On Saturday, three outstanding alumni – Alex Abarca ’09, Daniza Rodriguez ’13 and Amanda (Polzin) Sullivan ’06 – were inducted into the Harker Athletic Hall of Fame, along with the entire roster of the 2007-08 girls varsity volleyball team, one of Harker athletics’ greatest success stories. Sullivan and former volleyball team member Candace Silva-Martin ’09 were unable to attend in-person and Zoomed into the ceremony from home.
A highly prolific scorer, Abarca was a four-time boys varsity basketball MVP for the Eagles and posted more than 1,700 points. In his junior year, he was named the Private School Athletic League MVP. As a senior he was named to the WBAL First Team, a San Jose Mercury News Athlete of the Week, declared Harker Athlete of the Year and received the Eagle Award, which is given to athletes who demonstrate extraordinary dedication and enthusiasm, expressed in their willingness to help their teammates, act as role models and offer their maximum effort to every task. He graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in business management economics from UC Santa Cruz, where he also played basketball. Abarca now lives in San Jose and works as an accounting manager at AEye Inc., and is married and a father to a 7-month-old son.
In addition to being named co-MVP of the girls varsity basketball team in her senior year, Amanda Sullivan (née Polzin) received an honorable mention for the All-West Bay Athletic League Team. While performing as a key member of the team, Sullivan — who was born with amniotic band syndrome — also dedicated her time to serving student athletes with disabilities. She began volunteering with the Special Olympics, which eventually led to her winning the top prize in the San Jose Sports Authority’s REACH (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard Work) Youth Scholarship Program, an annual award given to Bay Area high school student athletes who have met significant challenges in order to achieve in both athletics and academics. She went on to study human development in college and found a fulfilling career in social work. Sullivan currently resides in North Carolina and is married with two children.
Daniza Rodriguez set a number of records in her time as a member of the girls varsity basketball team. She at one point held the record for most career points (1,214), most points in a season (511) and the best start to a season for any Harker athletics team (11-1). She received many accolades over the course of her upper school career, receiving Harker’s Female Athlete of the Year award in her sophomore and junior years, winning the Eagle Award in her junior and senior years and being named the WBAL Skyline League MVP and to the Skyline League First Team All League. She went on to play women’s basketball at Whittier College and has since returned to San Jose, where she works as a space planner at Cushman & Wakefield. In 2018, she assumed the role of coach for the girls varsity basketball team, which had a historic season that included a first-ever league title win and an appearance in the CCS finals.
The 2007 girls volleyball team remains one of the most successful teams in Harker’s athletic history. The team’s historic 38-5 run included a 12-0 league record, a win at the Maui Classic tournament and the first appearance Central Coast Section ranking ever achieved by a Harker athletics team. The season culminated in an appearance at the state finals against Santa Fe Valley Christian, in which the Eagles fell short but nevertheless left a permanent impression with their phenomenal talent, work ethic and record-setting performances. Featuring no fewer than three Harker Athletics hall of famers — Tanya Schmidt ’08, Kristina Bither ’09 and Candace Silva-Martin ’09 — and coached by decorated Harker veteran Theresa “Smitty” Smith, this team stands as one of the deepest in Harker athletic history to ever take any field or court. Due to their contributions not only to the team’s success but to this landmark chapter in Harker’s athletic legacy, all members of the team were recognized with this special induction.
Cross country’s season opener took place Saturday at the De La Salle Invitational in Concord, where junior Veyd Patil and senior Kara Kister were Harker’s top runners, finishing with times of 16:36 and 20:37, respectively, on a three-mile course. The runners’ next event will be the Artichoke Invitational in Half Moon Bay on Oct. 1.
Girls golf has played quite well in its last three outings, winning yesterday against Mercy High, defeating both Castilleja and Crystal Springs at Bay View and finishing second behind CCS champions Valley Christian at last week’s Helen Lengfeld Tournament. The team will face Notre Dame Belmont at Moffett Field on Monday.
