This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
This spring included league championships, scholarships and record-breaking performances for Harker. Without further ado, let’s get to it!
Track and Field
This year saw the most successful day in Harker’s track history when SumitMinocha, grade 12, won the CCS championship in the 200m, becoming Harker’s second-ever individual CCS champion. His effort was part of a banner day in which Harker had more of its most talented athletes qualify and score points at the CCS championships than ever before in its history. Nadia Palte, grade 9, Corey Gonzales and Julia Wang, grade 10, Claudia Tischler, grade 11, and seniors Isabelle Connell, Michael Chen and Ragini Bhattacharya all joined Minocha at the CCS championships. On the team side, both the boys and girls teams placed third in the team standings at the league championships.
Connell and Minocha finished up their high school track careers by becoming the first Harker athletes to qualify for the state meet, where they faced the toughest competition the state of California has to offer. Each came within less than a second of qualifying for the finals.
Track and field’s 2013 season has been studded with record-breaking moments. Cheryl Liu, grade 10, broke a Harker record in the 100m hurdles, then saw Palte break that same record minutes later. Michael Cheng, grade 12, broke a Harker record in the discus competition. Minocha broke a Harker record in the 100m for the boys, and Connell, who already owned the 100m Harker record for the girls, improved her own time. Minocha was also recognized as Athlete of the Week earlier this spring by the San Jose Mercury News. Congratulations to all of Harker’s track and field athletes on a thrilling season!
Softball
The girls won a league championship this year with an 11-1 record in league play, reaching the first round of the CCS playoffs. The league championship was the first in Harker’s history, and it came in dramatic fashion.
In the bottom of the seventh and final inning of a 1-1 tie game against King’s Academy with two outs and the league championship on the line, freshman Tong Wu singled to knock in sophomore Briana Liang from second base, delivering Harker a walk-off victory. With two out and no one on base, Liang knocked a double, setting up Wu’s hit and the exciting final moments.
Golf
Harker golfer Maverick McNealy, grade 12, is off to Stanford to compete on their golf team next year! He ended his high school career by tying for fourth place at the CCS championships after winning the WBAL individual title. Shrish Dwivedi, grade 10, also qualified for the CCS tournament.
Harker linksman Kyle Roter, grade 12, received a REACH (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard Work) scholarship of $1,500 this spring. Over the past 17 years the REACH Youth Scholarship Program has been providing college funds to high school students who have overcome adversity to excel in academics and sports. Roter suffered from Chiari malformation, a condition in which brain tissue protrudes into the spinal canal. He underwent an operation to correct the problem after headaches became intolerable. Roter received the scholarship at the REACH awards breakfast, chaired by former San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott at the San Jose Marriott.
Baseball
The boys ended their season with a 9-15-1 overall record. Kevin Cali, grade 12, led the team with a .425 average, socking seven homers with three triples and two doubles. Jacob Hoffman, also grade 12, led the team with 24 RBIs and was second on the team with three homers. Hoffman hit for a scorching .369 average this year, and senior Drew Goldstein also broke the .300 mark with a .333 average. Goldstein racked up a .452 on-base percentage, topped by Cali and Hoffman, who both reached base more than half of the time.
Overall, Cali and Hoffman had ridiculously impressive slash lines, with Cali slugging .863 and Hoffman slugging .723.
Volleyball
The boys volleyball team reached the CCS quarterfinals this year, finally falling to Leigh High School after winning their first-round game against Valley Christian San Jose.
On the girls’ side, Harker freshman Shannon Richardson and her partner won first place in the AAU Huntington Beach Open Volleyball Tournament 16U Division, qualifying to compete in the AAU Junior Olympic Games this July in Southern California and AAU’s Best of the Beach Tournament this August.
Congratulations to recent graduate Josh Tien and rising senior Andrew Zhu for being named to the boys volleyball All-Mercury News Honorable Mention list. This is an elite list of players from the 55 high school boys volleyball teams in the section. Go Eagles!
Tennis
Boys varsity tennis got off to a great start, and the team was 5-1 in mid-March. The bottom end of the schedule was more challenging, but the boys held their own and then some, beating first Pinewood, then Priory 6-1, capping that streak by beating Aragon 4-3, thus holding a 9-4 record in early April. The team then hit a tough run of three losses to end up with winning record of 9-7 for the season.
In middle school, the varsity A tennis team (grades 6-8) swept both public and private league championships for the first time, winning 5-4 against Kennedy to clinch the second title. The team went 20-0 for the season.
