The lower school and middle school girls basketball and boys soccer seasons are coming to a close, and what fantastic seasons they have been!
Girls basketball
The varsity A Gr. 8 girls basketball team finished the season at 7-3 in league play and 8-4 overall, taking third place in the league. They also were Gold Division consolation champs in the WBAL tournament. The team was led by Nithya Vemireddy, Regina Chen, Mercedes Chien and Alana Shamlou.
The varsity B Gr. 7 girls basketball team finished 3-4 in league and 5-5 overall, placing fourth in league. They put on quite a show in the WBAL tournament, finishing in second place in the Silver Division, only losing by a basket! The team was led by Diba Massihpour, Madhu Nori and Nikita Mittal.
The junior varsity A Gr. 6 girls basketball team also finished with a 3-4 record in league, taking fifth place. They finished the season with a 4-6 overall record and took fourth place in the WBAL tournament. The team was led by Shannon Richardson, Namitha Vellian and Sadhika Malladi.
The varsity B2 Gr. 7 and the junior varsity B6 Gr. 6 girls basketball teams finished a spirited season of play, learned a lot about the game of basketball and had fun with their teammates and coaches. The B2 team was led byRama Prasad, Sheridan Tobin and Laya Indukuri; the B6 team was led by Shreya Mathur, Aishu Murari and Shivali Minocha. Both teams ended the season 0-7.
The junior varsity B1 Gr. 5 girls basketball team finished 5-1 in league, 6-2 overall and took 2nd place in the league and WBAL tournament! The team was led by Joelle Anderson, Sarah Baz and Jordan Thompson.
The junior varsity B2 Gr. 5 and the junior varsity C Gr. 4 girls basketball teams also had a successful season. They learned a lot about the game of basketball, had a lot of fun and also came out with a couple of victories. The B2 team was led by Swetha Tummala, Priyanka Taneja and Rachel Cheng; they finished the season 0-6. The C team, with a 2-4 record, was led by Raveena Panja, Ania Kranz and Ashna Chandra.
Boys soccer
The varsity A Gr. 8 boys soccer team finished 1-2-3 in league. The boys played a tough league schedule and many games could have gone either way but finished in a tie. The team was led by Kevin Moss, Jeffrey Hanke and Varun Kamat.
The varsity B Gr. 7 boys soccer season finished 2-4 in league and 2-6 overall. They enjoyed victories over Priory and Crystal Springs. The team was led by Nikhil Kishore and Neil Sadhu.
The junior varsity A1 Gr. 6 boys soccer team had a remarkable season! They went 3-1-1 in league and were 4-1-2 overall, taking second place in the WBAL. They were led by Nathaniel Stearns, Nick LaBruna and Calvin Kocienda.
The junior varsity B boys soccer team also had a fantastic season, with exciting victories against Crystal Springs, Pinewood and St. Joseph’s Sacred Heart. At press time, the team was 4-1 in league and in second place in the standings. The team was led byNikolas Weisbloom, Kedar Gupta and Joseph Krackeler.
The intramural boys Gr. 4-5 soccer team also learned a lot about soccer and had a lot of fun with their teammates and coach Jim McGovern. The team was led by Nirban Bhatia, Rohit Shah and Shaya Zarkesh.
The junior varsity A2 Gr. 6 boys soccer team had an impressive season despite their record of 0-5-1, since they were playing all of the other schools’ top teams. The team was led by Kurt Schwartz, Rohan Daran, Justan Su, Nikita Kosolobov and Kevin Hu.
The varsity tennis team made history last week when they defeated perennial state power Sacred Heart Prep for the first time ever! The singles lineup of Karthik Dhore, Adarsh Ranganathan, both Gr. 11, and Derek Tzeng, Gr. 10, won the top three spots. Ranganathan won an emotionally draining match 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 over an excellent opponent.
Our number two doubles team of Nikhil Parthasarathy, Gr. 11 and Justin Yang, Gr. 9, took second place in three sets and senior Akum Gill and sophomore Revanth Kosaraju teamed up to capture the number three doubles spot in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. The team record now stands at 3-0 (1-0 in WBAL play). The boys also traveled to a tournament in Fresno over March 6-7 where Dhore went 5-0, validating him as one of the top players in California.
