The Swellesley Report

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

Please join Wellesley Sports Discussion Group on Facebook

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wellesley sports discussion

We’ve created a Wellesley Sports Discussion Group on Facebook, a forum for sharing the latest on anything having to do with sports in Wellesley. This could include:

*School sports results/highlights

*Youth and adult sports sign-ups

*Advice on where to cycle, run, walk, swim, golf, sled, fish, you name it.

*Pleas for a last-minute tennis partner or basketball player

*Latest scuttlebutt about field improvements in town

We surveyed those who joined the group over the first week of its existence to learn about what they’re interested in, and the answers varied widely from volleyball to skiing to golf. There’s interest in both youth and adult sports. There’s even a possibility of having an ask the Rec Commissioner feature.

We’re looking to keep the forum non-self-promotional, though may develop opportunities for sponsorships if the group becomes active enough.

If you haven’t joined and have an interest, please join us, and feel free to share with others you think would enjoy the group.

Save the date: WCCC Fun Run and Fun Fair is March 23

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The Wellesley Community Children’s Center invites you to its 39th annual Fun Run & Fun Fair, which takes place on Saturday, March 23, 8:30am -12:00pm inside Wellesley College’s Keohane Sports Center.

The Wellesley Community Children’s Center (WCCC) Fun Run & Fun Fair began in 1980 as a small pre-Boston Marathon race for WCCC preschool children. Today, hundreds of children and families enjoy non-competitive races for kids ages 2-12, carnival games, face painting, refreshments, a silent auction and raffle, book and stuffed animal sales, and representatives from area independent schools, camps, and family-friendly businesses.

WCCC Fun Run

All proceeds from the event benefit programs for the Wellesley Community Children’s Center, which was established in 1971 to provide childcare and early learning for working families. At its Early Childhood Program on the Wellesley College Campus and After School sites in the Wellesley Public Schools, WCCC has grown to provide programs each year for over 400 children ages 3 months through 5th grade.

Entrance Fees

Included in the entrance fee is a racer number bib which allows a child to race, play there will be carnival games, face painting, refreshments, book and stuffed animal sales, and representatives from area independent schools, camps, and family-friendly businesses. Fees are as follows:

  • Pre-Event (Online Payment) Entrance Fee for Children Ages 2-12: $15 
  • Day-Of Entrance Fee for Children Ages 2-12: $17
  • Family Entrance Fee (for families with 4 or more children): $55

Grown-ups and children under 2 are free.

Race Schedule and Silent Auction items

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Here in Wellesley: nordic skiing at Elm Bank Reservation

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A mid-week storm brought several inches of light and fluffy snow to Wellesley, slowing the commute and delaying school for two hours. I might have rolled over and slept in. I should have made moves to shovel the sidewalk and driveway. Instead, I threw my cross-country skis in the back of my trusty Subaru and headed over to Elm Bank reservation at 900 Washington Street for a pristine, virgin-snow nordic skiing experience. Join me on my 45-minute loop through the woods and along the Charles River.

Nordic skiing, Wellesley
The entrance to Elm Bank Reservation is at 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, on the Natick/Wellesley line.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
A long driveway leads to a one-way bridge into Elm Bank (or out of it, depending on your perspective). I’ve seen many stubborn drivers refuse to give way on that bridge, and heard much rough language as they battle it out for bridge dominance. Perhaps installing a billy goat gruff to live under the bridge could help settle the disputes.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
Pass the sledding hill on your left. No kids were out this morning. A two-hour snow delay doesn’t leave time for much more than sleeping in a bit. Check out our Where to Sled in Wellesley page. If March 2018 was any predictor of March 2019, you’ll need it.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
The high winds that in late February took down trees around Wellesley, and severely damaged a Radcliffe Road home, didn’t leave Elm Bank unscathed.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
As you make your way to the small parking lot at the trailhead look for the Cheney mansion to your left. Elm Bank’s existence during the late 19th to mid-20th centuries was as a prominent garden estate owned by the Cheney/Baltzell family. The mansion is now in disrepair, its immediate exterior area fenced off, and its interior unsafe. The neo-Georgian manor house does, however, make a dramatic backdrop for the many weddings held in its restored Italianate garden.