This is the first time the team has gone undefeated in both the regular season and the playoffs, and the first time the team has won both the private and public middle school tennis titles. “This is about as big as it gets in middle school sports!” said Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs.
Lawson added that over the last two years, the team compiled a 36-2 record and won three of four divisional titles. “Coach John Fruttero has done amazing things with the team,” Lawson added.
At the winning game, Fruttero said, “Today was not the 9-0 against Menlo last week in the WBAL championship match, but special in a very different way. The team battled from being down 4-1 for the second time this season to win 5-4. It was amazing to see these kids grow and transform themselves into a united championship team, from the inside out. It was an honor to lead them in entertaining a couple of hundred cheering fans today. What a blast!”
Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team’s historic run for a league championship came to a halt with a 17-14 loss to Notre Dame. This year, the girls set a Harker record for the most victories in a season with 12. With heart, determination and senior leadership, the girls finished the season by defeating rival Mercy Burlingame 18-8. This win was a sweet one, especially after the team had fallen just shy of success in their bid to capture a league title. After several years of struggle, the lacrosse program now finds itself carrying consecutive winning seasons forward.
Additionally there is thrilling news for the girls and for the Harker community. Two Harker lacrosse players, Christine Lee, grade 11, and Hannah Bollar, grade 10, have been named to the regional team for the national tournament.
On April 21, female high school varsity players from all throughout the Bay Area came together to compete for spots on the two Sub-Regional Pacific NorCal teams. The teams will compete in the 2013 U.S. Lacrosse National Tournament in May. This year marks the 81st anniversary of the event. It is one of the largest women’s lacrosse events in the nation. The 2013 tournament highlights include division championships, a U.S. team exhibition and a premier recruiting opportunity for high school players.
Swimming
Congratulations to all of Harker’s swimmers and divers on a fantastic season. Harker’s CCS swimmers include freshmen Angela Huang, Grace Guan and Sandhana Kannan; sophomores Aaron Huang and Craig Neubieser; juniors Manon Audebert and Kimmy Ma; and senior Amie Chien. Diver Stacey Chao, grade 10, was Harker’s lone diver this season.
Harker has had a banner year in the athletics department with 17 students recruited by colleges and four planning to play in their sports as walk-ons.
They are: Michael Amick, UCLA, soccer; Kevin Cali, De Anza or West Valley, baseball; Chris Chang, Columbia, crew; Keri Clifford, Santa Clara, water polo; Isabelle Connell, Pepperdine, track & field; Siobhan Cox, Stanford, soccer; Karan Das-Grande, Connecticut College, water polo; Ashley Del Alto, Briar Cliff University, softball; Patricia Huang, Amherst, golf; Daria Karakoulka, Cal Lutheran, tennis; Sierra Lincoln, Cal Tech, water polo; Maverick McNealy, Stanford, golf; Sumit Minocha, Stanford, track & field; Nikhil Panu, Johns Hopkins University, basketball; Andy Perez, UC Santa Barbara, soccer; Daniza Rodriguez, Whittier College, basketball; Arhum Siddiqui, Brown, squash.
Harker held a brief gathering to celebrate the athletes and their committment to their sport just prior to graduation, attended by parents, coaches and players. To these Harker stalwarts we wish the very best of luck in their academic and athletic careers. Go alumni Eagles!
For the first time, the middle school varsity-A tennis team (grades 6-8) has swept both public and private league championships, winning 5-4 against Kennedy last night to clinch the second title. The team went 20-0 for the season.
This is the first time the team has gone undefeated in both the regular season and the playoffs, and the first time the team has won both the private and public middle school tennis titles. “This is about as big as it gets in middle school sports!” said Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs.
Lawson added that over the last two years, the team compiled a 36-2 record and won three of four divisional titles. “Coach John Fruttero has done amazing things with the team,” Lawson added.
“Today was not the 9-0 against Menlo last week in WBAL championship match,” Fruttero said, “but special in a very different way. The team battled from being down 4-1 for the second time this season to win 5-4. It was amazing to see these kids grow and transform themselves into a united championship team, from the inside out. It was an honor to lead them in entertaining a couple of hundred cheering fans today. What a blast!”
