This article was originally published in the Harker Quarterly Spring 2011 Edition
Harker Elite Soccer Camp strives to provide a professional soccer environment for players to immerse themselves in the game. Camps are open to players ages 9-16 of all levels. Our challenging, structured curriculum, combined with the outstanding caliber of our coaches, ensures players receive high-quality instruction, tailored specifically to their needs. Varsity soccer coach Shaun Tsakiris brings a uniquely Harker approach to the clinics, hand-picking his coaches for their playing experience (often professionals) and coaching expertise.
“These are people who have chosen to stay in the game to work with kids after retiring from playing,” he said. They consider it their mission to find the inner athlete in every player, whatever the ability level, and help each one advance. How they do that is a bit unusual and fun.
While every day ends with a scrimmage, what comes before may look only vaguely like soccer. Tsakiris is a big fan of psychomotor training; that is, getting the body to do what the mind tells it. To this end, players may be asked to dribble a soccer ball with the left foot while bouncing a ball with the right hand, all while navigating an obstacle course.
Each morning begins with agility, coordination and balance exercises, which support the players’ ability to master such skills as proper balance on the plant foot while passing or quick acceleration after changing direction. A lesson that ends with dribbling the soccer ball may start with jumping hurdles.
Players also learn to play in a variety of contexts, including small-sided game, large game (large goals) and futsal. Why mix it up so much? Tsakiris uses futsal, for example, to target foot skills under gamelike conditions. “With only four or five players on a team, each gets a lot of touches on the ball, and that helps them develop craftiness,” he said, referring to the ability to smoothly weave around opponents.
Players receive a soccer ball and T-shirt at the start of each week, and an individual evaluation completed by their coach at the end. The last day of each clinic also brings a surprise guest speaker. Special guests in past years have included San Jose Earthquakes goalie Joe Canon and Olympic gold medalist Aly Wagner of the U.S. women’s national team.
This article was originally published in the Harker Quarterly Spring 2011 Edition
Wrestling It was a record-breaking season for the Harker wrestling team this year, as senior wrestlers Santosh Swaminathan, Jason Mendel and Chris McCallaCreary advanced to the second day of competition at the CCS tournament over the February 26 weekend, a Harker first. McCallaCreary took fourth place overall, making him the highest-placing CCS wrestler in Harker history. This triumphant end to the season came on the heels of other record-breaking wrestling performances by the Eagles. On Feb. 12 Swaminathan became Harker’s first-ever league champion, with McCallaCreary and Mendel both placing second in their weights, marking the first time Harker has ever had three league finalists. On Jan. 29 McCallaCreary won the 160 lb. weight class at the 46th annual WC Overfelt Wrestling Tournament, defeating both the first- and second-ranked wrestlers in CCS on his way to winning the tournament championship. When interviewed by The Winged Post, coach Karriem Stinson was by understandably elated: “We’ve competed in the top tournaments this year, and we’ve come out on top. [I am] really proud of this team.”
Girls Soccer Upper school varsity girls soccer had a tough season this year, with a final league record of 0-9-1. Both matches against Eastside Prep proved particularly close, as our Eagles were defeated by only one point. Seniors Monisha Appalaraju, Lydia Demissachew, Michelle Holt, Arthi Kumar and Priya Sahdev were thanked for their contributions in mid-February on Davis Field.
The upper school junior varsity girls went 2-3-2 in league play with two massive lopsided wins, including one against University Prep Academy, in which our Eagles scored a whopping eight goals!
The grade 8 varsity A girls soccer team ended league play with a 2-5 record, but that was not indicative of the true strength of the team. All but one of the losses was by a single goal, which was usually scored just before time expired. The team was led by co-MVPs Alyssa Amick and Savi Joshi, Eagle Award winners Diba Massihpour and Safia Khouja and Coaches Award winner Gabi Gupta.
With a couple of very close losses, the grade 7 varsity B soccer team went 2-4 in the league. Strong players were MVP Alisa Wakita, Eagle Award winner Jessica Liou and Coaches Award winner Naomi Molin.
Our grade 6 junior varsity A soccer team went 2-3-1 in league play with huge wins over Castilleja and Crystal Springs. Team leaders were MVP Anuva Mittal, Eagle Award winner Lyndsey Mitchell and Coaches Award winner Divya Rajasekharan.