[Update] Although the Eagles gave it their best, the varsity basketball team fell to Santa Cruz at the end of February, 56-44 in the CCS quarterfinals. Santa Cruz started off the game with a full-court press that never let up. At the end of the first quarter, we were down by seven points, but that was the closest the Eagles got. Despite the best efforts of our boys, including several impressive three-pointers from Partha Mahajani, Gr. 11, and, with 6:41 left in the game, a three-point shot from Ryan Cali, Gr. 12, that brought us to within seven points, we couldn’t catch up to the early lead that Santa Cruz held for the entire game. About 50 fans made the trip to Salinas to cheer the boys on as they ended their post-season play.
Feb. 26, 2010
In front of a loud and supportive crowd in the Blackford gym, the Eagles varsity basketball boys won their CCS game Thursday night against Stevenson, 62-46. The game started off with both teams trading baskets for a close first quarter, which got the crowd motivated to cheer even louder. By halftime, Harker was up 34-20, and the boys never looked back. With impressive play by the starting players, including seniors Ryan Cali, Greg Plauck, Rohan Shah, Lung-Ying Yu and Partha Mahajani, Gr. 11, the Eagles kept the lead in the fast-paced game. They play tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals against Santa Cruz High School at Hartnell College in Salinas. For the remainder of the tournament, our boys feel they have a chance to continue advancing. They could use your support! CCS charges for entry: $8 adults, $4 students with ID.
A win against Santa Cruz means the boys will play again Tuesday, March 2, in Salinas in the semifinals. Finals are Friday, March 5, at Santa Clara University.
Foilist Isaac Madan, Gr. 11, fenced internationally at the Wappen von Moedling World Cup in Austria as a member of the Indian International Fencing Team in early February. His results pushed him into the top 400 under-20-years-old mens foil fencers in the world and makes him the second-ranked junior fencer on the Indian team. He also fought in the Junior Olympics fencing competition in Memphis in mid-February, where his team, California Fencing Academy, took the silver medal in mens team foil.
Madan, who began fencing in Gr. 7 in Harker’s after-school program (now called BEST), has competed in numerous national and local competitions, for both Juniors (age 19 and under) and Seniors (includes adults) over the last several years. He has won countless trophies and awards, some of which are on display at the Blackford campus. Over this past summer, Madan trained at the Indian Olympic Training Center. He fenced in the Division 1 North American Cup held in San Jose in mid-January and was recently named a First Team Academic All-American by the United States Fencing Association for his athletic, academic and extracurricular achievements. Madan recently qualified to attend the Cadet and Junior World Championships, the highest level of competition available to fencers under the age of 20, later this year
Along with classmate Ambrish Amaranathan, Madan has also founded a fencing club at Harker and hopes to send a team to the All-State Foil Championship held each year in San Francisco in April.
Santosh Swaminathan, Gr. 11, made Harker wrestling history on Saturday as he took fifth place in the 103-pound weight class at the CCS wrestling tournament. Although other Harker wrestlers have qualified for CCS, notably Mark Roh, Gr. 12 and Chris McCallaCreary, Gr. 11, Swaminathan is the first Harker wrestler ever to medal in the section tournament. He had a 6-2 record for the tournament, with his first loss of the tournament being to the first-seeded wrestler. Winners of first through fourth places go on to the state tournament. We’ll be looking for Swaminathan to do great things next year on the mat!
The varsity boys basketball team defeated Menlo on senior night 52-45 and will be playing in the CCS playoffs this Thursday at 7 p.m. against Stevenson in the Blackford gym. They earned the sixth seed, which is their highest seeding ever! In the Menlo game, Ryan Cali, Gr. 12, scored 21 points while Rohan Shah and Lung-Ying Yu, both also Gr. 12, chipped in 12 each. The team ended the regular season with a remarkable 20-4 overall record and 12-2 league record, securing second place. If the boys win Thursday, they will travel to Hartnell College in Salinas Saturday for a quarterfinal match-up with Santa Cruz High, time TBA.
Bracket: http://www.cifccs.org/playoffs/results/09-10/Bsk%20B%20D4%2010.pdf.
