June 16, 2025

• Boys Volleyball played in the State Championship game (5th straight) on Friday June 13th in what was an electric atmosphere. Xaverian HS was packed with fans from Brookline and Needham in what was a very intense game. The Rockets won the first set putting the upmost pressure on the number 1 seed Brookline. They then played a very close back and forth 2nd set in which they would lose by just 2 points. The Rockets would go on to lose the next 2 sets following this and ultimately losing the championship game. The boys carried themselves with pride and class and gave it their all not only in this game but the entire season. We are very proud of you all!

• Needham Athletic Dept. - We would like to thank everyone in the Needham community for their support throughout this 2024-25 school year and supporting our student athletes. We saw two teams go to a state championship game, Girls Cross Country winning the MIAA D1A Championship, two student athletes winning MA Gatorade Player of the Year and ton of feats from different teams and athletes! We graduated a great class of 2025 and can not wait to hear/see what they accomplish in the future not just in athletics but in life!

June 9, 2025

• Boys Outdoor Track & Field  team closed out its season yesterday at the MIAA Meet of Champions. Adam Ganetsky finished 15th in the javelin with a throw of 151' 7" while the 4x400 relay (Kyle Railton, Josh Batsevitsky, Michael Flueckiger, Nathan Cunoosamy) also finished 15th with a season best time of 3:26.15. Great way to finish the season for the Rockets! 

• Girls Outdoor Track & Field - After Thursday’s Day 1 of the Meet of Champions, we had more success on Day 2 with our 4x100m relay team of Sofi Galan, Madison Swan, Sara MacConnell and Eva Geddes taking home medals with a 7th place finish and season best time of 49.79! Greta doubled back to finish 5th in the 1 mile with a 4:58.32.

• Softball The Rockets finished the regular season 12-5 earning the 13 seed in the D1 tournament.

 In the round of 16 the Rockets traveled to Attleboro to face the 4th seeded bombers of Attleboro. It was a back and forth game all day with Needham eventually losing a fantastic game 6-4. Thank you to our three seniors Kelsey Pittman, Stephanie Sucher and Maricel Pucillo on a great year and career. Your contributions and leadership will not be forgotten. Go Rockets!

• Boys Volleyball went 2-0 on the week to punch their ticket to a 5th straight Final 4 appearance. Early in the week they took on #14 Lowell beating them in 3 sets (3-0) which earned the team a spot in the Elite 8 round. The Rockets would then host #27 seed Taunton beating them in four sets (3-1) to earnt that final 4 spot. The Rockets will take on Natick for a third time this season, they split the regular season series 1-1!

• Boys Lacrosse traveled to Andover for the round of 16 and would lose the game (20-9). The team finished the season 12-8!

• Girls Lacrosse traveled to Wellesley for the round of 16 and would lose the game (19-6). The team finished the season 12-7!

• Boys Tennis - Boy’s tennis wrapped up their season and playoff run in fine fashion this week.  Strong performances lead to a commanding victory over 9th seed Shrewsbury. Jack Wexler staged a dramatic comeback to seal the team win at 2nd singles, while Andrew Bass and Jake MacNeil’s 3rd set win was icing on the cake.  In the state quarterfinals the boys were outmatched by a talented (#1seed) St. John’s Prep squad, despite solid play up and down the roster.

• Girls Tennis traveled to Winchester last week for a #8 vs #9 matchup. They would ultimately lose (4-1) putting an end to their 2025 season. They ended the season with a 14-5 record

June 2, 2025

• Boys Outdoor Track & Field - This past week, the track & field team traveled to Tufts University to compete at the MIAA Division 1 State Championship. Leo Winston started things off for the Rockets on the track Thursday with a 2sec PR in the 2 mile with a time of 9:51.55. As the meet came to a close, the boys 4x800 relay (Duncan Alexander, Sam Cooperman, Raj Randery, Austin Conti) ran a season best time of 8:35.84, and the 4x400 (Kyle Railton, Josh Batsevitsky, Michael Flueckiger, Nathan Cunoosamy) had our top finish on the track placing 10th. In the field, Adam Ganetsky was the 9th, and last person into the finals for javelin on Saturday and he made the most of his opportunity to get 3 additional throws. On his last attempt in finals, he threw a PR of 165' 7", in the process leapfrogging the competition to finish in 4th place, earning himself a medal and positioning himself to hopefully compete next week at the MIAA Meet of Champions.

