The Swellesley Report

Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Sports

Wellesley Athlete of the Week: Girls’ golf’s Ruby Savarese

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Wellesley Athlete of the Week is made possible with sponsorship support from Deland, Gibson Insurance. The family-owned and operated business has carried on this Wellesley tradition for over 30 years.

Athlete of the Week: Ruby Savarese

 

girls golf champ
Coach Ken Bateman, golfers Ayla Sansone, Sanah Goenka, Denise Pan, Alika Lavu, Jenna Saini, Ruby Savarese (2025 championship photo by Peyton Doyle)

 

Sport: Golf (captain, 11th grade)

When & how you got involved in golf: My father introduced me to golf ever since I was 7 years old. Ever since, I’ve been involved in many junior golf programs including Nehoiden and Kohr golf. Now, I have been working with my coach Burgess Houston for about 3 years.

What you love most about golf: My favorite aspect of this sport is my golf team. My team is so fun to be around and we are all genuinely rooting for each other. High school golf helped me gain even more appreciation for the sport.

Pre-match routine: I always eat a protein bar or a piece of bread before. My mother makes sure of that.

Top goal for this season: My goal for this season is to help the golf team get to States and give our team a good shot at winning it.

Thoughts about this year’s team: The team this year is wonderful. The girls are so, so fun to be around, and I love sharing new moments together. Skill wise, I think we got a promising team and a good shot at winning this year.

An accomplishment that you’re especially proud of: Last year, I was out for majority of the season because I got a stress fracture in my back. However, I was able to make it back for sectionals and states and I am so happy I got the chance to help my team win.

A funny or inspiring story related to your involvement with this team: We share a lot of funny moments on the golf team. My favorite one is when we had a team “dunch” last year after practice. We all squished into a booth at Chipotle. It was so fun, and we talked about music, golf, and pop culture.

Interests outside of golf: I like to play guitar, read, play basketball, draw, and do metals work. My favorite subject has always been English.

What other sports do you play, if any? I used to play basketball.

Coach Ken Bateman on Ruby Savarese: “Ruby was named captain by her teammates, and she is a leader on and off the course. She is invaluable as a captain because she is able to bring everyone together and make them feel like they are part of a team. She encourages her teammates at practice and during matches to play the best they can, and if they do not, she is there to remind them that they did the best they could.  At the same time, she consistently leads our team in scoring on the course.”

(Athletes of the Week are nominated by their coaches.)

Past Athlete of the Week profiles

Deland, Gibson, Wellesley

     

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Sports

Wellesley middle & high school runners to compete at pre-Boston Marathon races

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BAA logoA handful of Wellesley Public Schools student-athletes have been selected to run on Saturday, April 18 in the BAA Middle School 1k and BAA Invitational Scholastic Mile races on the streets around the Boston Marathon finish line.

Boys 1k race

Fleet Taylor, Wellesley Middle School 8th grader. Personal best Mile 5:44. Fishing is his hidden talent, and the mile is his favorite distance to run.

Girls 1k race (event record is 3:14.05 by Abigail Beggans of Wellesley in 2022)

Cora Gibby, Wellesley Middle School 6th grader. Personal best mile is 6:31: She achieved her PB this year at the Harvard Friends and Family kids meet. The 5K is her favorite distance to run.

Maren Tamburelli, Wellesley Middle School 7th grader. She also skis and swims.

Boys Invitational Mile

Sami Juma, Wellesley High School senior. Mile personal best is 4:27.91 . He ran a 15:45 5K (his favorite distance to run), at the Bay State Invitational. He also plays the piano and enjoys 12x400m workouts.

Alex Bonnette, Wellesley High School senior. Mile personal best is 4:32. ompeted at the Bay State cross country championships in 2025. His favorite workout is the 6×800, and his hidden talent is playing the saxophone

Girls Invitational Mile

Eloise Crissman, Wellesley High School junior. Mile personal best is 5:48.10. Eloise’s hidden talent is that she can do a headstand. She also completed a half marathon last spring.

