So earlier this week I put out a call any memories of the old Wellesley High School Gym and some of our readers came through sharing their recollections so I wanted to share those with you right now. Now disclaimer this actually includes memories from both gyms at the old high school not just the downstairs gym. Thank you to all the readers that shared and if you want to share your memories feel free to comment and I’ll add to the list.

“I remember in the old upstairs gym. Fred Schlottenmier Chalked up his hand then proceded to jump up an down on the trampoline until He hit the ceiling, had to be about 25- 30 feet up,He left his handprint up there for years!”

“I detested gym class,largely because of the hideous zip front uniforms girls were required to wear and because I was, and still am, a prolific “sweater.” No one took showers back then! Did anyone take “square dancing” in the 70’s? Horrifying!”

“Dances lol”

 

Per team member Jason Maiona on Facebook the Wellesley High Football team has named its captains for the 2016 season as Bobby Leonhardt, Grant Chryssicas, and Scott Westerman were selected to lead the team in the new season. All three played pivotal roles in the teams 6-5 season this year including their 6-0 start and second place finish in the Herget Division. Wellesley Sports Blitz congratulates all 3 on this tremendous accomplishment and wishes them all the best as they lead the team into a new campaign.

So yesterday I asked you the reader what your memories of the old WHS gym were and today I wanted to share with you some of my memories, which there are so many, but I’ve decided to put 5 that sort of stand out from the rest. Again feel free to comment with some of your memories to this story or yesterday’s.

1. 2011 Boys Basketball Quarterfinal vs. King Philip: Even though it was a loss, the atmosphere and crowd was something that I had never seen at that old gym, the place was packed and loud, so loud I had to basically yell during the entire tv broadcast.
2. 2009 Girls Basketball Quarterfinal vs. Walpole: Again I know this was a loss but still the environment was something to behold, the stands were packed and the game lived up to the hype as I will always remember the explosion of the crowd when Jesse Miller sent the game into overtime with a last second basket.
3. This is more academic based, but playing flag football among other sports as part of Mrs. Molonea’s sports education class my sophomore year in high school was just a ton of fun and gave me a chance to both play, coach and ref sports I enjoyed.
4. 2010 Girls Basketball Quarterfinal vs. Newton South: Was just a fan for this one but again it’s one of those games you remember for the atmosphere as like many tournament games in that gym the stands were packed on both sides and the game went right down to the wire. It was also memorable because that was the game that both Blake Dietrick and Mary Louise Dixon scored their 1000 points.
5. 2006 Boys Basketball tournament game vs. Hingham: This was the first boys basketball tournament game I had ever been to home or away and as is the theme with these tournament game memories the gym was packed and loud. The boys lost and for some reason the memory that sticks out with me is the Hingham students rushing our court when the game was over.

So I know this isn’t directly Wellesley related but it kind of is and I was sad to learn that Bruce Lerch a very well known high school sports reporter at the Boston Herald passed away after a short battle with cancer. Bruce was well liked and well respected by everyone, players, coaches, fans, and administrators and having met Bruce on more than one occasion I can see why, as he was the utmost professional, a class act and an exceptional reporter. Bruce could be found at football fields, hockey rinks, and lacrosse fields all over the state and the reason why I post about him on here is that he was a frequent visitor at Wellesley games over the years, which is where I met him actually covering a girls hockey game. Bruce’s most recent visit to Wellesley was the Bay State Herget title game for football in October against Milton but as I said he frequented several hockey and lacrosse games over the years. Bruce will be missed greatly and I join with the entire high school sports community across this state in sending my thoughts and prayers to his family and his colleagues at the Herald.

So with winter sports season starting up I always find myself reminiscing about memories from Larssen (hope I spelled that right) Gym at the old high school where I spent many a night as both a fan, and as a commentator. So what I wanted to know is what are your the readers favorite memories from the old gym, whether it be fall, winter or spring there certainly are a lot of memories to go around. Comment with your answers and I’ll share them in a later post.

So we have begun another winter season and now that the first week of practice is over and the teams are picked, it’s time for the good stuff as this week we kick off game action. Below is the schedule for this coming week, and with the return of games means the return of Raider Recaps so look for that once games start.

 

Monday 12-7

No games

Tuesday 12-8

No games

Wednesday 12-9

No games

Thursday 12-10

Boys Indoor Track @ Norwood (Reggie Lewis Center) 5:30 pm

Girls Indoor Track @ Norwood (Reggie Lewis Center) 5:30 pm

Friday 12-11

Boys Basketball vs Dedham 6:30 pm

Girls Basketball @ Dedham 6:30 pm

Saturday 12-12

Girls Hockey @ Dedham (Noble and Greenough) 11:45 pm

Boys Hockey vs Dedham (Babson) 6:45 pm

Sunday 12-13

No games

So admist my hectic day yesterday I forgot to post the answer to Raider Friday trivia, so better late than never. The two Raiders girls hockey players who were named Boston Globe all scholastics a year ago were Sarah Goss and Cecily Docktor and certainly for good reason as both has an integral role in the Raiders back to back state championship game appearances. By the way speaking of girls hockey the game portion of the 2015-16 winter season begins later this week so keep a lookout later today for the first winter edition of the weekly schedule.

So the new division alignments for the new 8 division football playoff format have been announced and your Wellesley Raiders are moving up as in the new alignment the Raiders will be competing out of Division 1A South. The Raiders will continue to play 6 of their D2 South comrades but in more interesting news will no longer play Needham, Braintree or Natick in terms of when playoff time rolls around as all 3 teams will now be competing in Division 1 South. The full alignment for all divisions can be found here,

 

Click to access Football_Alignment_2016.pdf

It’s Friday again and that means it’s time for another installment of Raider Friday Trivia so here’s todays question. What two now former Raider Girls Hockey players were named Boston Globe All Scholastics for the 2014-15 winter season? The answer will be posted tomorrow.

So today as the first official week of the winter sports season wraps up we wrap up the 2015-16 winter sports previews as we take a look at gymnastics, Boys Swimming, and Wrestling who all had very successful seasons in 2014-15. We start with the gymnastics team who captured their 6th straight Bay State Conference championship a year ago and captured a 6-1 record during the season. The girls will look to get their quest for a 7th straight Bay State title off to a strong start as they open their season December 18th at Weymouth followed by their home opener on the 21st vs Walpole at the site of all their home competitions Exxcel Gymnastics in Newton.

Boys swimming also had a successful 2014-15 campaign with a 6-2 record and a 10th place finish at the all state meet. That included a 5th place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay that included returners Andrew and Matt Scherrer and Graham Harris. The boys will open up their season on the 14th at Babson as they take on St Johns High School, the first of 3 home meets in a row to open up the new year.

Wrestling is coming into the new season off of a 6-8 mark a year ago in which the team finished 3rd in the Herget Division. The boys then went on to the all state meet where they finished 43rd out of 105 teams. Coach Jesse Davis and his squad will look to get this season off to a strong start as they travel to Dedham on the 15th before opening their home schedule on the 23rd vs Milton.