• Girls Outdoor Track & Field finished 10th at the MIAA State Championship meet with 29 points led by individual wins from Sofi Galan in the 400m hurdles (66.11) and Greta Hammer in the 2 mile (10:36.47). Also had scoring placements from Eva Geddes in the 100m (13.31), our 4x800m relay team  of Hammer, Maddie Roach, Eva Adam and Audrey Adam in 3rd place, and our 4x100m relay team of Ava Conti, Madison Swan, Sara MacConnell and Geddes in 8th place.

• Softball took on Whittier Tech in the Round of 32 in Needham on Saturday night. The team found themselves down 3-0 after the 3rd inning but would come storming back scoring 6 unanswered runs to win the game 6-3! They move on to the round of 16 where they will play the #4 seed Attleboro.

• Boys Volleyball took on the #30 seed Woburn in the MIAA round of 32. The Rockets were tied 1-1 after 2 sets and found their groove in the third set going on to win the next 2 beating Woburn 3-1! They take on the #14 seed Lowell in Needham Tuesday June 3rd. Matty Cloonan led the way with 15 kills in this playoff match. 

• Boys Lacrosse took on Arlington in Needham Saturday afternoon in the MIAA round of 32. The Rockets found themselves down 4 goals at one point in the game. The Rockets stuck to the game plan and ultimately would come back to win the game 9-5 holding Arlington to just one goal in the second half led by Senior Captain Tommy Peabody. The boys will travel to Andover for the round of 16.

• Girls Lacrosse took on Acton Boxborough in what was a very exciting game. It was back and forth all game long and with about 2 minutes to go Senior Hannah Patey scored the game winning goal and put the Rockets up 2. A-B would then come back and score to cut the lead into 1 but the Rockets would hold them off for a 11-10 win! The Rockets will take on rival Wellesley in the round of 16.

• Boys Tennis - After concluding the regular season at 14-4 the boys tennis team earned the #8 seed in the state tournament. On Tuesday the team took on Braintree in the first round of the playoffs and emerged victorious with 5-0 win, with a lineup composed almost entirely of seniors. Next up #9 Shrewsbury on Monday 6/2 at Newman Elementary school for a 4:15 start time.

• Girls Tennis took on Central Catholic last week winning the game 5-0 to book their spot in the round of 16! They will take on Winchester for a #8 vs #9 matchup !

• Girls Ultimate Frisbee took on Sharon and Arlington in their last matches of the season. They celebrated their one senior, Ava Towvim. She showed up BIG this week, scoring 4 goals against Sharon on Tuesday and getting a goal, an assist and a bunch of blocks against Arlington on Thursday. Congrats, Ava!

May 27, 2025

• Boys Outdoor Track & Field - On Wednesday, the boys competed at the Bay State Conference Championship. The 4x400 of Kyle Railton, Josh Batsevitsky, Michael Flueckiger, and Nathan Cunoosamy finished in 2nd place, the Rockets highest finish of the night, with a season best time of 3:27.66. The 4x800 (Raj Randery, Will Courcier, Harrison O'Garr, Joe Bonavolonta) and 4x100 (Jack Ringer, Emanuel Reid, Alex Duan, Elias Langsner) both finished in 6th place. Individual point scorers were: Cunoosamy (3rd - 400m), Adam Ganetsky (3rd - javelin), Langsner (5th - 200m), Flueckiger (8th - 400m), Tyler Langford (6th - 400h), Rod Krikov (8th - 400h).

• Girls Outdoor Track & Field had a good day at the Bay state conference championship meet. Sofi Galan remained undefeated this season in conference competition winning the 400m hurdles in a PR of 1:07.00. We also had runner up finishes from Eva Geddes in the 100m (12.73) and Greta Hammer in the 1 mile (5:02.68). Rounding out our top three placements were Audrey Adam in the 800, our 4 x 100m relay team (Madison Swan, Ava Conti, Sara MacConnell, and Geddes) and our 4x400m relay team (Galan, Maddie Roach, Audrey Adam and Eva Adam). The team finished in 6th place overall.

• Baseball - Varsity baseball finishes a tough but hard fought season at 5-13. Will O’Donell led the team in almost every offensive category. Austin Robinette finishes on top of the strikeout and ERA categories. Will Saratella leads the team in wins on the mound for the Rockets.

• Softball - The Needham Rockets softball team went 2-1 on the week to end the season 12-5. The Rockets had wins over Braintree and Lexington to finish out the rest of the season. In the win over Braintree the rockets were down by 2 going into the 7th inning and erupted to score 7 to win 12-7. In the final game of the regular season Kaityn Cheng was phenomenal in the circle pitching the complete game shutout to beat Lexington 3-0.  

• Boys Volleyball went 2-1 on the week with wins over Wayland and Westfield and a loss to Natick. Ben Vu had a 2.3 serve receive average and 11 digs per match. The team finishes the regular season 17-5 and awaits the bracket release for their first round matchup in the state tournament. 