The junior varsity B girls soccer team, grades 4-5, went 1-3-2 in league play with a monster victory over Girls’ Middle School, 6-1, and a couple of 2-2 ties. MVP Alexandra Lu, grade 4; Eagle Award winner Lilia Gonzales, grade 4; and Coaches Award winner Krishna Bheda, grade 5, were lead players.
Intramural soccer players in grades 4-5 enjoyed their introduction to the game and look forward to competing in games in the near future. The girls team was led by MVP Priya Bhanot, Eagle Award winner Rebecca Mak and Coaches Award winner Claudia Opris, all grade 4.
Boys Soccer Varsity boys soccer ended the season 5-4-5 in league play, which included two very strong shutouts against Crystal Springs and Pinewood. Prior to their game against KIPP San Jose Collegiate, seniors Ambrish Amaranathan and Isaac Madan were lauded for their years of participation on Davis Field. The team also received a CCS scholastic championship.
Junior varsity boys soccer faced stiff competition this season with a 1-1-6 league record, but put up a great fight, especially in the grueling ties against Priory and University Prep in the regular season.
As of press time, the grade 8 boys soccer team was 1-3 in league play, which included a big win in February over King’s Academy, 3-1. Key players are Jeremiah Anderson, Edwin Chen, Thomas Doyle and Nikhil Kishore.
Dominating their league as of press time, the grade 7 boys soccer team was 4-1 with big victories over Keys, 3-0, and Priory, 9-0.
Strong players are Johnathon Keller, Andrew Kirjner, Calvin Kocienda, Michael Quezada and Nathaniel Stearns.
As of press time, the grade 6 boys soccer team had recorded an excellent 4-0-1 in league play, including a 6-0 win over Pinewood and a 4-1 win over Crystal Springs. Kedar Gupta, Sandip Nirmel, Ryan Vaughan and Nikolas Weisbloom are strong players for the team this year.
The grade 5 boys soccer team ended their season with a 3-0 win over Pinewood, and an overall 3-1-2 record. Coach Jared Ramsey said the season was a very successful one, and players continued to improve from practice to practice and game to game. “What made me most proud this season was the determination the boys displayed,” said Ramsey. “They were also very supportive of each other and really grasped the idea of ‘team’ as the year went on.” Ramsey’s standouts were Jin Kim, Matthew McCallaCreary, Rohit Shah and Vedant Shah.
The grades 4-5 intramural soccer team enjoyed their introduction to soccer this season and look forward to competing in the near future. The team was led by Nirban Bhatia, grade 5, and Jarrett Anderson, Chris Gong and Krish Kapadia, all grade 4.
Upper School Basketball Following a 61-49 victory over King’s Academy, the varsity boys basketball team made it to the CCS quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row, where they were ultimately vanquished by Santa Cruz. Girls varsity basketball defeated Gonzales High 59-40 to advance to the second round of the CCS playoffs, making this season the first time in Harker history that both varsity basketball teams advanced to the second round of the CCS playoffs. The girls team was ultimately taken down by Sacred Heart Prep, but the season ended with a very impressive 20-5 record, and this was the first girls team to qualify for the CCS playoffs since 2006. Priscilla Auyeung, grade 10, was named one of Harker’s two January Athletes of the Month, and Daniza Rodriguez, grade 10, was recognized by the San Jose Mercury News as a female Athlete of the Week. The boys basketball team received a CCS Scholastic Championship.
As of press time, the junior varsity boys team was 4-7 in league play. They had some fantastic wins during the season including a 61-34 slammer against Crystal Springs, a 67- 37 domination vs. Andrew Hill High School, and a 67-33 lesson in domination against Priory on Jan. 11. As of press time, the girls junior varsity basketball team was not having an easy league season with a 0-5 record. There were some tough battles, however, including a very close game against Priory.
The freshman boys basketball team ended its season 2-8 overall, 0-2 in league play; the boys fought hard throughout the season.
Middle and Lower School Boys Basketball For the first time in Harker history, the grade 8 varsity A team were both league champions and WBAL end-of-season tournament champions! They had a stellar 6-0 league and 10-1 overall record. Leading the team were co-MVPs Eric Holt and Srivinay Irrinki, Eagle Award winners Vamsi Gadiraju and Avik Wadhwa, and Coaches Award winner Arjun Ashok.
