In a thrilling week for Harker athletics, a golfer won a WBAL league championship for the second straight year, one runner set a new school record, another runner continued her amazing pace with a wire-to-wire win, and junior varsity football continued their pursuit of an undefeated season. Let’s get to it!
Golf:
KRISTINE LIN WINS WBAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
Kristine Lin, grade 12, won the WBAL league championship for the second straight year, defending her title by shooting a 76 at Poplar Creek! Senior Connie Li also had a great day, shooting a career-best 93. Sophomore Daphne Liang shot a 90 to tie for 10th place. The team as a whole came in third place, beating Menlo and finishing only 13 strokes behind Sacred Heart Prep. Li competes at CCS today in Carmel.
Cross Country:
STERLING DAY ONCE AGAIN FOR RUNNERS GONZALES AND IYER
Well, surprise, surprise. Harker runners Corey Gonzales, grade 11, and Niki Iyer, grade 9, had incredible weeks once again. Gonzales set a new school record with a time of 15:47. He took off easy, landing in 30th place after the first half mile, then caught up to 10th over the next half mile, and finally stormed through the leaders to finish in second place. Iyer continued her amazing start to the season, leading end-to-end over the course of setting a school record and nailing the fifth best time ever for a freshman on the Crystal Springs Course with a 17:53. The next race for cross country team is the league championships on Nov. 8 at Crystal Springs.
Football:
JV STILL UNDEFEATED AFTER 18-POINT COMEBACK
The junior varsity team remains undefeated after a huge 18-14 comeback win against North Monterey County High School. Down 14-0 at halftime, the team roared back to score 18 unanswered points, courtesy of two touchdown passes by quarterback Keanu Forbes, grade 11, a pair of two-point conversions, and a safety. Nikhil Ramgiri, grade 10, led the team in receiving with three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown. Alex Youn, grade 9, snagged the other touchdown pass. Will Park, grade 9, led the team in rushing with 58 yards on 13 carries. Park also came up big on defense, intercepting a pass on North Monterey County’s final drive to seal the victory for the Eagles. The win puts Harker’s record on the year at an undefeated 4-0. The time will try to extend their streak to five when they play Cupertino on Friday night at 6 p.m.
Water Polo:
MIXED WEEK AHEAD OF SENIOR DAY
The varsity boys water polo team went 1-1 last week, losing to Wilcox but bouncing back to beat Santa Clara. Eric Holt, grade 11, scored eight goals across the two games, while Billy Bloomquist, grade 11, had a hat trick against Wilcox.
The junior varsity boys team competed in the Wilcox Tournament on Saturday, going 2-2 with victories over Heritage and St. Ignatius.
On the girls’ side, the varsity team lost both of their games last week, losing to Santa Clara and Wilcox despite seven goals from Delaney Martin, grade 11. Anushka Das, grade 11, and Anna Levine, grade 12, each had two goals that week, while juniors Jackie Shen and Sheridan Tobin scored as well. Helena Dworak, grade 10, had a total of 17 saves in goal.
The varsity teams have their senior day on Thursday, with ceremonies occurring at approximately 5:30 p.m. in between games against Cupertino.
Volleyball:
VARSITY’S RECORD NOW AT 10-9 AFTER TOUGH WEEK
The varsity girls volleyball team’s record now stands at 10-9 after a tough week which saw them lose to both Sacred Heart Prep and Castilleja. Against Sacred Heart Prep, Divya Kalindindi, grade 12, had 19 kills and Doreeen Kang, grade 10, had 10. The girls host Priory tonight, with varsity playing at 5:45 p.m., and then hit the road to play St. Francis on Friday.
Tennis:
GIRLS GO 1-1 AFTER LOSS TO MENLO AND WIN AGAINST CRYSTAL SPRINGS
The girls began the week by losing to Menlo, but bounced back to defeat Crystal Springs on their senior day. In the win, Dora Tzeng, grade 12, Izzy Gross, grade 10, and Arden Hu, grade 11, all came away with victories in their singles matches, while Ariana Shulman, grade 12, and Nadia Palte, grade 10, won in doubles. The other three matches that day all went to a third set, highlighted by a clutch come-from-behind win by Megy Appalaraju, grade 11, and Era Iyer, grade 9. The girls face off against Castilleja in a league match today.
Coming Up:
Tuesday is a packed day of Harker sports! The girls golf team begins by playing in the CCS championships at Rancho Canada Golf Club. All three water polo teams are in action. The boys play at Homestead High School, with the varsity team leading off at 3:30 p.m., followed by the junior varsity team at 4:45 p.m. The girls varsity water polo team plays at Monta Vista High School at 5:45 p.m. Both girls volleyball teams play home games against Priory. Junior varsity’s game comes first at 4:30 p.m., followed by varsity’s game at 5:45 p.m. The varsity girls tennis team also has a match, an away game against Castilleja at 3:30 p.m.
All teams are off on Wednesday. On Thursday, varsity girls tennis plays Notre Dame High School San Jose in an away game at 3:30 p.m. Then, a trilogy of water polo games take place at Harker against Cupertino High School. In episode one, the varsity girls play at 4:30 p.m. Then, for the sequel, the junior varsity boys play at 5:45 p.m. Finally, the saga wraps up with an exciting conclusion when the varsity boys play a night game at 6:45 p.m. The water polo teams celebrate their senior day in a ceremony at 5:30 p.m.
On Friday, the varsity boys water polo team plays in the Ron Freeman Memorial Varsity Boys Water Polo Tournament at Homestead. The varsity girls volleyball team has an away game against St. Francis High School Mountain View at 4:30 p.m. Finally, at 6 p.m., the undefeated junior varsity football team is back with a night game against Cupertino High School!