• Boys Lacrosse finished their regular season with a win over Braintree to head into the postseason with a 11-7 record! Tommy Peabody continues to keep the Rockets competitive this season with his stellar play in net. 

• Girls Lacrosse finished their regular season with a loss to Walpole on Memorial Day. They close out the season with a 11-6 record and await the MIAA Bracket release to see where they will land for the first round of the state tournament!

• Boys Tennis - Boy’s tennis went 2-0 last week finishing the regular season 14-4 and earned the #8 seed of the tournament. They will take on Braintree in the first round on Tuesday 5/27 in Needham!

• Girls Tennis went 2-0 last week finishing their regular season 13-4. They earned the #9 seed in the state tournament and will host Central Catholic in Needham on Wed 5/28!

• Unified Track and Field competed at the Sectional meet last week that took place at Walpole and had a great showing! The team has 11 athletes who have qualified for the State Championship meet taking place at Natick HS on Wed 5/28!

May 19, 2025

• Boys Outdoor Track & Field - Track and Field closed out the regular season this week after hosting the BSC Open Meet. At that meet, we had 15 of 35 competitors set a new PR to close out their season! On Sunday, the Rockets traveled to New Bedford for the MSTCA Division 1 State Relays Meet. The 4x800m relay (Duncan Alexander, Sam Cooperman, Raj Randery, Austin Conti) was the team's highest finish yesterday (11th place) running 8:38. The 4x200 relay (Jack Ringer, Michael Flueckiger, Alex Duan, Nathan Cunoosamy) ran 1:33 and the 4x400 relay (Kyle Railton, Flueckiger, Matteo Fucentese, Cunoosamy) ran 3:33. The boys' exceeded their seed time in both races and all athletes in attendance showed they are ready for the start of the postseason push.

• Girls Outdoor Track & Field Girls track finished a respectable 11th at the D1 State Relays in New Bedford on Sunday. The team was led by the Distance Medley Relay squad of Audrey Adam (1200m), Sofi Galan (400m), Maddie Roach (800m) and Eva Adam (1600m) with a 3rd place finish in 12:42. Other place finishers included the 4x200m relay team (Madison Swan, Ava Conti, Sara MacConnell, Eva Geddes) in 4th; the Sprint Medley Relay team (Swan, Geddes, Galan, Roach) and two 4x1600m relay teams (Taylor Partridge, Siena Uyenoyama, Aviva Tarsky, Janie Urban) and (Sidney Gilbreth, Serena Tanna, Maggie Sharrard, Katie Burns) who finished 6th and 8th respectively. Next up for the Rockets is the Bay State Conference Championship this Wednesday May 21st.

• Baseball went 2-2 on the week with 2 losses at home but earning 2 wins on the road. Needham varsity baseball gets a big 1-0 win on the road in Springfield. Junior Nick Buckley has his best performance of the season. Striking out 6, allowing only 5 hits and 0 runs, earning his first career varsity win. Freshman Colton Harjula slammed the door with a clean 7th inning, earning his first career save.

• Softball - The NHS varsity softball team was 1-2 on the week. After back to back tough losses to Weymouth and Natick. Needham bounced back with a 3-0 win vs Framingham on senior night. Kaitlyn Cheng pitched the complete game shutout in the circle. Morgan Kraft and Kelsey Pittman had big two out hits to knock in all three runs. Congratulations to Stephanie Sucher, Kelsey Pittman and Maricel Pucillo, our three senior captains who were recognized on senior night. Needham stands at 10-4 headed into the last week of the regular season.

• Boys Volleyball went 2-1 on the week with wins over Framingham and BC High and a loss to Brookline. Will Rozman is the Rocket of the week with 11 kills against number #1 ranked Brookline Tuesday and 21 kills against BC High Friday .

• Boys Tennis - Boy’s tennis went 3-1 on an action packed week. Jake Goldfine filled in masterfully at singles, winning two matches at the #1 position. The doubles tandem of Julian Yuh and Gavin Batt dropped just 2 games over the course of 4 sets against Milton and Braintree, while Richard Shen and Alex Zhang defeated Braintree’s 1st doubles team in straight sets. The team sits at 12-4 with just 2 matches to go.

• Girls Rugby traveled to Russell Field in Cambridge to take on Rindge and Latin School. They played a tough match and would ultimately drop their 2nd to last regular season contest to CRLS. Player of the week - Sophia Rooyakeers had a great game helping the team out in every facet!

