.com this week: http://www.calhisports.com/2016/01/07/state-stat-stars-of-the-week-110/). Joelle Anderson, grade 11, added 20 points of her own in the win. The 10-3 Eagles host Mercy Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Blackford.
On Wednesday the boys soccer team traveled to Sacred Heart Prep and defeated the Gators 2-1 behind two goals from Jared Anderson, grade 9. This was the first time in at least 10 years that Harker has defeated its league rival on its campus! Congratulations boys and good luck at Crystal Springs Uplands next week.
Commissioner’s Cup
Within the WBAL, there is a little-known competition known as the Commissioner’s Cup, in which a point value is given for all varsity results and tallied up throughout the year. For the first time ever, after the fall season, the Harker girls are in first place. Great job cross country, tennis, volleyball, golf and water polo for giving the Eagles a great start toward the Commissioner’s Cup!
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
A blustery early autumn evening set the stage for Harker’s 2015 Homecoming celebration, and the football team turned it into a great night with a 23-13 hard-fought win. This year’s Homecoming saw people from across the Harker community gather at the upper school campus to cheer on the Harker Eagles football squad as it faced off against Santa Cruz at Davis Field. In addition to the game, Homecoming offered a chance for Harker community members – students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff – to socialize and reminisce.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the whole community to get together,” said Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs. “From preschool to the upper school, everyone can come together as one community, to support our students in the game, but also in the various ways that they’re participating, whether it’s musically or through cheer or selling pizza.”
Attendees began arriving in droves as early as two hours before the 7 p.m. kickoff, enjoying a variety of food from Mrs. Carley’s Café and a delicious array prepared by the Harker kitchens – the staff had been at work since 7 a.m. preparing for the big event – alongside pizza and candy sold by Harker students. Lower, middle and upper school campuses had tables filled with confections and chips for parents and students to snack on, while Harker’s alumni of ce had a special area with white linen and great food, which enjoyed a steady stream of visitors. “It’s really exciting and everyone’s having fun,” said Elizabeth Yang, grade 9, who was selling candy to raise funds for her class.
Prior to the game, the early arrivals enjoyed special performances by Harker’s junior cheerleaders and the time-honored Eaglets fly-by. Just before the game, several of Harker’s vocal groups, directed by lower school performing arts teacher Carena Montany, sang “The Harker School Song” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The upper school jazz ensembles combined to provide accompaniment and the varsity cheerleaders maintained a steady blast of cheerful encouragement from the sidelines.
The first half of the game was hotly contested, with Santa Cruz reaching the end zone early, followed by a strong answer from Harker, which scored a safety and a touchdown to take a 9-6 lead at halftime.
During halftime, Harker’s cheer squad and varsity dancers gave energetic, crowd-pleasing performances. Shortly after, this year’s Homecoming court took the eld, with seniors Edward Sheu and Stephanie Huang named the 2015 Homecoming King and Queen.
In the second half, both teams pushed hard. Santa Cruz took back the lead to make it 13-9. Push literally came to shove in the fourth quarter as each team tried to hang on in fourth-down situations to get a drive going. Finally, with 10:40 remaining in the game, Harker marched down field and scored a touchdown to make it 16-13. For the next eight minutes the crowd was on the edge of their seats knowing if Santa Cruz found the right gap, the score would reverse, again.
Indeed, the ball changed hands several times, but neither team was able to capitalize until very late in the fourth quarter when Harker put paid to the match with a great run to make it 23-13 with less than two minutes left. Harker D was fired up and bottled up Santa Cruz, nailing the lid on the win. It was a great night out with a big, lively crowd! Huge congratulations to the football team, including coaching, training and other support staff for a great, well-fought game. Go, Eagles!
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly.
Earlier this year, three Harker seniors signed to play their sports for their chosen universities. Read on to find out more about their history with their sports and how Harker enabled them to follow their dreams of becoming stellar student-athletes.
Shannon Richardson Volleyball Stanford University
Shannon Richardson’s varsity volleyball career has been filled with highlights. As a high schooler, she accumulated 853 kills, 159 aces and a .178 hitting percentage, all well above the national average. An avid beach volleyball player since the seventh grade, she first became interested in the sport after seeing it in the summer Olympic Games. “At first, it was more recreational,” Richardson recalled. “I would play in a few tournaments over the summer and did rather well, but I eventually discovered that traveling to Southern California to play was a whole different situation.”