Courtney Edmonds, Wellesley High School senior. Mile personal best is 6:00.4. Courtney’s hidden talent is that she can hold a plank for 11 minutes. She achieved her personal best in the mile during her junior season.

The schedule:

11:00 AM    Girls Middle School 1K Race Start

11:10 AM    Boys Middle School 1K Race Start

11:25 AM    Girls Scholastic Mile Race Start

11:35 AM    Boys Scholastic Mile Race Start

The youth races will be followed by professional runner 1-mile races.

More: Boston Marathon 2026—Wellesley guide

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London Harness, Wellesley
Theatre

Wellesley High drama students advance to state finals with ‘Fire in the Hole’

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For months, Wellesley High School’s black box theater became a 1920s Appalachian coal-mining town. In the play “Fire in the Hole,” union organizers are hanged, families suffer tragic losses, and the mining company controls nearly every aspect of life. This 30-minute one-act by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan is Wellesley High’s entry in this year’s Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild (METG) competition, a statewide festival judged over multiple rounds.

Wellesley did advance, moving through the preliminary round at Wellesley High on Feb. 28 and into the semi-finals on March 14, performing alongside programs that had succeeded at their own preliminary sites weeks earlier.

METG works differently from a standard school production. METG companies prepare a single judged performance rather than multiple shows. This puts extra pressure on students and rehearsals, as there’s little room for mistakes. Director Skylar Grossman, who also oversaw last fall’s production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” has been working with the company since early winter, with a cast of more than 50 students.

The subject matter added its own layer of difficulty. “Fire in the Hole” is drawn from Schenkkan’s “The Kentucky Cycle,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1992 and was nominated for three Tony Awards. The story follows Mary Ann Rowen, a mother who has lost four sons in the mines. When union organizer Abe Steinman arrives, she must confront betrayal and the challenge of leading her community.

The script is dense with period detail and moral weight, and compressing it into a 30-minute stage production while keeping the emotional logic is the kind of work that asks a great deal from young performers.

Behind the scenes, the technical crew faced their own set of demands, building a period world from the ground up with costumes, set pieces, and sound that had to be read clearly in a single unrepeated performance. Students working in tech and production carried responsibilities that extended well beyond a typical school show, considering creative and logistical sides of the production simultaneously.

This year, Wellesley also hosted the preliminary round for the first time since 2019. Alongside preparing their own entry, students organized and ran a competition site for five other schools. The hosting crew was drawn entirely from students across all four grade levels, none of whom had done it before. Grossman reflected on what that required: “This preliminary round was a standout for WHS… Even with the snow-day setbacks, hosting a successful site and moving on from the preliminary round is a massive feat.”

The weather-related issues he mentioned were significant. A benefit performance scheduled for Feb. 27 was cancelled when a storm closed the school, which meant that when the company finally performed “Fire in the Hole” in front of an audience, that audience included the competition judges. A rescheduled free performance was held on March 13 at Wellesley High, followed by a question-and-answer session with cast and crew, giving the community a chance to see the production after the competitive season had already begun.

The semi-finals, held March 14, brought together programs from preliminary sites across the state, each having already demonstrated enough in their first showing to keep going. For Wellesley, getting there meant navigating a storm cancellation, a hosted competition, and a subject matter that required the cast to inhabit a world and a set of stakes very different from their own.

Despite challenges, Wellesley High’s Dramatic Arts Company excelled and is advancing to the METG finals to be held March 26-28 at John Hancock Hall in Boston.

Interested in sponsoring student interns at Swellesley? Let us know: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

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Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, 2026

A 50-plus-year tradition: The All-Night Party for Wellesley High School seniors

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On June 5, when Wellesley High School seniors toss their caps into the air on graduation day, one final celebration still awaits them.

For more than five decades, graduating seniors have gathered for the WHS All-Night Party, a tradition that gives the class one last chance to come together safely after commencement. Parents and volunteers from the graduating class organize and host the event as a gift to all graduates.