Track and field continued their strong season this past Saturday at the league championships as both the boys and the girls teams placed third in the team standings. Claudia Tischler, grade 11, won the 1,600m after leading the entire race, then came from behind in the 800m to claim her second championship of the day. Isabelle Connell, grade 12, won the 100m in 12.24, then placed second in the 200m, setting a new Harker record in that race with a 24.85. Sumit Minocha, grade 12, roared back from sixth place all the way to second place in the final half of the 100m, finishing with 11.15. Again in the 200m, he stormed back, breaking his own meet record and cracking the 22.00 barrier with a 21.76. Corey Gonzalez, grade 10, won the 1,600m field, starting out with two 70-second laps then pulling away from the field with a 65-second lap and finally blazing a 63-second lap to win the title with a 4:29.79. He also led the entire 3,200m race from start to finish, setting a new meet record with a 9:50.37.
In 4×400 relay action, Tischler led off the race with a 62-second 1,600m relay, then handed off to Nadia Palte, grade 9, for a 66-second run and Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 12, for a 63-second lap before Connell charged forward with an unbelievable 57-second lap, sending the Eagles from fourth place all the way to first with a new school record of 4:10.10.
Julia Wang, grade 10, set a personal record in the discus with an 80’9″, giving her third place. Michael Chen, grade 12, placed second in the discus with a 124’7″ and sixth in the shot put. Matt Giammona, grade 12, placed third in shot put with a personal record of 41’1″ and wound up in sixth place in the discus.
Connell, Minocha, Gonzales, Chen and Tischler all qualified for next week’s CCS championships, as did the girls 1,600m relay team. Seven Eagles are moving on!
Swimming
Congratulations to all our swimmers and divers on a terrific season!
This weekend, Craig Neubieser, grade 10, set a personal record in the 100m butterfly, bumping up his CCS ranking from 52nd to 45th. Aaron Huang, grade 10, finished 17th out of 56 swimmers in both the 200m individual medley and the 100m breaststroke. On the girls’ side, Manon Audebert, grade 11, finished 14th overall in the 200m freestyle with a time of 1:57.16 and 13th overall in the 100m freestyle with a season-best time of 53.81. Angela Huang, grade 9, finished 15th in the 50m freestyle with a time of 25.26. The girls’ 400m freestyle relay team of Huang, Audebert, Kimmy Ma, grade 11, and Anika Mohindra, grade 9, finished 15th overall with a season-best time of 3:43.23.
Baseball
The boys closed down their season last week with a 7-1 loss to Menlo. Seniors Kevin Cali and Jacob Hoffman and sophomores David Lin and Ayush Midha all recorded hits in the final game. The boys end their year at 9-15-1 overall.
Softball
In playoffs, Harker drew the #11 seed which pitted them against sixth-seeded Aptos High last night, where they went head to head at Aptos in a very tough game. Harker led the game 2-1 until the sixth inning when Aptos pulled into the lead capitalizing on a hit and an error to take the lead and win, 3-2. Aptos is a Division II team, versus Harker’s Division III status, and each team had seven strikeouts; there were a total of five hits between both teams for the entire game (three were by Aptos). Coach Raul Rios noted that Aptos players repeatedly congratulated Harker players on a tough game, and our girls ended the season heads held high. Congrats on a great season!
Volleyball
The boys volleyball season came to a close this week in the CCS quarterfinals at Leigh High School. The Eagles fell to the Longhorns 25-27, 22-25, 24-26 to finish the season at 17-15 overall. Thank you to the supportive crowd!
Huge news out of Harker softball this week! In the bottom of the seventh and final inning of a 1-1 tie game against King’s Academy with two outs and the league championship on the line, freshman Tong Wu singled to knock in sophomore Briana Liang from second base, delivering Harker a walk-off victory and our first-ever league championship!
Liang set up the scoring rally with a double after King’s Academy had retired Harker’s first two hitters. When Wu’s hit brought Liang around to score, the home crowd went wild. Harker has one more league game this week, then awaits its CCS opponent the following week.
Congratulations to all of Harker’s softball players: Ashley Del Alto, Alison Rugar, both grade 12; Alana Shamlou, Laura Thacker, Nithya Vemireddy, all grade 11; Sarah Bean, Vivian Isenberg, Briana Liang, Nitya Mani, Sonali Netke, Michaela Vachev, Serena Wang, all grade 10; Marita Del Alto, Alisa Wakita, Tong Wu, all grade 9. And a big congratulations to all of Harker’s coaches: Raul Rios, Dan Hudkins, Ray Fowler and Kacie Kaneyuki.
Volleyball
Boys volleyball will return to the CCS tournament as the #6 seed in Division 2. The boys host a first-round match-up on Tuesday against Valley Christian at Blackford. For CCS tournament games, tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for students with IDs. Come support the team!