Inspired by the tougher competition, Richardson began making more frequent trips to Southern California. She now spends a month of every summer living with friends in Hermosa Beach to be closer to the higher level of play.
Her love for beach volleyball stems from, among other things, the environment. “Naturally, things are more relaxed at the beach, so tournaments are so much fun because you get to spend time with friends, go to the water, and play the sport you love,” she said. Beach volleyball is also a lot more open-ended and driven by the players than indoor volleyball. Coaching during games is limited and practices are organized and held by players. “There are no set teams and coaches; players choose if they want to improve or not,” Richardson said. “This allows me to be passionate and take control of my own development in a fun and relaxing way.”
Because there are only two players to a team in beach volleyball, players tend to get more touches on the ball, which helps sharpen their handling abilities in other situations, including indoor volleyball matches. “I personally feel like beach volleyball improves my ball control much more than indoor does purely because you get more touches in a shorter amount of time,” she said.
A Harker “lifer,” Richardson attributes her ability to balance her academic and athletic careers to the skills she learned in school. It is also where she discovered her love for playing sports. “I am a ‘lifer,’ so I played a bunch of sports in the lower school and in the middle school,” she recalled. “You would find me on the football field, playing with the boys in the fall, then on the soccer field, the basketball court and on the volleyball court.”
Richardson also noticed similarities in preparing for tests both athletic and academic. “By playing many sports and having to stay on top of my academic responsibilities, I matured quickly and was able to take on more rigorous classes in the upper school, while playing a varsity sport and trying to get recruited,” she said.
With a stint at Stanford on the horizon, Richardson is looking forward to tackling a whole new set of challenges. “I hope that in the four years I spend at Stanford, I can become a better player and a better person,” she said. “I know that the relationships I make in my time there will be ones to treasure, much like the ones I have made at Harker.”
Johnathon Keller Football Claremont-McKenna College
Signing on to play for Claremont-McKenna College was a decision of careful consideration for Johnathan Keller, who had offers from many schools, including Ivy Leagues. “However, after visiting many schools, I knew two things: I wanted to stay with the California weather, and I wanted a school where I could play as a freshman and not red-shirt or be on the bench until my later years,” he said.
In addition to its great academic programs and sunny Southern California climes, Claremont-McKenna also promised to start playing Keller in his freshman year.
Keller’s football lineage speaks for itself. His cousin Jeff Garcia was a four-time Pro Bowl NFL quarterback who now works on the St. Louis Rams’ coaching squad. Keller drew inspiration from watching his cousin on the eld as a child. “I used to think it was amazing watching him play in front of so many people,” Keller said. He started playing the sport at 8 years old and moved on to tackle football once he reached grade 6.
The talent seems to run in the family. So far this year, Keller has recorded nearly 350 yards as a wide receiver with 58.2 yards per game.
“I enjoy the competition in football and all the great memories that are made with the other players,” he said. “The football team is like a family to me.”
He credited Harker’s teachers with helping maintain his academic standing while also following his passion for football, and noted that many recruiters were aware of Harker’s academic reputation. “Knowing this,” Keller said, “they weren’t worried that I was short of any academic credits or if it would be hard getting used to the rigorous academic environment of college.”
Oisin Coveney Soccer Swarthmore College
Oisin Coveney doesn’t remember how he got started playing soccer. That’s because when he started playing, he was just 2 years old. “However, I kept playing the sport because I could be creative on the field,” Coveney reminisced. “I loved trying to dribble and beat players, and pretend I was on the best soccer team in the world.”
The rhythms of a soccer match and the potential for creativity are what Coveney enjoys about the sport. “There’s a beautiful flow to soccer where you have to constantly think about where your teammates and the opponent’s teammates are, where the ball is going to be, and how we can score another goal,” he said.
The dedication of Harker’s teachers were of utmost importance to Coveney’s success as a student-athlete. Like Keller, Coveney found that recruiters were well aware of Harker’s academic pedigree, which made the recruiting process much easier than anticipated. “With Harker, I was able to pursue my dream of get- ting into a great school and playing soccer in college,” he said.