• Girls Ultimate Frisbee took on Newton North Friday in Needham. Rockets came out strong against Newton North, but started to lag a little as the heat and humidity caught up to us.  Despite the loss, we did manage to get 6 points against North, tripling our previous result.

• Boys Ultimtae Frisbee - Varsity finished 12th overall in a field of very talented teams coming from more than 4 states and 2 provinces. Ezra Cohen led the team in assists for the weekend, while Max Shoemaker led the team in scoring and Nathan Taub led the team in blocks. The Rockets went 1-2 on Saturday and Sunday and are looking forward to their state championships this weekend. The JV squad was led by Ryan Conti and Jack Bagley, who combined for 18 scores and 16 blocks. Freshman Teddy Herold racked up a team-leading 9 assists in his first high school tournament."

May 12, 2025

• S.A.L.T - The Needham High School Student Athlete Leadership team hosted its first ever Middle School Olympics on the half day last week. This provided middle school students a chance to interact and meet some of our captains and student atheltes here at the high school. The students got to play games, learn about different programs at the high school and hear what our S.A.L.T team does!

• Boys Outdoor Track & Field - The boys track & field team ended their league meet season with tough matchups, losing to Natick (91-44), Wellesley (103-33) and Weymouth (98-37). Elias Langsner scored against all three teams in the 100 and 200 grabbing 1st place against Weymouth (100) and Wellesley (200m). Josh Batsevitsky, Matteo Fucentese and Michael Flueckiger swept the 400m against Natick and Batsevitsky/Fucentese went on to put points on the board vs. Wellesley and Weymouth. Tyler Langford (1st vs. Natick) and Rod Krikov scored against all 3 teams in the 400h and Colin Mancino had a 3' PR in shot put to score against all 3 teams including a 1st place finish vs. Natick. Adam Ganeetsky continues his strong season throwing 162' 0" (a 10' PR) in the javelin to be ranked as MA #21 - winning the event in the process! On Saturday, the Rockets traveled to a very rainy Andover Invite where Duncan Alexander ran a PR performance in the 1 mile while Austin Conti and Sam Gustat ran season best performances in the 1 mile and 2 mile, respectively. However, the boys saved the highest finish for their last race of the day where the 4x800 relay of Matteo Fucentese, Will Courcier, Skylar Levin, and Joe Bonavolonta finished in 6th place.

• Girls Outdoor Track & Field - The highlight of the Andover invite was winning the 4x800 relay featuring Eva Adam, Greta Hammer, Maddie Roach and Audrey Adam in a MA #1 time of 9:32.77. Additionally, we had solid performances from Taylor Partridge and Siena Uyenoyama 3rd and 8th in the 2 mile; Sofi Galan 3rd in the 400 hurdles and Amina Kamara 7th in the discus. This past Wednesday in the final three dual meets with Natick, Wellesley and Weymouth, we had wins from Audrey Adam (800), Sofi Galan (400 hurdles) and Greta Hammer (2 mile) with a top 30 time in the country this spring of 10:28.51!

• We also want to say thank you to the girls and boys track teams for their work in the community collecting over 80 pairs of sneakers for the Generic Ministry group!

• Boys Lacrosse gets an important win against Natick HS winning by a score of (13-7). Sophomore Matt Ledbury continues to make big plays in big games helping the Rockets to a 8-7 record and ranked #12 in Division 1 power rankings.

• Softball - Needham varsity softball had one game this past week. Needham defeated Milton 5-4 in a back and forth game ending with a fantastic game saving catch by senior captain Maricel Pucillo in cetter field with the tying run on third and the winning run on second with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Audrey Muzikant pitched the complete game. Morgan Kraft and Maddie Navales with big RBI's in the win.

• Boys Volleyball Rocket the of the week is Will McDonald with 42 kills in 3 matches in wins over 7 Braintree and 2 Newton North and a 5 set loss to the #1 team in Division 2, Agawam. The team is now 13-3 and ranked 4th in the MIAA D1 Power Rankings.

• Girls Ultimate Frisbee - After a disappointing loss to Brookline, Rockets blasted off to Four Rivers where they went undefeated in their four games on Saturday. Kenley Meyers and Zoe Berg each got 10 blocks, Kenley also had a team leading 14 assists. Her co-captains were not to be outdone — senior Ava Towvim had 11 goals for the day and Jo Calzada had the most overall positive stats with 8 goals, 12 assists and 9 blocks! Shout out to rookie Sophia Handler for a stellar day and contributing 6 blocks!