The JV boys are the WBAL League champions! They also defeated Menlo 35-34 on a last second, buzzer-beating shot by freshman Kevin Cali. The team ended their season with a 20-2 overall record and 11-1 in league. Way to go, guys!
Varsity A Soccer Varsity A soccer had an exciting season, led by Mercedes Chien and Urvi Gupta, both Gr. 8, and Alyssa Amick, and Gabi Gupta, both Gr. 7. Coach Chrissy Chang, reports, “We faced many tough opponents but were still able to put the ball in the back of the net.” She added, “Every player contributed to our awesome soccer season.“ Nikita Parulkar, Gr. 7, was a big contributor with her offensive arsenal, while Claudia Tischler and Alicia Clark, both Gr. 8, played outstanding offense and defense for the lady Eagles.
Basketball
The Gr. 6 boys basketball team finished the season strong after battling injuries early in the year. Early in the season, they lost Jacob Diaz with a shoulder injury, and sustained many other minor injuries to key players. After overcoming these setbacks, the Eagles rebounded through the leadership of superstars Nicholas LaBruna and Rohan Desikan to finish strong in league. Coach Walid Fahmy, said, “Overall, the season was a great success. Look out for these boys as they move on to seventh grade!”
Coach Mousa Katwan credits the camaradarie of the JV B1 team for helping them finish the season strongly. On December 14, the boys beat Saint Joseph’s Sacred Heart in the WBAL tournament, after losing to them twice earlier in the season. Katwan remarked, “Strong play down low from Alex Mo gave us an advantage on offense, while the strength and heart of Nick Bean on defense stopped opposing teams’ efforts. Overall the boys learned a lot and grew together while having fun.”
The Gr. 4 team got off to a slow start with only two days of practice before the team’s first game. Coach Jim McGovern reported, however, “The boys jelled quickly and worked on playing an exciting fast-break style of basketball.” Although the season record was 3-5, the boys were very close to flipping those numbers as two losses were only by one point each. Standout performances were by Eric Andrus, who received the Eagle award for his outstanding effort and team play all season long, and Sid Chari and Brando Pakel who received Coaches awards for their extraordinary defense and hustle. McGovern added, “I look forward to the continued effort and love for the game by this group of players.”
Jan. 26 2001 The lower and middle schools’ early winter sports of boys basketball and girls soccer recently concluded with some impressive results from our young athletes; but first, some wrapping-up information from last season:
Harker News Online mis-reported the varsity A flag football team final record. The team finished the season with an impressive 13-3-2 record.
The Gr. 4-5 JV girls softball team was league champion with a 5-1-1 record.
The cross country team, boys and girls, took second place overall at the WBAL meet at Bayfront Park in Menlo Park in mid-October.
Both boys and girls swim teams, Gr. 5-8, took third place at the end-of-season WBAL meet at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco in Mid-October.
On to this season!
MS Basketball In middle school boys basketball the Gr. 8 varsity A team finished 3-7. In the last game, the boys lost to Pinewood in the in the fifth-place game of the WBAL tournament. The team was led in scoring all season long by Brian Bither, who was also the team’s best defender. One big blow to the team came when starting forward Kevin Moss broke his finger at the beginning of winter vacation and was unable to play for the remainder of the season. In his place, Huck Vaughan and Adarsh Battu stepped up and played much bigger roles in his stead to complement the team’s other primary forward, Sean Youn. The team’s Gr. 7 player, lefthander Eric Holt, showed a great deal of promise for the future and had a couple of strong games, including one in the WBAL playoff game versus Crystal Springs. Nick Navarro and John Hughes shared the other guard spot most of the season, and Ashwin Chalaka played a supporting role, along with Travis Chen. Kevin Duraiswamy also provided some help early in the season before moving on to success in debate. The team’s three victories came against Pinewood, Crystal Springs and Woodside Priory.
According to coach Greg Lawson, “The varsity A squad improved defensively over the course of the season, but were frustrated at times by difficulty putting the ball in the basket.” He added, ”There was wonderful and broad support from the boys’ parents, who were regulars at every game. I want to make sure that they know how much I and the boys appreciated their presence and support.” Lawson added that he also thanks the boys for their effort and hard work throughout the season.
