As I mentioned in my boys golf preview last week, the team is coming off of a very impressive 2016 campaign and has even higher expectations as they enter a new season. Recently I was able to chat briefly with senior captain Harry Grosso about the upcoming season, and here’s what he had to say.

Me: After a season last year where you guys finished the regular season undefeated, what are expectations like heading into the new year?

Harry: After last years undefeated regular season and a run at the state title I believe the expectation for this year is to once again go undefeated and make an even larger push for the state title to be awarded in October.

Me: Who are the captains of the team this year and what other players are you looking to have a successful season?

Harry: Captains are Harry Grosso and Harry Culhane. Other players would be Culhane, Micahel Rosenbloom, Max Webb, Matt McKenna

Me: When you look at your schedule, who are some of the tougher foes that you foresee going up against?

Harry: Teams like Walpole, Brookline & BC High will be the tougher match ups in my opinion but I think that if we can play the golf we know we are capable of we should be fine.

Me: Personally what are your goals for this new season?

Harry: My personal goal for this season is to win the MIAA state title individually because last year I was in a position to do so but when I needed to convert I failed to do it and I learned a lot from that experience

 

Happy Thursday everyone, as we continue with part 2 of our Fall Sports Trivia special. First things first here are the answers to yesterday’s questions.

1. The current playoff format began back in 2013
2. John Fadule started his first game against NC State in 2015
3. The last time girls soccer won a state title was in fall of 2004
4. The boys soccer team upset Silver Lake in the first round of the tournament last season
5. Chris Sarni passed/ran for 6 total td’s in the win over Natick, 3 passing, 3 rushing

Here are today’s questions!

1. What was boys golf’s regular season record last fall?
2. How many age groups are there in Wellesley Little League’s fall baseball program this fall?
3. What branch of the military did head football coach Jesse Davis serve in?
4. Who did field hockey host in their first tournament game played at Sprague Field back in 2008?
5. When was the last time girls swimming defeated Needham?

Raider boys lacrosse coach Rocky Batty announced today on twitter that he is leaving his position to pursuit a coaching opportunity on the collegiate level. Batty spent 11 seasons at the helm of the Raiders guiding them to tournament play all 11 years, including his most successful campaign in 2012 where the Raiders advanced all the way to the state semifinals. Wellesley Sports Blitz would like to thank coach Batty for his tremendous career with the Raiders and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors!

As I said yesterday beginning today I will be posting 5 Raider fall sports trivia questions each day today-Friday. Below find the first 5 questions. Feel free to comment with answers to any or all of the questions!

1. What year did the current football playoff format begin in Massachusetts?
2. What school did former WHS quarterback John Fadule start his first collegiate game against for BC?
3. When was the last time girls soccer won a state championship?
4. What school did boys soccer upset in last year’s tournament?
5. How many total touchdowns did was former Raider quarterback Chris Sarni pass/rush for in the Raiders upset victory over then top 10 ranked and undefeated Natick back in fall of 2012?

With this week being a down week with previews complete and games not having begun, I figured I’d have some fun, with some exciting Raider sports trivia each of the next 3 days beginning tomorrow. The trivia will be 5 fall sports related questions each day and will not be for prizes, keep an eye out tomorrow for the first questions!

It’s the last week in August everyone! What better way to lead off this week than with another edition of Monday Poll. Last week’s poll resulted in a tie at the top with both NFL and NHL receiving 4 votes each. This week’s poll question is… which form of “fighting” do you enjoy watching the most? Boxing, Wrestling, or MMA?

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful last Saturday in August as it is now time to reveal the answer to yesterday’s Raider Friday Trivia question. The last Raider football quarterback to start a full season’s worth of games in both his junior and senior season was… Brendan Brooks who guided in the Raiders in 2008 (junior) and 2009 (senior) to go along with starting the majority of 2007 (sophomore). Unfortunately there was no winner of the gift card this week but we will be back next Friday!

We have come to the end of our week of fall sport previews and last but certainly not least we take a look at the Raider football team who certainly will have high expectations to live up to in 2017. The Raiders enjoyed their most successful season in over a decade in 2016 as they finished 10-1 overall, capturing their first Herget title since 1999. The team went on to capture their first postseason victory since that year before falling to Bridgewater-Raynham in the D1A South semifinals. Despite losing some key players from last season the Raiders will still look to contend for a second straight Herget crown and to make some noise in the playoffs as this year they are back down to D2 South.

We’ve come to the last Friday in August and it’s time for the last August edition of Raider Friday Trivia. Guess today’s question correctly and you could win a Dunkin gift card. Today’s question is… who was the last Raider football quarterback to start a full season’s worth of games in both their junior and senior seasons? Answer tomorrow!

So yesterday when I said today would be last day of fall previews, I clearly was not looking at a calendar, as today is truly the second to last day of our fall sports previews. Today we take a look at girls swimming who enjoyed another winning season in 2016. The girls finished their regular season 8-3, and then went on to take 4th at the Bay State meet, 6th in sectionals and then went on to the state meet. As always the girls will look to make their way back to the top of the Bay State Conference in 2017 as they face an always difficult schedule. Join us tomorrow as we truly close out the week in previews with football!