May 4, 2025

• Boys Outdoor Track & Field - Tough road trip for boys' track and field with losses to Newton North and Framingham on Wednesday. Shoutout to Nathan Cunoosamy (400m) and Adam Ganetsky (javelin) who outright won their event. Additionally, Emanuel Reid was the top finisher in the JV 100 and JV 200, running a PR in both events! On Saturday, the Rockets opened up their invitational season at the Jim Hoar Freshman/Sophomore Invitational. The few athletes who qualified for the meet let their presence be known! Six of the 10 individual competitors set a new PR and the 4x100 relay recorded a season best performance! Elias Langsner and Nathan Cunoosamy earned individual medals for their performances in the 100m (4th place - Langsner), 200m (8th place - Cunoosamy), and 400m (4th place - Cunoosamy). Will Vettraino and Jack Ringer joined Cunoosamy and Langsner as medal recipients as the quartet made up the 3rd place 4x100m.

• Girls Outdoor Track & Field went 1-1 in their dual meets last week with a win over Framingham and a loss to Newton North. On Friday night, Greta Hammer had a great race finishing 6th in the BSR Elite Mile with a new PR of 4:55. Saturday at the MSTCA Freshman/ Sophomore meet, we had top finishes from Eva Geddes 4th in the 100m, Eva Scharf 4th and Alessia Uyenoyama 8th in the 2 mile, Ellie Bookston 8th in the 1 mile and Phoebe McCourt, Ava Conti, Sara MacConnell and Geddes closed out the day with a 6th place finish in the 4x100 relay. Saturday night at Weston Twilight, we had some solid performances including a 7th place finish from Taylor Partridge in the 2 mile. 

• Baseball went 0-2 on the week with losses against Newton North and Wellesley. Freshman Colton Harjula raised his batting average to a team leading .364. Drew Koplan gets his first varsity hit on Friday vs Wellesley. 

• Softball - Needham varsity softball had a great week going 4-0 to build a 7 game win streak. The week started out with a 3-0 win over Newton North at home. Audrey Muzikant pitched a complete game giving up 2 hits with 9 strikeouts. Junior Kaitlyn Cheng led off the bottom of the first inning with a lead off homerun to spark the offense. Wednesday the Rockets defeated Wellesley 6-5 in a game that went back and forth with Needham plating the winning run in the top of the sixth inning. Kaitlyn Cheng pitched the complete game for the victory in the circle. The offense was led by captains Kelsey Pittman, Stephanie Sucher and Maricel Pucillo. Maricel also added an amazing play in center field to seal the victory. Thursday the Rockets defeated Brookline 15-1. Katie Murray pitched the complete game for her first varsity victory in the circle. It was an all around offensive team effort for the win. Finally on Friday the Rockets defeated Natick 12-1 with Audrey Muzikant in the circle for the win. Morgan Kraft continued her strong season at the plate with multiple hits and RBIs. Liv Kirshner, Kaitlyn Cheng and Maddie Navales all had big days at the plate. 

• Boys Volleyball Junior outside hitter Matty Cloonan collected 27 kills in 2 matches as the Rockets went 2-0 on the week and qualified for the postseason for the fourteenth consecutive season since 2010. 

• Boys Tennis - Boy’s tennis went 2-0 for the week with wins over Wellesley and Natick.  Senior Jack Wexler sealed the Wellesley match with a tenacious three-set victory over their #2 player. The win over Wellesley gave the Rockets their first season sweep over Wellesley for this group of seniors. The boys improved their record to 8-3 with just 7 contests to go.

• Girls Rugby had their first home contest of the season taking on Weymouth on a beautiful afternoon. The girls battled hard but ultimately would lose the match. Jesse Brandish and Harper Schneiderman who were huge on defense in our game against Weymouth. Both had outstanding games numerous tackles causing turnovers

• Girls Ultimate Frisbee - Girls Ultimate won their two games last week with every teammate contributing. Shout out to Sophia Handler for getting her first (and second) goals in the game against CRLS on Thursday!

• Boys Ultimate Frisbee - The rockets played well this weekend after a less than ideal Saturday showing against Lexington HS and Montclair HS from New Jersey, with wins against Northampton HS, Newton North HS, and St John's Prep. Ben Soulia, senior, scored 3 points in games against Northampton and St John's Prep. Max Shoemaker, sophomore had 2 assists against SJP, to go along with a score in the games against Northampton and SJP. Simon Shoemaker, senior, had 2 passes deflected in the final game against SJP and 1 against Northampton High. Overall the team went 0-2 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday, a terrific bounce back performance before heading home.