Grade 7-8 varsity B boys basketball had a 6-1 league and 8-2 overall record, placing second in the WBAL and fifth in the WBAL tournament. Team leaders were MVP Sidhart Krishnamurthi, grade 8; Eagle Award winner Suraj Jagadeesh, grade 7; and Coaches Award winner Prithvi Gudapati, grade 7.
The grade 6 junior varsity A team had a league 3-3 record and placed fourth in league with an overall record of 3-5. The team was led by MVP Andrew Gu, Eagle Award winner Alex Mo and Coaches Award winner Alex Youn.
With an overall record of 7-1, the grade 5 junior varsity B basketball team had a stellar 6-0 league record. They took home the league championship and\ placed second in the WBAL tournament, coming up just one point short in the 32-31 championship game vs. St. Matthews. Co-MVPs Brando Pakel and Siddharth Chari and Eagle Award winner Eric Andrus led the way.
Also taking home a league championship was our grade 4 junior varsity C basketball team, with a superlative 6-0 record in league! The team was led by co-MVPs Jackson Williams and Jarrett Anderson and Eagle Award winner Jason Peetz. This marks the first time since joining the WBAL that a grade 4 Harker team has won a championship.
Middle and Lower School Girls Basketball As of press time, the grade 8 girls basketball team was 3-6 in league play and getting ready to compete against some very tough eighth grade teams in the WBAL tournament. The team has won its last two games, beating Crystal Springs 32-22 and St. Mathews 22-15. Key players are Lekha Chirala, Eugene Gil and Savi Joshi.
The grade 7 girls basketball team was gearing up for the WBAL tournament as this magazine went to press, after a 3-4 league, 4-4 overall season. Exciting wins this season happened back to back when the Eagles took Priory to town Feb. 28, beating the opposition by 22 points, then defeated Castilleja three days later by just one basket. Leaders on the team are Sadhika Malladi, Shannon Richardson and Namitha Vellian.
Joelle Anderson, Jordan Thompson and Lindsey Trinh had led the grade 6 girls basketball team to three games in a row at press time, bringing their record to 4-3 in league play after starting the season with a win over Girls’ Middle School, 35-15. The WBAL tournament began March 7.
The grade 5 girls basketball team was 2-4 in league play at press time, with huge wins over St. Matt’s, 22-2, and Sacred Heart, 16- 10. Important players are Anika Banga, Megan Huynh, Satchi Thockchom and Akshaya Vemuri. At 2-3 in league play at press time, with two solid victories over Sacred Heart, 18-6 and 24-14, the grade 4 girls basketball team is led by Kayla Dominguez, Keili FitzGerald, Jennifer Hayashi and Alexandra Janssen.
This article was originally published in the Harker Quarterly Spring 2011 Edition
Jason Martin ’07, son of Steve Martin, Harker’s executive chef, is racking up plaudits in the college baseball world. He has been a starter with the San Jose State University Spartans since joining the team as a walk-on in his freshman year.
Back in May, 2010, Martin was named to CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII Baseball First Team for his 3.34 GPA (he’s a psychology major). More recently, for his on-field efforts, in February 2011, collegesplits.com, a college athletics analysis website, named Martin a preseason defensive All American and one of the players who will “provide the most value in 2011” with his glove.
According to his SJSU bio, Martin, a senior, is challenging a number of school records. He is already at the top in hit-by pitches with 54, but more reflective of his talent, he is six runs short of the school record in runs scored; 21 hits away from the career hits top slot, and “is four doubles, 10 RBI, 14 walks, and 27 at-bats from the top-10 in each category,” according to the site.
Jason Martin ’07 became San Jose State University (SJSU) baseball’s all-time career leader in hits over the April 2-3 weekend. Martin is a senior and is poised to break several other records in this, his final season! Check out these articles from the SJSU athletics department, spartandaily.com, San Jose Mercury News and in Harker News [Online]. Congratulations!