The Gr. 7 varsity B team finished league play 7-0 making them league champs!The Gr. 7 varsity B2 team finished 3-4, and our Gr. 7 varsity B3 team finished 1-6. In Gr. 6, our JV A team finished 2-7 and our JV B team finished 4-5.
LS Basketball Our Gr. 5 JV B1 team finished 4-4, and the JV B2 team finished 2-7. The Gr. 4 JV C team finished 3-5.
Coaches Tobias Wade, also a LS social studies teacher, and David Ramos both enjoyed the season with the B2 team. “Our boys practiced and played hard,” Wade reported. “Even though our record did not have as many wins as we wanted, we gave our best effort. We left everything we had on the court. It was a learning experience for our boys and everyone improved throughout the whole season.
“Our boys matured and developed both on and off the courts. Good sportsmanship and fun were a priority. I am proud of their effort, and have nothing but respect for them. Well done, guys!” Finally, the coaches thank all the parents for their help and support. Wade concluded, “We could not have done it without you!”
MS Soccer In middle school girls soccer our Gr. 8 varsity A team finished the season with a 2-5 record. The Gr. 7 varsity B team was 2-5 and Gr. 6 varsity A ended 1-5.
Coach Justin “Sully” Sullivan commented on the vast improvement of the Gr. 7 varsity B team, which showed in their strong finish of their final four games, where they won two of the four and nearly earned a draw in another. Excellent goaltending and field play by Savi Joshi was an important part of the team’s improvement.
Sullivan mentioned several field players as having particularly strong play, including Diba Massihpour, with excellent hustle and consistent hard play, Megy Appalaraju, who displayed dedication, hard work and a positive attitude and team leader Reena Sandhu, who had a late season goal streak. With several returning players, next year’s soccer season looks to be an exciting one.
Despite the season record of the JV A team, coach Cyrus Merrill, also a MS history and social science teacher, has many memories that show the strength and growth of his team. He recalls Mary Najibi incorporating scissors (a foot maneuver she learned in practice) “to burn by a defender,” and contributing fast runs down the flank, making nice crosses to Alisa Wakita,” who used her incredibly quick feet to score several goals. Regan Heslop was commended for a strong dominant lead in both the central defense and in helping to tutor the goalkeeper. Tong Wu never missed a practice and developed into a very tough outside defender and Ankita Sharma contributed a very strong leg on long crosses. Shannon Richardson played physically tough at forward and scored on one of the league’s toughest teams, while Jenny Kim helped anchor the defense with confidence and excellent ball control.
Merrill added, “The ladies played even with a number of the teams in the league and surprised many of them with early goals and strong play. We played a number of nail-biter games where we would either go ahead and the other team would come back to score goals to tie it up … or in dramatic fashion we scored three goals in the second half to come back and draw even with one of the other soccer powers in our league.” The girls enjoyed practicing next to the upper school girls soccer team at Blackford this season. Merrill noted, “These ladies should contribute in the years to come and to hopefully one day be members of the high school varsity soccer team.”
LS Soccer
The Gr. 5 JV B girls soccer team finished 5-0-1 to take the league championship! This makes it back-to-back league championships for the Gr. 5 girls softball and soccer teams this year. Coach Casey Henderson reports that goal keeper Marti Sutton was amazing and fearless of the ball. She also added, “The girls demonstrated a wide variety of skills and enthusiasm during the season. We can only be proud and hope that the girls continue to develop their skills for years to come.”
Henderson also coached the combined Gr. 4-5 intramural team. “The girls showed a lot of heart and love for the game. They were always in a great mood with their amazing encouragements for their fellow players. Vanessa Tyagi, Gr. 4 and Amrita Singh, Gr. 5, could always brighten the field.”
Wrestling Coach Karriem Stinson reports that the wrestling team had a strong showing last weekend at the Jim Root Tournament at Prospect High, with team members receiving high praise from coaches and spectators. Out of 30 teams we came in eighth with only six wrestlers! Tournament champions were Santosh Swaminathan, Gr. 11, at 105 pounds, who is currently ranked seventh in the CCS, and Chris McCallaCreary, Gr. 11, at 140 lbs., currently ranked 15 in CCS. Jason Mendel, Gr. 11, at 112 pounds, took third place and is currently ranked 20th in CCS, while Mark Roh, Gr. 12, was fourth at 160 lbs. This is the first time in our short history that we had two varsity tournament champs in one tournament. It is also the first time we have had three ranked wrestlers in the section. Although the team lost to Santa Clara on Thursday, impressive wins were achieved by Govind Raghunath, Gr. 12, who pinned his opponent in just his second varsity match and Roh, who won in a 12-9 decision. Swaminathan also won by forfeit.