April 28, 2025

• Baseball hosted St John's Prep for their first game of the season on their home diamond at memorial park field. The team was looking to avenge their defeat to SJP in the first round of the tournament last season. Rockets Baseball completes 5 run comeback against St. John’s Prep: Needham tallied 13 hits in the game. Senior Matt Ferreira led the way with two runs batted in, going 2-for-4 on the day at the plate. Freshman Colton Harjula went 3-for-4 to lead Needham in hits. Will Saratella and Will O'Donnell each collected multiple hits for the Rockets in an impressive come from behind victory. Will Saratella also had an electric 3.1 innings out of the bullpen. Allowing no hits and no runs, earning the victory. 

• Boys Volleyball participated in the ALS One Tournament hosted by Winchester High School. Needham went 2-0 this April vacation beating top 25 teams Saint John’s Shrewsbury and Winchester. Nathaniel Ross was named tournament mvp distributing 52 assists in the 2 wins

• Boys Lacrosse had 3 games this week as part of the Players Cup Tournament that they participate in each year. They went 0-3 on the week with losses to Walpole, North Andover and Xaverian. After a tough week of competition for Boys lacrosse we still had solid performances from Eliot Wajda and Finn Noon. Two freshman that play huge roles for the varsity team this season! 

April 21, 2025

• Girls Cross Country - On Thursday April 17th in the A Gym, friends, teammates, families, teachers and coaches gathered in the A gym to watch Greta Hammer be presented with her 2024-25 Gatorade Girls Cross Country Player of the year banner!

• Boys Outdoor Track & Field - Another tough week for the Rockets losing to Walpole (81-55) and Brookline (92-44). Event winners were Elias Langsner (100m - vs. Brookline), Nathan Cunoosamy (200m and high jump - both vs. Brookline), Josh Batsevitsky (400m and triple jump - both vs. Walpole), Sam Cooperman (800m - vs. Walpole), Leo Winston (2 mi - vs. Walpole), Rod Krikov (shot put - vs. Brookline), Adam Ganetsky (javelin - vs. Walpole), 4x400m relay of Gavin Prout, Tyler Langford, Charlie Flanagan and Nathan Cunoosamy (vs. Walpole).

• Girls Outdoor Track & Field went 2-0 in their dual meets last week (79-55 over Brookline and 84-47 over Walpole). Led by individual wins from:

• Eva Geddes (100m & 200m)

• Eva Adam (800m)

• Siena Uyenoyama (2 mile)

• Sofi Galan (400m Hurdles)

• Amina Kamara (Discus)

• Audrey Adam (High Jump)

• Leah Korboukh (Long Jump)

• 4 x 100m Relay team of Phoebe McCourt, Chelsea Heeger, Sara MacConnell & Madison Swan

• Baseball went 1-2 on the week with a win against Walpole and losses to Milton and Braintree. Will Cassidy threw a complete game (4 hit) shutout vs Walpole to earn Boston Globe Player of the Week honors in his first varsity start! 

• Boys Tennis - Boy’s tennis went 1-2 for the week with a win over Miton (5-0) and losses to Newton North (1-4) and Division 2 powerhouse Hopkinton (1-4). Senior Captains Oliver Pollack and Jake Goldfine grabbed the lone point with an impressive win vs Newton North at first doubles. Also, Jake MacNeil scored a solid win vs Milton in his singles debut vs Milton. The boys head into the second half of the season at 6-3.

• Girls Rugby - Although they had a bye week last week we want to recognize members of the girls rugby team. Mae Alwart went to Guatemala for ‘school the world’ to help build a school for an impoverished community! Sophia Katz and Sophia Rooyakkers ran the Newport Marathon! 

• Girls Ultimate Frisbee - Girls Ultimate had back-to-back away games on Wednesday and Thursday before break.  On Wednesday, they beat Lexington's (10-0) in some gale-force winds. On Thursday the team battled hard against the reigning state champs, Newton North, holding them to an 8-2 victory where every point was contested, and we had many great possessions in tough conditions.

April 14, 2025

• Boys Outdoor Track & Field - Boys Track & Field opened up competition this week, unfortunately losing to both Braintree (72.67 - 59.33) and Milton (83 - 53). Highlights from Elias Langsner (100m), Captain Leo Winston (1 mile), and Adam Ganetsky (Javelin) who won their respective events against both teams! Other highlights include Eytan Luria (400 hurdles - 1st vs. Braintree); Captain Kyle Railton (200m - 1st vs. Braintree); Nathan Cunoosamy (400m - 1st vs. Braintree); Hutch Turner (800m - 1st vs. Milton); Austin Conti (2 mile - 1st vs. Braintree); Captain Rod Krikov (Shot put - 1st vs. Milton); 4x400m relay (Railton, Josh Batsevitsky, Michael Flueckiger, Cunoosamy) taking 1st vs. Braintree.