Exciting note! Harker freshman Shannon Richardson, who plays for Harker’s girls volleyball team, and her partner Chanti Holroyd, placed first in the Huntington Beach Volleyball Tournament May 5, in the 16U division! With the win, the two qualified to compete in the AAU Junior Olympic Games this July in Southern California, as well as the AAU’s Best of the Beach Tournament this August. Good luck to her!
Golf
The boys play at the CCS tournament today in Carmel.
Baseball
The boys play their Senior Day this Wednesday at Blackford at 4 p.m. against Sacred Heart Prep. Congratulations to this year’s seniors.
Swimming
CCS swimmers compete this Friday and Saturday at the Santa Clara International Swim Center.
This report compiled from information provided by Dan Molin, athletic director.
Harker athletes have had a great spring!
Golf
Harker linksman Kyle Roter, grade 12, has received a REACH (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard Work) scholarship of $1,500 this week. The REACH Youth Scholarship Program has provided college funds to high school students over the past 17 years who have overcome adversity to excel in academics and sports. Roter suffered from Chiari malformation, a condition in which brain tissue protrudes into the spinal canal. He underwent an operation to correct the problem after headaches became intolerable. His story is told in a video by CalHi Sports: http://bit.ly/132vurc. Roter received the scholarship Wednesday morning at the REACH awards breakfast, chaired by former San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott, at the San Jose Marriott. All nominees must be high school seniors, maintain a 2.5 GPA, participate in at least one sanctioned high school athletic activity, demonstrate community involvement, and show the ability to overcome adversity or obstacles to reach his or her goals. Nominees also must submit an essay based on his or her experiences.
Senior golfer and Stanford-bound Maverick McNealy once again won the WBAL individual title yesterday, shooting a 71 at the league finals at Half Moon Bay Golf Course. Shrish Dwivedi, grade 10, tied for fourth with a 76. Both McNealy and Dwivedi have qualified for the CCS tournament next week. The team as a whole awaits to see if their at-large application will qualify. The week before, boys golf came in sixth place out of 16 teams in the 40th annual Aptos High Tournament. Dwivedi shot a 74 and McNealy shot a 75 at Seascape Country Club.
Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse’s historic run for a league championship came to a halt Tuesday with a 17-14 loss to Notre Dame. This year, the girls recorded a Harker record for the most victories in a season with 12. With heart and determination and senior leadership, the girls finished the season yesterday by defeating rival Mercy Burlingame 18-8. This win was a sweet one, especially after having fallen just shy in their bid to capture a league title. After several years of seeming futility, the lacrosse program now finds itself carrying consecutive winning seasons forward.
There is thrilling news for the girls, however, and for the Harker community. Two of Harker lacrosse players, Christine Lee, grade 11, and Hannah Bollar, grade 10, have been named to the regional team for the national tournament.
On April 21, female high school varsity players from all throughout the Bay Area came together to compete for spots on the two Sub-Regional Pacific NorCal teams. The teams will compete in the 2013 U.S. Lacrosse National Tournament in May. 2013 marks the 81st anniversary of the event. It is one of the largest women’s lacrosse events in the nation. The 2013 tournament highlights include division championships, a U.S. team exhibition, and a premier recruiting opportunity for high school players.
In team news last week, the girls went 1-1 with a narrow loss to Mercy Burlingame on Tuesday and a thundering win against Woodside on Friday. Against Woodside, Bollar, seniors Tiphaine Delephine, Michelle Douglas, Wendy Shwe and Apricot Tang, junior Mabel Luo, and Aishu Murari, grade 9, all scored for Harker.
Congratulations to the team on a record-breaking season, and congratulations to Lee and Bollar on their personal achievements!
Track and Field
Track and field took the next step in their outstanding, record-breaking season last week by sending their top runner to the CCS Top 8 meet at San Jose City College last Friday night. With only the best athletes in the CCS competing, Harker had six representatives. Sumit Minocha, grade 12, finished third in the 100m race and then second in the 200m with a 21.65. That mark was the sixth best time in the state this year. Izzy Connell, grade 12, set two new school records, running 57.98 in the 400m and 25.12 in the 200m. She then joined Claudia Tischler, grade 11, Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 12, and freshman Nadia Palte on the mile relay team, where the foursome posted yet another record with a time of 4:13.75. Tischler ran eighth in her 1,600m run with a season-best time of 5:31.65. Corey Gonzales, grade 10, set his third 3,200m school record of the year, moving the mark this time to 9:30.98. At the San Mateo Invitational a day later, Matt Giammona, grade 12, and Arjun Kumar, grade 11, placed second and fourth out of 40 in the shot put with each tossing a personal best. The track and field league trials are this Saturday at Gunn High School and finals next Saturday. Wish them well!