 

Nordic skiing, Wellesley
The Natick Organic Community Farm taps sugar maple trees all over Elm Bank. A few times a week the farmers come by, collect the sap, and bring it to the sugar shack located at 117 Eliot St., Natick. From there they boil it down to maple syrup, which they sell at their farm stand and at farmer’s markets.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
Elm Bank is home to six regulation-sized soccer fields. They’re covered with snow now, but come spring these fields will be covered with soccer players. For now, it makes for a dramatic winter vista.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
The entrance to the Mass Horticultural Society gardens at Elm Bank. Mass Hort in 1996 signed a 99-year lease with the then Metropolitan District Commission (now know as the Department of Conservation & Recreation) to maintain and operate out of a 36-acre portion of Elm Bank Reservation. It is here that Mass Hort maintains trial gardens that showcase new plant species and cultivars, among many other projects. It’s well worth a visit in the warmer months.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
You will pass several greenhouses on the road that winds around the Mass Hort property, but they are not open to the public.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
This is the second of two darling cottages on the Elm Bank property. Look for the small parking lot near this cottage, a private residence. The lot is available to Elm Bank visitors.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
Enter the trails here. Time to strap on the skis.
Nordic skiing, Wellesley
Now we’re talking. When I reached the first fork I saw from the footprints that others had gone right. Feeling all smug and “road less travelled,” I chose to go left, but discovered…

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Clean start for Wellesley-Needham football rivalry

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The Wellesley High School vs. Needham High School football rivalry, the oldest among public schools, didn’t end so well for the WHS Raiders this past Thanksgiving day.

Wellesley still holds a 62-60-6 all-time edge over the Rockets, but perhaps the hometown team could use a little extra magic when the game returns here later this year. What might do just the trick is shining up that curious Washington Street boulder adorned with a football and commemorating the Needham-Wellesley rivalry.

football boulder
It’s a dirty job, but someone needs to clean that Wellesley-Needham football rock

 

Wellesley history stalwart Tory DeFazio is spearheading an effort to restore the rock, with the cost to be split between the Needham and Wellesley Rotary clubs.

The boulder, which is located not far from the Wellesley police station along Rte. 16, was dedicated in 1982 to mark the 100th anniversary of the football rivalry. Gov. Edward King attended the event.

In the intervening years, the boulder has darkened and the wording has become harder to read.

“Hopefully in the Fall we can have a photo of the schools’ team captains around the refurbished memorial,” says DeFazio, fresh off efforts to restore Memorial Grove to honor those residents who died in World War I.

Such an event could fit nicely as part of a larger recognition of Wellesley High School celebrating what’s believed to be its 150th anniversary this year.

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Wellesley High freshman Max Stakun-Pickering has strong showing in state pentathlon

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Max Stakun-Pickering loves to compete. In fact, he often performs his best when presented with a challenge. Just ask his teammates on the 2018 state runner-up Wellesley High boys’ soccer team about that penalty kick Max drove home when it was most needed. So not surprisingly, Stakun-Pickering  achieved several personal bests enroute to placing fourth at the 2019 MSTCA Indoor Track & Field Pentathon on Feb. 26.

115 of the state’s most talented all-around high school athletes competed in the event, which includes the 55-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put, and 1,000 meter run. In the pentathlon, points are earned based on performances in each event. Run faster, throw or jump farther, and more points are earned. Points are totaled across the five events and the athlete with the highest total points wins.

max sp wellesley
Pentathlon medal winners

 

Stakun-Pickering scored 3,245 points, earning fourth place. Eventual winner Roan Marcano, a senior from Methuen, scored 3,402—just 157 points more than Stakun-Pickering, one of just four freshmen competing. In an event that attracts the most seasoned high school athletes, seven of the top eight athletes were seniors.’

Stakun-Pickering achieved a personal best in three events: the 55 hurdles, where he ran 8.5 seconds; the shot put, where he threw 11.45 meters (37’6.75”), and the 1,000 meters, where he ran 2:57.02. His 6.3 meters (20’8”) long jump and 1.77 meter (5’9.75”) high jump rounded out his superb first try at the all-around competition.

All of this bodes well for Wellesley High School’s already strong track & field program, which is celebrating the girls’ all-state championship and the boys’ second place finish at all-states (Max’s brother Colby, a WHS senior, is a key contributor on that team).