With the 2015-16 school year and athletics season fast approaching, I thought I would take a look back at the year that was in Wellesley High School athletics. Over the next 3 days look for highlights from the fall, winter, and spring seasons respectively.

We start off with the fall season, with several teams making state tournament runs and competing for Bay State Herget Division Championships in a successful start to the 2014-15 year. The football team bounced back after an 0-4 start to win 6 games in a row before falling to Needham on Thanksgiving ending their season 6-5, the 3rd straight winning season under coach Jessie Davis. The girls soccer team made the tournament after finishing the regular season 7-7-4 and won their preliminary round match vs King Philip 1-0 on the road before falling to top seeded Bishop Feehan in the first round 4-1. Boys soccer meanwhile won their second straight Herget crown finishing the regular season 10-4-3 and then defeated Natick at home 1-0 in the first round of the tournament before falling to eventual state champion Needham 3-1 in the quarterfinals. The girls field hockey team had a run to remember in the MIAA state tournament after finishing 9-5-4 in the regular season. The girls shutout Nauset 5-0 in the preliminary round before a major upset win over top seeded Walpole 1-0 in overtime in the first round. The girls then moved on to the quarterfinals where their run came to a heartbreaking end losing 1-0 to Dennis Yarmouth. In cross country the boys team finished the season 2-6 while the girls finished 7-3, good for second place in the Herget. Girls swimming made it all the way to all state meet, and had some impressive finishes in the even including a first place finish by Lily Gribbel in the 50 yard freestyle. Lastly girls volleyball finished their season 8-11 just missing out on postseason play.

Check back tomorrow for the winter sports retrospective.

When the Wellesley South and Newton Southeast little leaguers squared off in the opening game of the District 10 tournament Wellesley South came away with a 2-1 victory in a defensive battle. As the 2 teams prepared to meet again Thursday night in the District championship game it would’ve been fair to expect the same, and boy was it. Both teams battled back and forth in what turned into another battle of pitching and defense which ended with Newton Southeast claiming their 3rd straight District title with a 3-2 win. Southeast was lead by pitcher Nick Wang who shut down a very potent Wellesley offense through 5+ innings and also helped his own cause with a 1st inning homer at the plate. The difference in the game was Southeast clean up hitter Greg Cooperman who’s 2 run homer in the bottom of the 3rd proved to be the game winner. For Wellesley South Jackson McCesney certainly lead the way both on the mound and at the plate, as despite the 2 homers McCesney was able to hold Southeast’s offense in check otherwise for 5 innings. McCesney also did the damage at the plate, scoring both runs including a solo homer in the top of the 3rd. Newton Southeast now advances to the section 3 tournament next Tuesday-Friday in Canton, a section that has been very good to District 10 teams as the last seven years the District 10 winner has won the sectional and advanced to the state finals which this year will be held in Lynn. Congratulations and best of luck moving forward to Newton Southeast, and congratulations to Wellesley South on a terrific run!

It was an exciting night Tuesday  as Wellesley Little League fans gathered at Lyons Field in Newton to watch their Wellesley North and South little leaguers compete in the semifinals of the District 10 tournament. In game 1 Wellesley North squared off with two time defending district champion Newton Southeast, and engaged in a hard fought, back and forth battle that had to be settled in extra innings. It only took one swing however to settle it as Newton Southeast hit a walk off homer in the bottom of the 7th to send them to a third straight District 10 championship game. Wellesley South however faired much better in the nightcap as they faced off with Newton National. South got going right away with a lead off homer in the bottom of the first and never looked back going on to take this one by the final of 12-5. Wellesley South will face Newton Southeast in the championship game Thursday night back at Lyons field, time tbd. Best of luck to Wellesley South and congratulations to Wellesley North and a terrific game and a terrific run in the tournament.

Even though high school football is still over a month and half away it is never to early to start talking about the most important game of the season to most people, the Wellesley Needham thanksgiving day showdown. This rivalry dates back to 1882, and will be playing for the 128th time this coming November. Currently Wellesley leads the series 60-58-9, although Needham has  been victorious 4 out of the last 5 years including winning the latest installment 27-13 at home this past November. The question that always gets asked when people talk about this rivalry is what makes it so special? First off you have to look at the history, Wellesley was once a part of Needham called West Needham but then succeeded back in 1880 to form Wellesley. As a peace offering of sorts two years later Arthur Oldham of Wellesley challenged his Needham counterparts to a football game, the final score of which was 4-0 Wellesley, and the rest is history. Not many other rivalries can share the distinction of playing 127 years pretty much on a continual basis, which is why Wellesley/Needham is commonly referred to as one of the oldest rivalries in the country. Another reason this rivalry is special is the fact that these towns are right next door to each other, especially since the town’s high school hockey teams share a rink over at Babson College, making it the place to be when the two square off on the ice each year. Furthermore, every year when these two teams square off on the gridiron the fans in attendance are always treated to exciting football, regardless of record, and the games are always close usually coming down to the final minutes or beyond. Another factor you have to look at is the respect factor between the two towns and the two teams. While these two teams battle like crazy to try to best the other on the field, they always do it with class and dignity as evidenced by the constant clean play during the games. This is evidenced by the week leading up to the game where the seniors on both teams get together for a dinner hosted by the hosting town’s rotary club. No matter what the result on a given year, the teams always shake hands after the game and many of the players build and maintain lifelong friendships with their opponents once the clock hits 0. The last and maybe most important factor is that it is always the last game of the season for both teams (barring a playoff/state championship berth) and for the seniors the last time they will dawn their respective schools uniform. For the seniors especially but for the teams as a whole it is one last legacy to leave for a season or for a career, because 10 years down the road not many people will ask what your record was your senior year but what they will ask is “Did you beat Needham?” or “Did you beat Wellesley?” and that’s something special. Oh and for the record the 128th installment of the rivalry will take place Thursday November 26th at 10 am at Wellesley High School.

So Wellesley Little League Summer Baseball is in full swing, and there are some exciting games going on this week, especially the town’s 2 Williamsport teams. Both Wellesley North and South will compete in the District 10 Semifinals Tuesday night at Lyons Field in Newton, North will play in the first semifinal at 5 against Newton Southeast and South will play in the second semifinal at 7:15 against Newton National. The winners of those games will play for the district title Thursday time and place tbd. If you can go out and support your Wellesley teams as they try to bring a district title back to Wellesley for the 3rd time in 5 years.

Along with this blog I also do multiple youtube podcasts that discuss various sports topics including Wellesley sports. Check out the following links and as always Go Raiders!

(Quick Sports Thoughts) https://www.youtube.com/user/robertin390

(On A Couch Talking Sports) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6lRpGPv3VhdjQjpN13722A

Welcome to Wellesley Sports Blitz, a new blog dedicated to all things Wellesley Sports. On this blog you will find scores, and news from both the high school and youth levels. As a Wellesley High alum I’ve always tried to keep tabs on the latest goings on in town sports wise, and now and now want to share that knowledge with you. Hope you enjoy and Go Raiders!