Swimming
Thanks to everyone who came out to support Harker’s senior swimmers! And a big congratulations to seniors Amie Chien, Keri Clifford and Rachel Yanovsky for leading the girls team to victory against Menlo 86-73. In the 100m freestyle, Chien and Anika Mohindra, grade 9, tied for third with a time of 58.81. Grace Guan, grade 9, tied for first place in the 100m backstroke. The JV girls defeated Menlo as well, 66-13. Behind Karen Tu and Yasemin Narin, both grade 9, the girls took first and second in the 50m freestyle.
The varsity boys lost to Menlo, but had some impressive swims along the way. Allen Cheng, grade 11, and Joshua Hung, grade 9, improved their times in the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle, respectively. Aaron Huang, grade 10, dominated the 100m breaststroke, winning by nearly 11 seconds!
Last Wednesday, both the girls varsity and JV teams defeated King’s Academy. The varsity girls swept the 50 freestyle placing first through fourth, with Chien, Mohindra, Sandhana Kannan, grade 9, and Jackelyn Shen, grade 10. The JV girls won both relays, with Narin, Tu, Elisabeth Siegel, grade 9, and Sanjana Kaundinya, grade 10. For the boys, the JV won and the varsity lost in a close meet. On the varsity side, Ryan Palmer won the 200m IM, and Aaron Huang and Craig Neubieser went 1-2 in the 100m butterfly. JV’s Anni Ankola swam a season-best 50 freestyle. At her first-ever varsity meet, sophomore Stacey Chao placed 12th out of 35 divers, scoring enough points to qualify for CCS. Congratulations!
Wish our swimmers well in the league championships this Wednesday and Thursday at Sacred Heart!
Volleyball
Earlier this week, the Monta Vista boys volleyball team strutted into the Blackford gym, boasting a 27-4 and arguably one of the top teams in all of CCS.
In a thrilling upset, Harker’s boys defeated Monta Vista 27-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22. Harker is now 16-14 overall. Seniors Josh Tien, Bobby Kahlon and Andre Tran, juniors Andrew Zhu, Sean Youn and Will Deng, and sophomores Shiki Dixit and Matt Ho all had oustanding performances.
This past Friday was the boys’ Senior Night. They lost to Homestead, but had a solid victory against Lynbrook last week. In the win, Zhu had 26 kills, Deng added six and Dixit had two blocks.
The week before that, boys volleyball had to go the distance to defeat Harbor in Santa Cruz 15-12 in their fifth game of the season to improve to 14-13 on the year as the boys continue to play the top teams in the section. Zhu led the way with 26 kills.
The boys travel to King’s on Friday, then await their potential CCS assignment on Saturday morning.
Baseball
On Tuesday, baseball lost to Pinewood 8-3 to drop to 7-13-1 overall. Drew Goldstein, grade 12, had two hits in the loss, including a double and an RBI. Neil Sadhu and David Lin, grade 10, and Kevin Cali, grade 12, also recorded hits.
Last week, the boys dropped a game against King’s Academy, but got a great pitching performance out of Cali. On the mound, Cali pitched for 10 strikeouts; at the plate, he was two for three with a double and a run scored. Jacob Hoffman, grade 12, added a double and an RBI.
The Thursday before, the baseball team defeated Crystal Springs but dropped its game the following day to Sacred Heart. Against Crystal Springs, Hoffman was two for four with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Keanu Forbes, grade 10, added two hits and an RBI. In the Sacred Heart game, Cali went two for three and scored a run.
Softball
Softball continues to roll, defeating Castilleja yesterday 5-2 in an away game. The girls are now 9-1 in their league and in sole possession of first place with two games remaining. Against Castilleja, Alison Rugar, grade 12, pitched for 16 – count ’em, 16 – strikeouts and had two hits at the plate as well. Ashley Del Alto, grade 12, had a triple and two RBIs. Laura Thacker, grade 11, had two hits and Alisa Wakita, grade 9, and Sarah Bean, grade 10, added RBIs as well.
Last week, the girls went 2-0, beating Menlo 6-0 and Mercy-Burlingame 4-1. Once again, Rugar had 16 strikouts – this time in the Mercy game. Del Alto also had a three-run home run.