After their own family celebrations, seniors are dropped off at the high school at 10pm.for one final night together with their classmates. Inside, the school is transformed into a celebration space—with karaoke, casino tables, fortune tellers, a DJ,  dancing, games, food, and more—keeping hundreds of students entertained in a safe, supervised environment until festivities wrap up at 2am.

Months of behind-the-scenes planning make the night possible, and fundraising  is a community effort. On March 21, parents will host a March Madness–themed Parent Party at Rodgers Pub on the Babson College campus. This is the primary fundraiser supporting the All-Night Party. Attendees can purchase tournament brackets, enter raffles, and bid on silent auction items.

The All-Night Party continues to thrive thanks to the dedication of families, volunteers and the generosity of local businesses throughout Wellesley.  Roche Bros. in Linden Square will host its annual fundraising day on Monday, April 27, donating 5% of all sales between 10am and 2pm to the party. Later this spring, custom graduation lawn signs will appear across Wellesley, proudly celebrating each senior with a portion of proceeds donated to the All-Night Party by Old Town Publishing.

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Wellesley sports: Celebrating high school nordic skiers; Group raising funds for varsity baseball scoreboard

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The latest Wellesley, Mass., sports news:
 

Celebrating Wellesley High School nordic skiers

 
The Wellesley High School boys’ nordic ski team won the Mass Bay Ski League East title, and the boys’ and girls’ teams won the combined league champion award. Seven Wellesley boys placed in the top ten of the league.

The skiers finished off the season at states, where the boys finished 6th and the girls 10th.

Parents shared thanks to the coaching staff of Mark Jacobson, Andy Milne, and Marshall Randolph.

nordic ski team boys

(Clockwise) Luca Buchbinder (9th place at Mass Bay Ski League East championship), Leo Ventimiglia (3rd place tie), Coach Mark Jacobson, William Carroll (10th place tie), Nico Buchbinder (6th place), Parker Lee (5th place), and Wyatt Park (3rd place tie). Not pictured, Cooper Munro (7th place).

 

Group raising funds for varsity baseball scoreboard

 
The non-profit Wellesley High School Baseball Diamond Club is running a raffle through April 3 to raise money to support the Wellesley High School Baseball program. The specific goal is to raise enough to purchase and install a scoreboard at the Sprague Varsity Baseball Field (the group has obtained town permission to run the raffle).

Currently, the score and innings can be a bit of a mystery to spectators at games unless they are paying close attention or using an app (the season is slated to start later this month).

The group is aiming to raise $15k through the raffle, which features a great list of prizes.

FINAL 2026 WELLESLEY BASEBALLRAFFLE FLYER

Sprague Fields are under the purview of the Wellesley School Committee, and Wellesley High baseball supporters say they are working through the town’s process to try to get permitting for a scoreboard. The topic has come up at the town’s Playing Fields Task Force, though the School Committee has not yet discussed the subject as a group and does not have the scoreboard on its work plan.

The Diamond Club seeks to raise funds so that it will be ready to go with a scoreboard purchase whenever it can get a green light from the town on the project.

 
Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

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Sports

Wellesley Public Schools Athletic Director John Brown retiring in fall of ’26

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John Brown, who has served as athletic director for Wellesley Public Schools for the past 20 years, has announced plans to retire, staying through October.

Brown over the years has celebrated the always high participation rate of students in Wellesley athletic programs, which have racked up 47 state titles during his tenure (see the banners before and since Brown joined WHS).

In November, Brown was recognized with the 2025 MIAA William N. Gaine Jr. Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to an individual who sets an example for promoting sportsmanship in Massachusetts interscholastic athletics.

Brown came to Wellesley in 2006 from Natick High, where he was the baseball coach, and had earlier been a talented player.

The biggest change during his tenure: The rise of club sports. “Club sports is the biggest change because it had changed the landscape of Athletics and not necessarily for the best…,” he said.