Varsity football continued its strong start with a convincing 58-0 victory over Burton last Friday. At 3-1, the team will play at home against Crystal Springs this Friday. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Boys water polo won two straight games last week, defeating Lynbrook and Gunn. The team went into last weekend’s St. Francis tournament undefeated in league play and posted a 3-1 record with wins against Novato, Palo Alto and Gunn, and a loss to Valley Christian in the opening game. The team will host Los Gatos at the Singh Aquatic Center on Thursday.
Girls water polo is looking to bounce back at home on Thursday against Los Gatos after tough one-point losses this week to Castilleja (14-13) and Gunn (8-7) following that same week’s win over Lynbrook. Thursday’s contest starts at 4:30 p.m.
Varsity girls volleyball responded to its fifth-set loss to Westmont last week with a victory over Priory on Tuesday. Junior varsity volleyball currently has a 7-5 record after its win at Priory, and the frosh/soph team earned its first win of the season last week against Westmont.
Football’s 27-16 win over San Jose High at its home opener brought the team to a 2-1 record. Senior Rohan Gorti threw for touchdowns to Zeke Weng and Liam Jeffers, while senior Dylan Parikh scored a running touchdown for the Eagles and junior Kevin Bettencourt notched a defensive touchdown. The Eagles will take on San Francisco’s Burton High this Friday at 7 p.m.
At Saturday’s tournament in Aptos, girls water polo posted a 3-0 record to win the tournament, defeating Aptos 10-7 in the final game. The team faces Lynbrook tomorrow night.
Ninth grade golfer Kimaya Mehta recorded Harker’s first-ever hole-in-one earlier this month at the Bayview Golf Club. In league play, sophomore Allison Yang is currently the league’s leading scorer and has been instrumental in Harker’s strong 3-0 start.
Boys water polo won all three of its league openers against Homestead on Tuesday. The team has two games at home this week, facing Lynbrook on Tuesday and Gunn on Thursday.
JV and varsity girls volleyball were both victorious on Wednesday against Willow Glen. The frosh/soph team came up short against Milpitas after a hard-fought game. On Friday, JV and varsity were defeated by the very tough Santa Cruz High teams. The following day, JV performed respectably at the JV Spikefest, placing 12th out of 32 teams. Each team will play at home on Tuesday against Evergreen Valley and Thursday against Westmont.
Harker’s cross country teams will compete in their first race this Saturday at the De La Salle Invitational, and girls’ tennis’ first match is scheduled for Sept. 27.
Football’s season opener at Harbor High on Friday ended with a 44-27 loss. Touchdowns were scored by senior Zeke Weng, senior Rohan Gorti, sophomore Rayan Arya and junior Ryan Barth, who ran back a blocked field goal attempt for his first career touchdown. They face Swett High School Friday.
Girls varsity volleyball lost a tough season opener 3-0 to Branham High on Thursday, while JV was victorious in its match against Branham. The varsity team be at Harbor High tomorrow and compete this Saturday in the Spikefest tournament.
Upcoming games:
The Singh Aquatic Center will be the place to see boys water polo’s season opener on Friday against Skyline High from Utah. JV will play at 6 p.m. and varsity is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Girls golf’s season opener is today, facing Notre Dame at Moffett Field. The team will face Sacred Heart Prep and Mercy in tri-match this Thursday.
With preparations to defend its titles league and section titles ongoing, the girls tennis team will not compete until Sept. 27.
Girls water polo opened its season on Sept. 6, while girls cross country is set to start competition on Sept. 17.
Last week, senior Ishaan Mantripragada was named the Central Coast Section Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The four-year soccer player was named WBAL All-League and WBAL Forward of the Year and was a valued member of the 2020 CCS championship team. He was also recognized for volunteering for Kicks Against Cancer, participating in the Synopsys Science & Technology Championship and receiving a 2020 President’s Gold Volunteer Service Award, all while maintaining strong academic performance. Mantripragada was one of several athletes honored at a special luncheon on Tuesday.
In other CCS news, six Harker athletics teams were named winners of 2021-22 Spring Season Scholastic Championship Team Awards last week. These awards recognize the top five varsity teams from each sport that have maintained the highest collective GPA in their respect sports during the spring athletic season. The boys baseball, boys volleyball, girls swimming, boys tennis, boys track and field and girls track and field teams were all selected to receive this award.