Coveney said he is excited to join Swarthmore’s soccer team, which is a force in the Centennial Conference. “A lot of hard work will definitely be involved,” he said, “but I can’t wait to get a chance to prove myself to my teammates, my coaches and the school.”
While their fellow students may have been hitting the slopes or sleeping in over the break, Harker’s winter athletes were busy competing and playing very well!
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team stayed busy over the last two weeks as they went 5-2 over that span to improve their season record to 9-3. After victories over Watsonville (66-38), Kirby Prep (80-51) and Greenfield (60-30), the Eagles won their first two games in the Del Mar Dons Holiday Tournament (66-36 over Del Mar and 50-37 over San Mateo), before falling 50-42 in the championship game to Del Campo. Harker then lost a close game to Santa Clara 40-35 on New Year’s Eve. Jordan Thompson, grade 11, could not be stopped as she averaged 29 points a game during the last seven games, including a 41-point performance in the Eagles’ win over Kirby Prep. The girls team will visit the King’s Academy on Friday for its first league game.
Boys Basketball
After a tight 56-50 loss to Monta Vista on Dec. 19, the boys basketball team won three straight games over the winter break. In the loss to the Matadors, Roy Yuan, grade 9, put up 15 points, followed by a 23-point performance in a 79-50 win over More. Yuan stayed hot as he scored 26 points in a 78-41 win over Greenfield, and finished off the break with 15 points to lead Harker past Redwood Christian 65-32. Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, also had an impressive break, averaging 14 points and 12 rebounds in the Eagles’ four games. The boys team is now 8-2 on the season and will travel to the King’s Academy Tuesday to open league play.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team has been playing some great soccer over the last few weeks. On the last day of school before the winter break, the Eagles played to a 3-3 tie at Lynbrook High School. They followed that up with a 2-1 win over Cupertino this past Saturday, and on Monday the Eagles hosted Valley Christian and came away with a huge 3-0 win. The boys team travels to Sacred Heart on Wednesday to open up league play.
Girls Soccer
Just before break, the girls soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Redwood Christian. The girls team will host Pinewood today at 3:30 p.m. and travel to Crystal Springs Uplands on Thursday.
Wrestling
Come support the Harker Wrestling team this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on the Blackford campus as it opens league action against Los Altos High School.
Harker winter sports are in full form as basketball, soccer and wrestling all get off to a quick start before league action begins.
Boys Basketball
Looking to score two tournament championships in a row, the boys basketball team opened the Lynbrook Tournament with a 60-46 victory over Summit Shasta with Roy Yuan, grade 9, leading Harker with 22 points. Jadan McDermott, grade 10, pitched in 12 points and 11 rebounds. However, the Eagles fell 52-45 to host Lynbrook in the second round. Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, had 15 points and nine rebounds in the loss. But Harker would bounce back for a 62-54 win over Homestead in the consolation bracket. Yuan led the way with 19 points and Edgehill added 15 points. The boys team is now 5-1 on the season and travels to Monta Vista this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. to face off with the Matadors.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team picked up another big victory on Friday night as it defeated Prospect High 61-37 to bring its record to 4-1 on the season. Joelle Anderson and Jordan Thompson, both grade 11, led the team with 18 points each. The Eagles host Watsonville this Friday at 5 p.m. at the Blackford campus.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team looks to pick up its first win of the season as it hosts Redwood Christian this Friday at 3 p.m. on Davis Field.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team dropped a close match to Saratoga 3-2 last Thursday at Davis Field. The team is back on the pitch this Friday as it travels to Lynbrook High School at 3:30 p.m.
Wrestling
Two members of the Harker wrestling team competed at the sixth annual Webber Lawson Memorial Wrestling Tournament this past weekend. Davis Howard, grade 11, wrestled in the 285-pound division and Diego Figueroa, grade 11, in the 160-pound division. Howard and Figueroa went a combined 1-4 in a very competitive tournament that featured six of the top 10 teams in CCS. Come out to support the Harker wrestlers as they open league action on Jan. 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the Blackford gym.