• Girls Outdoor Track & Field - Not a great start to the season for the girls track team as they lost (82.5-53.5) to Braintree and (72-64) to Milton. That being said, there were a few individual highlights including wins from Eva Geddes in the 100 (12.88), Eva Adam 1 mile (5:28), Taylor Partridge 2 mile (11:45), Sofi Galan 400 hurdles (1:09) and the 4x100 relay team of Simi Basak, Ava Conti, Sara McConnell and Madison Swan (52.15). They are looking to turn things around this week against Brookline and Walpole.

• Boys Volleyball - Nathaniel Ross had 41 assists in 2 matches as Needham Boys Volleyball went 0-2 to Newton North and Brookline, losing consecutive matches for the first time since 2011.

• Girls Lacrosse - Huge three wins for the lax program this week. Special highlights to Olivia Leschinski, junior goalie, with an incredible 9 saves in our game on Thursday. Callan Siletto (9th grade) with her first varsity goal against Braintree. Last highlight is Sam Horvat (9th grade) for her first assist against Wayland in an incredible game on Sunday.  Needham Girls lacrosse is off to a 4-1 start! Let’s keep it going this week for another big league week! 

• Boys Lacrosse went 2-1 on the week with wins over Braintree and Brookline during the week and had a tough matchup this past weekend vs Lincoln Sudbury. Charlie Cianciolo continues to impress with his team play. Charlie has been a consistent stand out for the varsity team by playing multiple positions and leading the team in points. The team is now 4-2 on the season and is back at it this week with league play!

• Softball - The girls had their first victory of the season on Wednesday (10-4) against Braintree. Kaitlyn Cheng pitched a complete game for her first victory of the season. The offense was led by Stephanie Sucher and Kelsey Pittman. On Friday the Rockets had a tough day against Bedford losing (9-0). The Rockets look to get back on track this week with 3 games starting Monday against Walpole.

• Girls Tennis Went 1-0 on the week with a (5-0) win at Walpole. At Newton south on Friday the team was tied 2-2 with a match on the line. The 3rd singles were in a close battle but the match was called due to darkness. Match will resume at another time TBD.

• Boys Tennis - Boys tennis went 3-0 for the week defeating Braintree, Walpole and Newton South. An impressive sweep at singles clinched the victory against Newton South. In that match Freshman Elliot Gettman made quick work of his talented opponent (6-1 , 6-2). Senior Jack Wexler fought off a 3rd set comeback, and Junior Ben Svetlov battled darkness, leg cramps, and the cold temperature in an epic battle to win the Rockets 3rd and deciding point.

• Girls Rugby traveled to Belmont last week for game 2 on the season.Liana Osgood and Julia Cohen! Both  contributed to a solid team performance - helping their teammates get 4 tries! The most amount of tries in a single game than we have ever had! Both also had solid games on defense with their tackles all game!

• Girls Ultimate Frisbee - Girls Ultimate lost a close game to Brookline on Thursday, playing with a very short bench compared to an army of Warriors. Shout outs to Jo Calzada and Zoe Berg who each had a goal and an assist and many great blocks in the (7-9) loss. 

• Boys Ultimate Frisbee - Boys Ultimate Frisbee had its first two games of the season and split the week 1-1. The Rockets battled through 20 mph gusts of wind on Tuesday and fell to Newton North (6-9) but bounced back on Friday with a dramatic last second win against Xaverian (11-10). Rookie Max Shoemaker finished the week with 9 points and an ever-coveted Callahan. Ezra Cohen led the team with 8 assists and Ben Soulia had 5 blocks on defense, including several layouts. Connor Manning sacrificed his face for the team by taking a disc point-blank to the jaw on defense which resulted in a turnover and the game clinching point.

• Girls Golf won their lone match of the week last week taking on Braintree at Braintree Municipal Golf Course and would get a close win (4-3). They look to keep the momentum going this week with two matches v Brookline. The team is currently 3-0 on the season.

• Girls Flag Football had their season opener last week at Westford academy hosting the teams in the Merrimack Division. The girls would lose to host Westford academy (34-14) in game one and a very very close game to Lowell (13-12) in their second game.

April 7, 2025

• Boys Volleyball - Andrew Kurdziel, a 6 foot 4 senior middle blocker, amassed 14 kills while hitting .855 as the Rockets beat  #2 ranked Natick on Tuesday (3-1). Kurdziel added 6 blocks to go with his 14 kills in the victory. The team stays perfect on the season 4-0 heading into a huge week with a State Championship rematch vs Newton North on Tuesday April 8th.