Jerrica Liao, grade 5, continues to improve her swordsmanship at regional and national tournaments. Liao fenced in the Super Youth Circuit, a national points event held in San Francisco the weekend of March 19-20, finishing third in Youth-10 (Y10) girls foil, out of 21 competitors. She won five out of six pool bouts and two elimination matches before being eliminated in the semifinals. In the Y12 girls foil event, the bouts were tougher; Liao still won three out of five in pools, but drew a very tough elimination bout against the number 14-ranked girl in the U.S., and was eliminated, finishing 17 out of 33 competitors. As of March 21, Liao is ranked number 10 in the U.S. in Y10 girls foil and 39th in Y12 girls foil. In February, Liao finished third at the Regional Youth Circuit, in San Francisco in Y10 girls foil and sixth in Y12 girls foil.
Katherine Zhu, grade 5, was named Player of the Year in the 10-year-old girl division by the USkids Golf Bay Area Winter Tour 2010, after she competed in the USkids Bay Area winter tour championship in early March in Half Moon Bay. Zhu was in the last group of 190 players and finished her windy, rainy round at 6:30 p.m., in the dark. She eagled the fifth hole (par 5) and finished with 38 shots. Zhu ranked number one following the event for the winter tournament session and thus received the player of the year award. In late breaking news, Zhu finished first in the Girls First Flight of the Junior Tour of Northern California – Spring Series III, at Diablo Grande Golf Course March 26-27 with a combined score of 169. Junior events include ages up to age 18, making Zhu’s effort all the more remarkable.
Accolades from the winter season: in early March, girls basketball player Daniza Rodriguez, grade 10, was named West Bay Athletic League-Skyline Division Most Valuable Player.
Spring Sports
Swimming
Harker varsity swimming had a dominating win over Mercy Burlingame last week, winning all eleven events to post a 129-36 win. The girls team has yet to lose a single event this season and are now 2-0 and in first place in the WBAL. Double event winners were Jessica Khojasteh, grade 12 and Manon Audebert, grade 9.
Other event winners were Rachelle Koch, Lucy Cheng, Katie Siegel and Tiffany Wong, all grade 11, as well as all three relays: Harker had 1-2-3 sweeps in the 50 freestyle, the 500 freestyle, and the 100 breaststroke. Cheng had her first CCS qualifying swim of the year in the 200 IM. Of special note from the boys’ scrimmage: Kevin Khojasteh, grade 11, had a spectacular swim in the 200 freestyle, breaking now-junior Daryl Neubieser’s school record, set last May, by .11 of a second, going 1:46.79.
Golf
Our boys golfers opened league play in early March with a victory over King’s Academy 207-237 at Los Lagos. Co-medalist honors went to sophomores Kyle Roter and Maverick McNealy, shooting 2 over par at 36. In mid-March, linksmen defeated Pinewood and lost to SHP. McNealy earned medalist honors against Prep.
Track and Field
The track and field team had an outstanding display at the Willow Glen Invitational in early March. Isabelle Connell, grade 10, placed first in both the 200m and 400m races, and Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 10, took fourth in both the 1600m and 3200m races. On the boys team, Charles Levine, grade 10, placed eighth in the 800m, Krish Chandani, grade 9, finished eighth for the freshman-sophomore (FS) boys 400m. Matthew Giammona, grade 10, threw to place fifth in the boys FS discus, while classmate Michael Chen finished seventh.
In their first league meet, in mid-March, track and field had some notable moments. Individual highlights include Claudia Tischler, grade 9, who took first place in both the mile (1600m) and the 2 mile (3200m), running a 5:39 and 12:34, respectively. Connell took first place in both the 400 meter and the 200 meter dashes, running a 1:01.48 and a 26.95, respectively. Sonya Chalaka, grade 11, took first place in the triple jump, jumping 29 feet and 9 and one half inches, and second place in the long jump, jumping 13 feet and 8 inches.
For the boys, Jonny Yet, grade 11, ran the 100 meter dash in 12.71 seconds, placing second. Giammona took second place in the discus, throwing 88 feet and 5 inches, and Chen took third place in both the shot put and the discus, throwing 37 feet and one half inches and 87 feet and six inches, respectively.
Softball
Softball started the season 1-1 in early March, defeating San Jose High 14-1 in their opener and losing to Independence High the week before. Against San Jose, Ashley Del Alto, grade 10, had a triple with three RBIs, Tracey Chan, grade 12, hit a home run, and Alison Rugar, grade 10, pitched eight strikeouts. The following week the team defeated Yerba Buena 18-3 and Alma Heights 7-3. Against Alma Heights, Del Alto pitched 15 strikeouts, Rugar hit a triple and we had hits from Chan, Victoria Liang, Aileen Wen and Trisha Basu, all seniors, and Sonia Gupta, grade 10.