Boys basketball The strong boys team continued their winning streak by defeating Eastside College Prep Tuesday 53-41 to improve to 13-2 overall and first in the league with a 5-0 record. Lung Ying-Yu, Gr. 12, had 16 points. They also beat Crystal Springs last Friday.
Girls basketball Our girls played extremely well against first-place Notre Dame Tuesday, but unfortunately came up a bit short in the fourth quarter and lost 52-39 despite 13 points from Tanya Rai, Gr. 11. The girls also got edged out Wednesday at Capuchino as Kacie Kaneyuki, Gr. 12, chipped in 19 points. Last week, they lost to Crystal Springs despite 12 points by Kaneyuki and seven rebounds by Rai.
Boys Soccer The boys lost at Sacred Heart Wednesday 2-0, and had a tough 1-0 loss to King’s Academy last week.
Girls Soccer The girls soccer team earned their third victory of the season defeating Eastside College Prep Tuesday 2-1. Goals were scored by Esther Belogolovsky, Gr. 12 and Noriko Ishisoko, Gr. 12, with an assist by Siobhan Cox, Gr. 9. The girls had a close game against King’s Academy last week, losing 1-0.
[Update II] The final total the US Girls Soccer Team raised for the American Cancer Society at their Kicks Against Cancer fundraiser held on January 13, 2010 is $3,787!
Jan. 22, 2010:
The varsity girls and boys soccer teams raised a total of approximately $2,500 for the American Red Cross last week with their special Kicks Against Cancer fundraiser, which culminated with the teams’ respective games against Pinewood School and Crystal Springs Uplands School. Raised through a variety of means, the money will go toward breast cancer prevention.
Organizers leveraged a number of different methods to raise the amount, including selling tickets to the games, raffling prizes from local merchants and selling commemorative ribbons that were displayed during the game.
Faculty and staff also pledged to donate $150 for every goal scored by Harker, and each game featured a halftime penalty kick contest in which participants paid a dollar for a chance to score a goal against each team’s goalkeeper.
At the upper school assembly on Jan. 19, Chris Collins, assistant to the director of athletics, received a special commemorative soccer ball to honor her hard work in ensuring that Kicks Against Cancer was a success.
Jan. 7, 2010:
A number of organizations at Harker have run anti-cancer fundraisers over the years, and now an athletic team is joining the effort. The upper school varsity girls and boys soccer squads are currently raising funds for their “Kicks Against Cancer” games on Jan. 13 at Davis Field. The girls varsity soccer team will play Pinewood School at 4:30 p.m., and the boys will play Crystal Springs Uplands School at 6:30 p.m.
The admission charge of $10 will include a pink T-shirt (while supplies last) commemorating the event. Raffle tickets can be purchased for $5 each. Prizes will include, among other things, a signed jersey and ball from the San Jose Earthquakes, a bowling party, gift cards and Harker apparel. Attendees can also purchase a commemorative ribbon with an optional personal message, which will be displayed on Davis Field on the day of the event. All proceeds raised from the event will go toward breast cancer research and prevention.
All items will be available for purchase at the games, or during lunchtime in the days leading up to the event, at the Edge on the Saratoga campus. Items can be purchased with cash. Purchases of $10 or more can be charged to a student account. Donations can be sent on The Harker School’s Saratoga campus to Troy Thiele, girls varsity soccer coach and upper school math teacher. Coach Thiele can be contacted at troyt@harker.org. Checks should be made payable to The Harker School.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2009 Harker Quarterly.
Homecoming 2009 blended old and new traditions on a crisp fall evening Nov. 13. Held for the first time on campus, but incorporating many old traditions, homecoming at Davis Field provided a home field advantage for both players and fans.