The girls have their Senior Day tomorrow at 4 p.m., where they’ll face off against King’s Academy. King’s Academy is the only team in the league to beat Harker this year, and won by just one run. See Harker get their revenge on Senior Day!
Tennis
Boys tennis awaits their fate to see if the team will qualify for the CCS tournament. Stay tuned!
Cross Country The cross country team continues to stomp on old Harker history; just about every week, an existing school record falls, replaced by a faster time from this year. At the league’s second meet at Sacred Heart, Sophomore Cheryl Liu broke a Harker record by running an 18.74 in the 100-meter hurdles, two seconds better than her best of the year so far and one second better than the previous record. Just three minutes later, however, Freshman Nadia Palte ran an 18.48 in that very same contest, breaking the record Liu had just set! Michael Cheng, grade 12, then stepped up for the discus competition and broke the old mark by one foot after having hurled his discus 130’5″. Cheng’s mark now leads the entire league.
At that same meet at Sacred Heart, Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 12, ran 52.93 in the 300m hurdles. Sumit Minocha ran 50.94 in the 400-meter. Matt Giammona set a personal record with a 111’5″. Arjun Kumar moved to the top 10 board with a personal record in the discus throw of 89’10”. Julia Wang improved on her second place standing in discus with a toss of 71’1″. Finally, the boys 400-meter relay team improved to their season-best mark at 45.32. That time, naturally, now leads the entire league.
Some days later, the team met again for a WBAL track meet. It will perhaps not be suprising that Sumit Minocha, grade 12, improved on his CCS-leading mark in the 100-meter with a 10.80, setting, what else, a new Harker record. Isabelle Connell, grade 12, who already had the Harker record for her 100m, advanced her time with a 12.22, moving from #7 to #3 overall in the CCS. Freshman Nadia Palte also topped her existing school record — this time in hurdles. Palte had an 18.20 in the 100-meter hurdles.
Congratulations to all of Harker’s track and field athletes as they continue to break records at breakneck speeds!
Golf
Harker’s cross country team does not have the media all to themselves, however. Two of Harker’s golfers, Ryan Vaughan, grade 8, and Katherine Zhu, grade 7, are making some waves on the junior circuit. Competing in the Spring Series IV at Deer Ridge / Shadow Lakes Golf Course in Brentwood, Zhu narrowly missed out on the championship, finishing as the runner-up for the second time this year while shooting rounds of 73 and 75. Vaughan came in third place amongst the boys with rounds of 74 and 78. He had earlier this year been a first flight winner. Both Zhu and Vaughan were competing in the Junior Tour of Northern California. Zhu’s current ranking is in the top three of the Junior Tour. Already this year, she has won the Junior World Golf Champion Tournament Qualifier and finished as a runner-up in the Girl Champion Flight at the Nor Cal Golf Junior Tournament.
On Monday, May 20th, Zhu will play in the US Women’s Open Golf Qualifier Tournament at Lake Merced Golf Course and two days later will play in the US Women’s Amateur Golf Qualifier Tournament at the Reserve in Spanos Park Golf Course. This July, she will play in the Junior Golf Champion Tournament in San Diego. Wish her luck!
Swimming
Both Harker’s Varsity and JV swim teams beat our four opponents this last Wednesday. Harker came in first in every relay, including an exciting race with Priory in the Varsity girls 200 Free Relay which ended in a tie for first at 1:48.44. Our Varsity girls swept the 500 Free with Manon Audebert, grade 11, taking first, Amie Chien, grade 12, second, and Anika Mohindra, grade 9, third. The Varsity boys, meanwhile, took the 100 Fly with Aaron Huang, grade 10, first, Craig Neubieser, grade 10, second, and Kenneth Zhang, grade 11, third. Other CCS qualifying times include: Audebert 50 Free (25.93), Grace Guan, grade 9, 100 Back (1:04.04), Kimmy Ma, grade 11, 200 IM (2:20.58), Huang 100 Fly (56.07) and 500 Free (5:02.54).
Sophomore Stacey Chao, Harker’s lone diver, entered the first high school meet of her career and won, coming in first place in the JV meet. Chao defeated 7 other divers — 5 from Presentation and 2 from St. Ignatius. Congratulations, Stacey! Softball
Harker blew out Alma Heights yesterday to the tune of 11-1. Alison Rugar, grade 12, threw a great game, striking out 11 opponents. Ashley Del Alto, grade 12, led the offense, going 3 for 3 with 3 RBI’s, a double, and a triple. Alisa Wakita, grade 9, added three more hits, and Laura Thacker, grade 10; Brianna Liang, grade 10; Tong Wu, grade 9; and Alana Shamlou, grade 11, also had a hit apiece. After the win, the girls’ record stands at 9-6 overall. They are undefeated in league play, 6-0. The girls travel to King’s Academy on Friday.
Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse has a firm grip on first place in the league after defeating Notre Dame on Monday 13-9 and Woodside yesterday 14-1. After the high-scoring games, the girls are now 10-1 overall and 4-0 in league play. Michelle Douglas, grade 12, and Hannah Bollar, grade 10, scored six of yesterday’s goals each. Wendy Shwe, grade 12, scored the other two. The girls travel to PAL Stadium on Friday to face off against Notre Dame again.
Baseball
Baseball defeated Trinity Christian by a large margin on Monday,16-6, to improve to 6-8-1 overall. Keanu Forbes, grade 10, had two hits and an RBI. Jacob Hoffman, grade 12, had two RBI’s and Kevin Cali, grade 12, pitched for the win. The boys play away games on Thursday and Friday.
Golf
Boys Golf defeated Kings Monday to improve to 6-3 overall. Maverick McNealy, grade 12, shot a 38 and Shrish Dwivedi, grade 10, shot a 39.
Tennis
Boys Tennis lost to a strong Crystal Springs team yesterday 6-1 with the lone win coming from senior doubles pair of Justing Yang, grade 12, and Rahul Desirazu, grade 12.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Basketball Camp Focuses on Fundamentals
Harker’s popular summer basketball camp will be back again this year, providing boys and girls in grades 4-8 and boys in grades 6-9 with a fun and rewarding experience for players of multiple skill levels. Held at the middle school campus, instruction will be led by Harker’s varsity basketball coaches and players who will focus on fundamental skills such as ball han dling, shooting, rebounding and basic defense. Campers will also participate in five-on-five games coached by varsity players.
Mark Collins, Harker’s varsity basketball coach, played at the professional level in Denmark for 10 years; he was named a five-time All-Star before going on to coach for two years. He also spent six years directing the training camp for the Golden State Warriors.
New Softball Camp Offering
This summer, Harker will offer its first-ever softball camp for girls in grades 4-8. Open to players of all skill levels, the camp will cover offensive and defensive drills and simulate in-game situations to help players build confidence and improve their skills on the field.
Students will work on fundamental skills such as throwing, catching, fielding, hitting and base-running, all in a fun, positive environment managed by trained and experienced coaches.
“This is the first year for our summer softball camp so we are excited and ready to get it going,” said softball coach Raul Rios, who led Harker’s upper school varsity softball team to its first CCS playoff appearance in 2011. “I am looking into getting some guest college players to help us with the program and also to speak to the players about being student athletes at the college level.”
Water Polo Camp Great for Newcomers
In late June, Harker will again offer its summer water polo camp to students in grades 4-8. Directed by Harker water polo coaches Allie Lamb and Ted Ujifusa, this camp is geared toward beginners who wish to learn more about the sport.
Students will learn about the rules and history of water polo as well as basic skills such as treading water, eggbeater and scissor kicking, passing, ball handling and shooting. They will also learn proper conditioning both in and out of the water. Campers must be able to swim a minimum of 25 yards to participate.
In her 15 years of water polo, Lamb has played for some of the sport’s top coaches, including former Olympic coaches Rich Corso and Ricardo Azevedo. She also played at the Division I level for four years at Santa Clara University. Ujifusa began his water polo career in 1964 and in his senior year at the University of California, Berkeley, he helped the Golden Bears win their very first NCAA championship. Since his coaching career began in 1974, he is the only CCS coach to win championships at two different public high schools and has coached more than 45 All-American players.
New TRX Camp a Unique, Innovative Fitness Approach
This year, Harker is adding a special TRX workout camp to its summer program options for students in grades 6-12. TRX is a form of suspension training developed by former Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick. By using gravity and the trainer’s own body weight, the TRX training system grants the user access to hundreds of exercises. By adjusting their body position or resistance settings, users can control how much they are challenged by each exercise.
Coach Karriem Stinson, who leads the camp, said it is an ideal training system for people who prefer not to use weights, because “this is an apparatus that deals with the person’s body. It’s more fit for everybody.” Among the system’s benefits are a stronger core, greater muscular endurance and better overall athletic performance.