Baseball
Varsity baseball started the season 0-3. The junior varsity team lost 6-5 in early March in 10 innings against Santa Clara. Noah Levy, grade 11, had three hits, Drew Goldstein, grade 10, had a hit, and Kevin Cali, grade 10, pitched 13 strikeouts.
Volleyball
Boys volleyball went 4-1 at the Aptos Tournament in early March, placing second behind Mt. Madonna. In mid-March, they lost first to St. Ignatius and then a nail-biter to Mt. Madonna last week to drop to 5-5 on the season. Jacob Chappell, grade 12, had 22 kills against Mt. Madonna.
Tennis
Boys tennis started out 2-0 after victories over Piedmont Hills and Priory. Against Priory, Derek Tzeng, grade 11, played #1 singles and didn’t drop a game, winning 6-0, 6-0. Sophmore Chris Chang played #2 singles and was almost as impressive, winning 6-0, 6-1. Senior Nick Parth won a tiebreaker at #3, 8-7. Nikhil Narayen, grade 10, played his first singles match, winning at #4, 6-1, 6-2. In doubles, the #1 team of Adarsh Ranganathan, grade 12 and freshman Killian Burke won 6-1, 6-1. Also impressive was #2 doubles team of Sachin Jain, grade 11 and Justin Yang, grade 10, who also won 6-1, 6-1. Finally, Revanth Kosaraju, grade 11 and Simar Mangat, grade 10, won 6-2, 6-3 at #3 doubles. In mid-March the boys defeated Crystal Springs but lost to Cupertino and Sacred Heart Prep. The boys take their 5-2 record against national power Menlo and Monte Vista this week.
Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse lost their home opener in early March and the team has been fighting for their first win. They get two more chances before spring break, with home games against Mercy and Stevenson March 23 and 24 at 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
The girls swim team opened their season with a 110-60 victory over Notre Dame in early March. Harker won all 11 events, qualifying for CCS in eight of them. Senior Jessica Khojasteh, junior Katie Siegel and freshman Manon Audebert each won two individual events, and Kimberly Ma, grade 9 and Amie Chien, grade 10, each won one event. All three relays won and qualified for CCS, with the 400 free relay of Ma, Audebert, Siegel and Khojasteh setting a school record with a time of 3:45.67.
The boys tennis team defeated Pinewood and King’s Academy last week to improve to 4-0 overall. Varsity hosts Crystal Springs tomorrow and travels to rival Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday.
The boys golf team tallied three victories last week, two against King’s Academy and one against Pinewood. Against Pinewood, Maverick McNealy, grade 10, earned his second straight medalist honors by shooting an even par 33. Classmate Kyle Roter continues his strong putting performance, finishing with a 38. Also contributing to the match were freshman Vik Bhagat’s 44, junior Nathan Sowards’ 46 and senior Ram Seeni’s 47.
Softball went 1-1 last week, defeating Andrew Hill 13-3 and losing at Monte Vista Christian 7-1. Against Hill, Sonia Gupta, grade 10, went 3 for 5 and Alison Rugar, grade 10, pitched 13 strikeouts. Rugar has 29 strikeouts in the season so far. The girls have home games Thurs. and Fri., March 17-18.
Boys volleyball had three matches last week, losing to Mountain View and Westmont, but came from two games down to defeat Monta Vista 3-2 Friday. Senior Zach Mank dominated at the net in games four and five while classmate Jacob Chappell led the team in kills.
Baseball lost to Fremont and Liberty last week. Against Fremont, Greg Cox, grade 12, went 2 for 3 at the plate. At the JV level, David Dominguez, grade 11, pitched all nine innings and drove in the winning run against Gilroy last week to earn the 3-2 victory.
Girls lacrosse lost to Menlo-Atherton and Leland last week. Senior Monisha Appalaraju scored against Leland.
Track and field opens their league season March 16 … wish them well!
Wrestlers Santosh Swaminathan, Jason Mendel and Chris McCallaCreary, all grade 12, advanced to the second day of competition at the CCS tournament over the weekend, a Harker first. McCallaCreary placed fourth overall, making him the highest-placing CCS wrestler in Harker history.