Early in the evening, K-Gr. 12 students, alumni, staff, parents and friends enjoyed the junior varsity game despite the 18-9 loss; tailgate parties and the traditional pre-game and half-time entertainment got the crowd excited and ready to watch the big game. Fan favorites – the class tug-of-wars, the Eaglets’ performance and the homecoming court – were accompanied by the addition of a Bounce Zone with slide and bounce house, on adjacent, well-lit Rosenthal Field.
Although Davis Field has been open for three years, the logistics of holding homecoming on campus have been daunting. Previous homecoming events were held at PAL stadium and at Foothill College. This year, through the tireless efforts of staff and administration, parking, seating and entertainment were all organized to fit the smaller venue. Upper school students vacated their parking spaces in good order to make room for grade-level and alumni tailgates, as well as the traditional team tailgate at Christine and John Davis’ (Cole, Gr. 12) motor home. The arrangement created a safe zone where parents and students could come and go freely throughout the game.
One of the more obvious advantages to having the event on campus was having executive chef Steve Martin’s tasty food right to hand. To accommodate the crowd of over 1,200, additional bleacher seating was brought in, shuttles ran to the Blackford parking lot, and the homecoming court traveled green, arriving via pedicabs instead of the traditional convertibles. Chris Daren, upper school activities and yearbook/newspaper advisor, organized an entertaining week of spirit events for the Saratoga students as well as the homecoming court event.
One of the refinements of the home field location was the above-mentioned Bounce Zone, supervised by ever-vigilant BEST staff, heavily used by an enthusiastic crowd of younger Eagles until close to the end of the game.
This year, with a real “home coming,” the crowd was energized. Before the varsity game, attendees were treated to an impressive routine by the varsity Dance Troupe, directed by Laura Rae, and an enthusiastic performance by the lower school’s junior cheerleaders, instructed by Melinda Beason. Prior to kickoff, vocal groups from all three campuses sang both the Harker anthem and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” directed by upper school music teacher Catherine Snider.
The first half was a hard-fought struggle, with coach Karriem Stinson’s Eagles behind 12-7 when the halftime whistle blew. Throughout the first half of the game, the junior cheerleaders from Bucknall, with the upper school cheerleaders, coached by Chris King, led the crowd in rousing cheers in support of the gridiron gladiators on the emerald field below.
During halftime, the finals of the upper school tug-of-war contest took place, with seniors maintaining the status quo by taking first over the juniors. More halftime entertainment was provided by the cheerleaders, who put on an acrobatic display of school spirit.
Irresistibly cute, the Gr. 1-2 Eaglets, instructed by lower school dance teacher Gail Palmer, performed their annual dance, this year held in the home grandstand, and, shortly afterward, the 2009 homecoming court arrived on the field via carriages pedaled by class deans. Seniors Kevin Fu (playing running back and defensive end, thus in his football uniform) and Mahum Jamal were crowned Homecoming King and Queen. Other members of the court included freshmen Rahul Nalamasu and Maya Sathaye, sophomores Aaron Bisla and Laura Yau, juniors Nirjhar Mundkur and Brianna Tran, as well as seniors Thomas Enzminger, Valerie Hwa, Arjun Mody and Jackie Ho. In another long-established tradition, faculty cheerleaders rallied the crowd prior to the start of the second half.
As in previous years, the crowd was entertained throughout the game by the sounds of the upper school’s Jazz Band, led by Chris Florio. In the stands and on the field, students and players reveled in the first on-campus homecoming. “It just felt right being on Davis Field: it’s where we have all of our spirit events and football games and class meetings and such,” said Danielle Buis, Gr. 12. “So much activity happens on Davis Field, so it’s just always going to bring back those good memories of high school and all the things we did together. We have a lot of spirit and pride in what we do at the high school and homecoming is just our way to show it off to the other campuses.”
Football player Gautam Krishnamurthi, Gr. 11, playing wide receiver and cornerback, concurred: “The fact that it was ‘home’-coming was really defined by the atmosphere that was there at this last game because of the proximity of the fans as well as because it was where we practice and play every day.” Krishnamurthi also liked the fact that the game was held after the regular season and that the opponent, Berean Christian, provided a challenge, which made the game exciting to watch.