Don’t ask Brown to pick a favorite team or moment: “I have so many great memories that it is hard to pick just a few. It wouldn’t be fair to all of the other great things that have happened.”

In his retirement announcement, Brown thanked many people, including those who hired him and have kept him on. And of course he singled out his office partner Mary Anne McDonald.

He also recognized his family for putting up with Brown’s often hectic schedule.

“They understood that holidays, vacations and birthdays needed to be celebrated around Wellesley games and events so that I never missed anything,” he wrote.

“How often can someone say that their hobby and their passion is their job. I would not have traded this for anything. I was able to make my living in sports in a great community,” Brown wrote.

Asked about once he departs Wellesley whether he might be tempted to go back to at least rooting for Natick baseball, he says: “When I left Natick I always said that I would root for them all but twice a year when they played Wellesley and nothing will change. Once a Raider always a Raider!”

wellesley high basketball john brown
John Brown making an announcement at a Wellesley basketball game

Wellesley Athlete of the Week profiles (sponsored by Deland, Gibson Insurance)

Football coach stepping down after 14 years at Wellesley High

Wellesley sports: High school girls’ alpine skiing impresses at states; Pekowitz sisters compete at curling nationals

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The Wellesley, Mass., sports news:

Wellesley High school girls’ alpine skiing team impresses at states

 Congratulations to the Wellesley High School girls’ alpine ski team, runner up at the the MIAA state ski championships on Feb. 25 at Wachusett Mountain to Medway High. The Wellesley team was coming off the Mass Bay Ski League East championship for the regular season.

alpine skiing Lucy Matheson, Leah Matheson ( Trophy) and Charlotte Kelley
Wellesley High alpine skiers Lucy Matheson, Leah Matheson and Charlotte Kelley at MIAA state championships (courtesy photo)

 
Charlotte Kelley shined in the giant slalom, taking second place, and the slalom, where she finished seventh.

The team has more than 50 members, who started out the season with training on dry land twice a week and in the snow two days a week, according to coach Cory Tusler, celebrating 20 seasons as a skiing coach.

The team started its races at the start of January, with 12 races for varsity and six for JV.

“It goes fast, we race 200-250 skiers per night,” Tusler said, touting the 4-5 feet of “Mother Nature’s best” snow this season.

Tusler shared special thanks to assistant coaches Liam Gray and David Driver, who skied for Tusler 18 years ago. “I couldn’t do it without them. And a big thanks to John Brown for always being at the Championship Races! No matter how cold it gets. ”

Pekowitz sisters compete at curling nationals

 
usa curling

Wellesley sisters Julia Pekowitz (Wellesley High School ’23, Wellesley College ’27) and Alexa Pekowitz (Wellesley College ’25, University of Minnesota Twin Cities ’29) competed this past week at the USA Curling Women’s Nationals in Charlotte.

Team Pekowitz played plenty of competitive matches during the event, at which it went 3-4. In addition to the Pekowitz sisters, the team included Lila Farwell from Colorado and Kalina Petrova from New Jersey.

The team will also be competing at U21 Nationals in Bismarck,  North Dakota at the end of March.

We welcome sports updates, photos at theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Theatre

Wellesley High School Dramatic Arts Company to present “Fire in the Hole”

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Wellesley High School Dramatic Arts Company presents its Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild One-Act entry, “Fire in the Hole” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Schenkkan (from “The Kentucky Cycle”). It focuses on the conflicts in a 1920’s coal-mining town.

2026 METG Preliminary Round is at Wellesley High School on Saturday, Feb. 28 and Wellesley High will take the stage at 1:30pm.  Ticket info.  Due to mature content, the show is not recommended for children under 13.

A free performance will be held Friday, March 13 at 7pm at Wellesley High, followed by Q&A (note: the event was rescheduled to this date from February 27 due to storm-related issues).

Come support the 50+ students who will perform, work backstage and host the other five competing high schools.

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Wellesley in Bloom starts May 2!

Wellesley in Bloom starts May 2!