Meanwhile, boys basketball, boys soccer and wrestling all received CCS Scholastic Championships. Congrats all around!
The Varsity boys basketball team wrapped up their season in the quarterfinals if CCS play with a tough 70-40 loss. Full credit to this tough, hard-working team. Enjoy the slideshow!
Feb. 25, 2011
[Update] Following Thursday’s 61-49 victory over King’s Academy, the varsity boys basketball team will move on to the Central Coast Section quarterfinals against the #2 seed Santa Cruz. This marks the fourth consecutive year Harker has entered the quarterfinals. The game takes place Sat., Feb. 26, 4:30 p.m. at Menlo School (directions to Menlo School from the Saratoga campus). Please come support your Eagles at Saturday’s game!
The varsity girls basketball season came to a close after their 71-53 loss to Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday. Their season nonetheless ends on a high note with a very impressive 20-5 record, and being the first girls team since 2006 to qualify for the CCS playoffs.
Feb. 23, 2011
[Update] Double Down! For the first time in Harker history both varsity basketball teams, girls and boys, are in CCS playoffs and won their first games. Tuesday evening, Feb. 22, the girls defeated Gonzales High in first round playoffs 59-40 and will travel to Sacred Heart Prep Thursday for round two. Priscilla Auyeung, grade 10, had 18 points, Daniza Rodriguez, grade 10, contributed 13, and freshman Nithya Vemireddy had 13 rebounds.
Following the girls’ game the boys were victorious, defeating Pacific Grove 49-34. Nikhil Panu, grade 10, scored 18 points and Stephen Hughes, grade 11, 13 in the win. The boys travel to league rival King’s Academy Thursday for the second round tip-off at 7 p.m.
Please support our teams tomorrow night! They both have a great chance, but they can use your support: Boys Game; Girls Game.
Feb. 22, 2011
Harker will host a CCS basketball doubleheader for both boys and girls varsity teams for the first time in Harker history tonight.
For the first time since 2006 the girls basketball team qualified for CCS and are seeded 11th versus 14th seeded Gonzales High. They play tonight, Feb. 22, at 5:30 at Blackford. The boys qualified again this year and are seeded 10th against 15th-seeded Pacific Grove and play at Blackford at 7 p.m.
Feb. 22, 2011
[Update] The grade 5boys soccer team, coached by Jared Ramsey and Walid Fahmy, had an exciting win over Sacred Heart 2-1, after playing the same team to a 3-3 tie earlier in the season. The team is currently 2-0-2 and is tied for first place in the league!
The grade 7boys soccer team, coached by Nicholas Hahn and David Ramos, dominated Priory 9-0 and currently is in second place in the league with a 2-1 record.
The grade 7 girls basketball team, coached by Loreen Talagtag and Joe Mentillo, played an exciting game against Menlo last week, falling at the end 25-26.
Feb. 16, 2011
The early winter season of grades 4-8 boys basketball and girls soccer has come to a close. What a fantastic season it was, especially for our boys basketball teams!
EARLY WINTER SEASON
Boys Basketball
Our grade 8 varsity A boys basketball team went 6-0 in league and 10-1 overall. They took home the league championship and won the WBAL end-of-season tournament as well, a Harker first! The team was led by co-MVPs Eric Holt and Srivinay Irrinki, Eagle Award winners Vamsi Gadiraju and Avik Wadhwa and Coaches Award winner Arjun Ashok.
Our grade 7-8 varsity B basketball team went 6-1 in league and 8-2 overall. They took second place in the WBAL and fifth place in the WBAL tournament. The team was led by MVP Sidhart Krishnamurthi, grade 8; Eagle Award winner Suraj Jagadeesh, grade 7; and Coaches Award winner Prithvi Gudapati, grade 7.
The grade 6 junior varsity A basketball team went 3-3 in league for a fourth place finish in league and went 3-5 overall. The team was led by MVP Andrew Gu, Eagle Award winner Alex Mo and Coaches Award winner Alex Youn.
The grade 5 junior varsity B basketball team went 6-0 in league and 7-1 overall. They took home the league championship and took second place in the WBAL tournament. The team was led by co-MVPs Brando Pakel and Siddhart Chari and Eagle Award winner Eric Andrus.