Stinson, a certified TRX group instructor, coaches Harker’s middle and upper school wrestling teams as well as middle school football and track. He has coached three wrestlers to California’s national wrestling team.
Ever-Popular Soccer Camp Returns
Harker’s summer 2013 sports programs will again feature the popular soccer camp that has been a fixture of its summer programs for years. Campers will become immersed in “the beautiful game,” with instruction from professional coaches that is tailored to the needs of each camper.
Each camp session will include drills in futsal, tactical skills, psycho-motor training, and small and large games. Skill stations will allow campers to work on passing, dribbling and shooting. Campers will be placed in groups appropriate for their skill levels.
As in past years, the campers will also have the opportunity to learn from professional and college-level players who will visit to teach and offer their advice.
Volleyball Camp Great for Multiple Skill Levels
Volleyball camp, a mainstay of the Harker summer program, returns this year to provide students in grades 4-9 with top-level instruction in a fun and positive setting. This camp is designed for players of all skill levels and will help both beginners and experienced players improve their abilities through drills, exercises and game play.
Highly trained coaches will work with students on fundamental skills such as passing, setting and hitting, as well as strategies on both offense and defense. Individual teaching and evaluation also plays a vital role in the camp. College players and coaches will also be visiting the camp to enhance the overall experience.
Coaches Dan Molin and Theresa Smith bring with them more than 40 years of combined experience. Molin, the upper school athletic director and boys volleyball coach, has more than 20 years of coaching experience and was named one of Volleyball magazine’s “Fab 50.” In addition, the American Volleyball Coaches Association has recognized him as a 200-win coach. Smith, Harker’s grade 4-8 athletic director, was a member of the U.S. Amateur Olympic Volleyball team in 1990 and was chosen as the Positive Coaching Alliance’s Double Goal Coach of the Year and Mercury News CCS Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2007.
Swim School Trains Swimmers of Nearly Every Age
Swimmers of all skill levels at this camp will learn and improve their aquatic abilities in a fun, non-competitive environment for ages 3 to adult. Both private and group lessons are available and will be held at the Singh Aquatic Center at Harker’s upper school campus. Friendly and experienced instructors will guide swimmers through a sequence of lessons in 10 different skill levels. Swimmers aged 5-18 have the option of private and group lessons. Adults and children aged 3-4 may only take private lessons.
Novices and Advanced Competitors Welcome at New Wrestling Camp
Whether novices or experienced competitors, the Harker summer coed wrestling camp will offer students in grades 6-12 the chance to improve their skills and physical conditioning to help maximize their performance. Wrestlers will participate in a meticulously planned series of teaching sessions, drills and evaluations.
Students will learn and practice skills such as takedowns, positioning, escapes and reversals, in addition to applying their skills to wrestling matches. This camp will also integrate the TRX suspension training system and include visits by college-level wrestlers and coaches.
Harker wrestling coach Karriem Stinson and coach Shawn Henebry of Prospect High School will direct the camp, bringing their years of experience and success to a fun and positive environment. Stinson has coached at Harker since 1995 and has coached three members of the California national wrestling team in addition to many who have placed in the Central Coast Section. Three-time CCS participant Henebry has held coaching positions at California State University – Fullerton, West Valley College and Generation 2020 in Spain before joining Prospect High School. Wrestlers under his guidance include a CCS champion and several state championship qualifiers.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Two former Harker students suited up for Stanford’s Rose Bowl victory on New Year’s Day, including Usua Amanam ’09, who played a key role and was named MVP for defense. Amanam attended Harker’s lower and middle schools from 1996-2005, going on to have a stellar career at Bellarmine (Harker had recently opened its upper school and the football program was still growing). In the Rose Bowl, Amanam was first tagged for roughing the kicker, but luckily the penalty was declined. Then Amanam made his big play, intercepting a pass in Wisconsin’s final drive with two minutes remaining to lock down the game for Stanford.
Gautam Krishnamurthi ’11, a sophomore at Stanford, was suited up as number 38 and ready to play. He joined the team during the off-season and is working towards a starting slot. Krishnamurthi earned two varsity letters as a wide receiver and safety and had a stellar, record-setting career with Harker, including being named an AP Scholar Athlete with Distinction.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly
Some 30 alumni returned to cheer on their friends for Harker’s first basketball league games of the season, held Jan. 4 in front of a boisterous home crowd at the middle school campus. That night was also the premiere of the Conservatory’s Student-Directed Showcase, concurrently held at Blackford, which many alumni chose to come out in support of as well.