The American Volleyball Coaches Association named Jarrett Anderson ’19, who currently plays for Springfield College, their NCAA Division III Men’s National Player of the Year last week. A first-team NVA/AVCA All-American for three straight seasons, Anderson was a major factor in Springfield’s appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship semifinals this year. This season he recorded 264 kills, 107 digs, 78 aces and 46 blocks.
Girls basketball lost a close contest to Menlo in their first CCS finals appearance, with final a score of 54-49. They face Colfax tonight in the CIF NorCal tournament. Meanwhile, sophomore Anjali Yella was named the 49ers Cal-Hi Sports CCS Scholar Athlete of the Year for 2022 winter season. Congratulations to Yella on this well-deserved honor!
Boys varsity volleyball’s Friday season opener ended in a loss to Serra High School, but the team rebounded at a tournament in Watsonville this past weekend, going 3-1 to take second place overall. The team plays Mitty today at home.
Last week, boys varsity baseball lost 3-2 to Woodside. Senior Mark Hu gave a strong performance, giving up just two runs in six innings and striking out 10 hitters. Runs for Harker were earned by senior Aaron Lo and Ryan Field. They are at Fremont High tonight and play their home opener on Thursday against Overfelt.
Harker athletics posted a milestone last week, as four winter teams (boys and girls soccer and basketball) reached the CCS playoffs for the first time in school history. Congratulations to the incredible student athletes and staff for this achievement.
Last week, Harker athletic coaches Ie-Chen Cheng and Theresa Smith were each named Coach of the Year for the Central Coast Section in girls golf and girls volleyball, respectively, by the National Federation of State High School Association’s Coaches Association. The two longtime coaches were recognized for the positive effects they have had on Harker athletes during the 2020-21 school year. They are now eligible to be recognized as top coaches at both the state and national levels. Congratulations to both of these amazing coaches!
It’s been a busy several days for Harker alumni athletes. Golfer Maverick McNealy ’13, pursuing his first PGA win, took second place at the Fortinet Championship over the weekend with a score of -18, just behind winner Max Homa. Current Harker golfer Allison Yang, grade 9, met McNealy before competition on Sunday. “She wished him good luck and [told him] to play Harker smart,” said Harker golf coach Ie-Chen Cheng. “Allison was stoked that Maverick took the time out to talk to her.”
Meanwhile, Emily Cheng ’20 helped MIT women’s volleyball win the MIT Invitational on Sept. 11. Also playing in that event was Ashley Jezbec ’20, who played for Bowdoin College. Cheng was named the MVP event with 47 assists and 14 digs.
Harker football won its season opener against San Jose High in a thriller that went into overtime. The Eagles were down by 8 in the third quarter before tying the score at 14, sending the game into overtime, where senior Aaditya Gulati kicked the game-winning field goal. Harker will meet Lynnbrook at Davis Field this Friday.
Girls golf fell to a strong Palo Alto team in non-league play on Thursday, but rebounded to win its league opener against Notre Dame-San Jose the following day.
In its Thursday season opener, girls volleyball lost to Branham High and had a 2-3 record in Saturday’s Spikefest Tournament, defeating Silver Creek and Christopher. The team faces Harbor at home on Tuesday and will host Santa Cruz on Friday.
Several Harker teams have upcoming season openers. Boys water polo will open its season in a Wednesday away game at Valley Christian, while girls water polo starts its season Sept. 7 against Los Altos High. Opening its season that same day will be girls tennis, which will face Monta Vista. Cross country is hard at work preparing for its Sept. 11 start at the Lowell Invitational, held at Golden Gate Park.
The boys volleyball squad completed a mid-season turnaround to win its second-ever CCS championship against Prospect High on Saturday. Congratulations to recent graduates Billy Fan, Anish Kilaru, Deven Parikh, Brian Pinkston, Ethan Steeg and Avery Young; juniors Vishnu Kannan and Raymond Xu; sophomores Tyler Beede and Johnny Kuehnis; and freshmen Adrian Liu and Edis Mesic!
In its opening round CCS game, the boys basketball team defeated Monte Vista Christian 74-67 and is slated to face top-seeded Sacred Heart Prep on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Good luck and go Eagles!