Even the younger students enjoyed the home field event. Jithin Vellian, Gr. 8, has attended homecoming games since he was in the lower school. Although he played football with his friends during the game, which is what he says he has done every year, he felt that having the game at the Saratoga campus made it special. “I like how homecoming was at the school itself, instead of some random place. It was nice to have it somewhere I’ve been before.” Victor Shin, Gr. 4, liked the game being at home. Shin explained, “I really liked the food and being with my friends, but I didn’t like that we lost.”
The crowd was thoroughly fired up for the second half and both teams showed great competitive spirit. The game was announced throughout by our own Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs. Although Harker eventually lost the grueling contest 25-13, Homecoming 2009 allowed our ever-growing athletic department to show off one of the many upper school sports, as well as our impressive facilities.
Since its inception, the athletic department has been steadily growing, adding sports and facilities and training increasingly talented athletes. In 2005-06, approximately 50 percent of the upper school student body played after- school sports; now, 65-70 percent compete in at least one sport.
Currently, 14 former Harker students are playing athletics at the college level, in swimming, gymnastics, tennis, football, baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball and diving. Schools include Penn State, Northeastern, Cornell and Villanova as well as West Coast schools University of Puget Sound, UC Berkeley, Santa Clara University, Pepperdine and San Jose State University. Current seniors Cole Davis, Arthi Padmanabhan, Michael Clifford and Greg Plauck all are planning to play college athletics as well. Davis has already been accepted to swim at Stanford, and Plauck will be playing baseball at Santa Clara next year.
Harker teams have won an impressive list of titles and championships, including 14 league titles, one Nor-Cal championship, over 35 section scholastic championships, and three state scholastic titles since Dan Molin took over as athletic director in 2005. Already this year, Harker has had two more firsts: the football team qualified for playoffs for the first time in school history, and the girls tennis team made it to the CCS quarterfinals.
“I’m continually amazed at and inspired by what Harker student-athletes accomplish,” said Molin. “They always rise to the occasion and go beyond our expectations on the court, field or pool.”
Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancment, added, “Looking to the future, there have been and continue to be meetings to rally support for a new gym building to be built at the same time as the planned performing arts center.”
Homecoming at Davis Field this year was just another step in bringing our athletic department to a higher level, and we look forward to the continued growth of Harker sports.
Fall sports have concluded at the upper school, with some historic firsts. The boys water polo team won its first ever CCS Scholastic Championship, with Michael Clifford, Gr. 12, awarded the Co-Most Valuable Player for the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. The football team qualified for playoffs for the first time in school history; although the boys lost the game on a rainy, muddy field, it was a great end to the season. In addition, Kelsey Hilbrich, Gr. 12, made it to the state championships in cross country once again, placing 25th out of all Division IV girls in the State of California (all 188 of them)! She improved her time from last year by 41 seconds.
Clifford scored two goals in a losing effort as his Division II team recently lost to the Division I All-Stars 12-11 in the annual high school all-star water polo game. He was selected by the coaches after the game to represent the CCS in a game against the NCS all-stars. Since there were only eight players from each division selected from all the seniors in CCS this is a huge accomplishment.
Finally, two senior boys have announced that they will pursue their athletic careers at the Division 1 collegiate level. Cole Davis has been accepted to Stanford University to swim competitively and Greg Plauck will attend Santa Clara University to play baseball. This is a tremendous reward for their years of hard work and dedication.
In winter sports, the girls basketball team has started off their season 2-1, defeating Pescadero and Geyserville in the Pescadero Tournament but falling to The Bay School in the finals. Priscilla Auyeung, Gr. 9, made the all-tournament team and Roshni Bhatnagar, Gr. 11, averaged 10 points and seven rebounds in the tournament.
Boys basketball won their season opener at Anzar 71-33 behind 13 points from Plauck and 12 from Ryan Cali, Gr. 12.
In other basketball news, Vikrum Jain, Gr. 10, made the all-tournament team at the recent JV boys basketball tournament at San Lorenzo Valley.
Boys soccer lost to Valley Christian but defeated Mills 4-3. Jose Costa, Gr. 12, scored twice with Michael Amick, Gr. 9 and Stefan Eckhardt, Gr. 12, scoring one each.
Girls soccer lost to Fremont and Sacred Heart Cathedral, with Esther Belogolovsky, Gr. 12, scoring against Fremont.
As the winter season has just started, look for much more sports news to come!