Our grade 4 junior varsity C basketball team went 6-0 in league and also took home the league championship! The team was led by co-MVPs Jackson Williams and Jarrett Anderson and Eagle Award winner Jason Peetz.
Girls Soccer
Our grade 8 varsity A girls soccer team went 2-5 in league, but their record was not indicative of how good the team actually was. All but one of the losses was by a single goal, which was usually scored just before time expired. The team was led by co-MVPs Alyssa Amick and Savi Joshi, Eagle Award winners Diba Massihpour and Safia Khouja and Coaches Award winner Gabi Gupta.
The grade 7 varsity B soccer team went 2-4 in league with a couple very close losses. The team was led by MVP Alisa Wakita, Eagle Award winner Jessica Liou and Coaches Award winner Naomi Molin.
Our grade 6 junior varsity A soccer team went 2-3-1 in league with huge wins over Castilleja and Crystal Springs. The team was led by MVP Anuva Mittal, Eagle Award winner Lyndsey Mitchell and Coaches Award winner Divya Rajasekharan.
Our grades 4-5 junior varsity B soccer team went 1-3-2 in league with a solid victory over Girls Middle School, 6-1, and a couple of 2-2 ties. The team was led by MVP Alexandra Lu, grade 4; Eagle Award winner Lilia Gonzales, grade 4; and Coaches Award winner Krishna Bheda, grade 5.
Our grades 4-5 intramural soccer team enjoyed their introduction to soccer and look forward to competing in games in the near future. The team was led by MVP Priya Bhanot, Eagle Award winner Rebecca Mak and Coaches Award winner Claudia Opris, all grade 4.
LATE WINTER SEASON
After a highly successful early winter season, the late winter girls basketball and boys soccer seasons have gotten off to a productive start. Many teams have already played quite a few games.
Girls Basketball
The grade 8 girls basketball team is 1-4 in league play, competing against very competitive eighth grade teams in the WBAL. Recently the team enjoyed an exciting victory over Priory, 27-11. Key players are Lehka Chirala, Eugene Gil and Savi Joshi.
The grade 7 girls basketball team is 1-2 after starting the season with an exciting win over Stratford, 32-23. Key players are Sadhika Malladi, Shannon Richardson and Namitha Vellian.
The grade 6 basketball team is 1-3 in league play, after starting the season with a win over Girls Middle School, 35-15. Key players are Joelle Anderson, Jordan Thompson and Lindsey Trinh.
The grade 5 girls basketball team is 2-1 in league play with huge wins over St. Matt’s, 22-2, and Sacred Heart 2, 16-10. Key players are Anika Banga, Megan Huynh, Satchi Thockchom and Akshaya Vemuri.
The grade 4 girls basketball team is 1-2 in league play with a victory over Sacred Heart 2, 18-6. The team is led by Kayla Dominguez, Keili FitzGerald, Jennifer Hayashi and Alexandra Janssen.
Boys Soccer
The grade 8 boys soccer team is 1-2 in league play with an exciting win over King’s Academ, 3-1. Key players are Jeremiah Anderson, Edwin Chen, Thomas Doyle and Nikhil Kishore.
The grade 7 boys soccer team is 2-1 in league play with solid victories over Keys, 3-0, and Priory, 9-0. Key players are Jonathon Keller, Andrew Kirjner, Calvin Kocienda, Michael Quezada and Nathaniel Stearns.
The grade 6 boys soccer team is 2-1 in league play with a 6-0 win over Pinewood and a 4-1 win over Crystal Springs. Key players are Kedar Gupta, Sandip Nirmel, Ryan Vaughan and Nicholas Weisbloom.
The grade 5 boys soccer team is 2-0-2 in league play with a 4-1 win over Sacred Heart 1, a 2-1 win over Sacred Heart 2, a 3-3 tie with Sacred Heart 2 and a 1-1 tie with Pinewood. Key players are Jin Kim and Matthew McCallaCreary, Rohit Shah and Vedant Shah.
The grades 4-5 intramural soccer team has enjoyed their introduction to soccer this season and look forward to competing in the near future. The team is led by Nirban Bhatia, grade 5; Jarrett Anderson, grade 4; Chris Gong, grade 4; and Krish Kapadia, grade 4.