• Girls Lacrosse - Girls lacrosse had a great showing in the first game of the season with a (16-9) victory over Weymouth. Huge shoutout to Sami Bonasia (6 goals) Addie Stedman (4 goals) Lila Jantzen (3 goals) Lisa O’ Leary, Sophia Meade, Frankie Adams all with one goal in the game— what a team contribution! Emmie Verville had 5 assists. The team would continue road play against KP on Friday. Although the result was not what they wanted, Paige Moyer finished with her first goal as a freshman, assisted by sophomore Halle Kamke! They’re back on the road Tuesday at Brookline, and will have their home opener on Thursday at 4 vs. Braintree!

• Boys Lacrosse played an impressive game against a top 10 team in the state (Hingham). The Rockets were down by 5 goals at half time but made a late surge in the 2nd half to come within a goal but ultimately fell short (7-6). Sophomore Matt Ledbury had 2 goals and Senior Goalie Tommy Peabody had 19 saves!

• Softball took on Weymouth in the first game of the season. The rockets battled all game and would fall short in a close one (2-1). The Rockets look to continue play this upcoming week.

• Baseball got off to a tough 0-2 start. On the bright side we had 10 players make their varsity baseball debut. Logan Layish, Colin O’Donnell, Colton Harjula, Joe Saratella, Nick Buckley, Will Cassidy, Matthew Rutter, Eli Dussault, John Marino, Lincoln Pollack. 

• Girls Tennis - had their home opener Friday against the defending champs Wellesley Raiders. What a great match it was. The Rockets got off to a good start winning one of their single matches and winning one of their double matches but dropping another one of their singles to hold on to a 2-1 lead. They would end up losing a 2nd singles match and it all came down to the last doubles match. It came down to the wire and ultimately would fall short (3-2)!

• Boys Tennis - Boys tennis got off to a solid start going 2-1 for the week, with a loss to Bay State powerhouse Brookline, and wins over Weymouth and rival Wellesley.  The win against Wellesley was the first for this group of Seniors, and what made it even better is that it was at Wellesley’s home courts.  Seniors Olliver Pollack and Jake Goldfine were impressive in their victory versus Wellesley as they came back from down a set to clinch the team win in decisive fashion. Other players of note: Senior Eric Kaplan teamed up with first year player Gavin Batt to beat their Weymouth opponents 6-0, 6-0, while Ben Svetlov started the season undefeated with impressive straight set wins against Brookline and Wellesley.

• Girls Rugby traveled to Sudbury on Friday afternoon to take on the Lincoln Sudbury Warriors in the first regular season game. It was a first tough match but the Rockets gave a solid effort. Rocket of the week was Junior Grace Tetrault who scored 2 tries and 2 extra points at our game friday! 

• Girls Ultimate Frisbee - Girls Ultimate had its first two games of the season and welcomed 3 rookies to the team: Sophomores Nina Barzilay, Sophia Handler and Maddie Weirup.  In their first game, each got their first receptions and followed them up with pass completions and no turnovers!  Highlights included a great give and go sequence from Sophomores Zoe Berg and Madeleine Clark. While falling (4-9) to CRLS, Rockets bounced back with a (10-3) win over Lincoln Sudbury which ended with a highlight-reel worthy layout grab from Madeleine Clark!

• Girls Golf got their season started last Tuesday at the Needham Country Club. It was a beautiful afternoon for golf and the Rockets would win their match against Newton North (5-1).

March 31, 2025

• The Spring regular season is underway! Boys Volleyball, Boys Lacrosse and Baseball have already had games! Other teams will start their 2025 seasons this upcoming week!

• Spring Club Sports just started practices last week with Boys and Girls Ultimate and Girls Flag football. Club Sailing will start practices the week of April 7th. Middle School Sports will begin Tuesday April 8th.

• New Varsity Coaches - Lindsay Hope is leading the way as the new Girls Varsity lacrosse coach for Needham High School. She played college lacrosse at Ramapo College of New Jersey and Stockton University. She also currently coaches for Laxachusetts, a club lacrosse program. and help with the Needham Girls Youth lacrosse program. She is also the Milton High School Varsity swimming assistant coach and teaches 6th grade science. Jamie Nix will be taking over the softball program. Jamie is a wellness teacher at Needham High School and also oversees the after school weight room program. Jamie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program having coached Needham freshman and JV baseball from 1994-2002 and with the Medway High School Baseball program from 2016-2021.

• Boys Volleyball hosted St John's Prep and New Bedford back to back to start the season off after coming off a tough loss in the State Championship game last year. The team is off to a hot start winning both games (3 sets to 0) to put the team at 2-0 so far on the season!

• Boys Lacrosse went on the road to begin their 2025 campaign after losing a tough game in the State championship last season to St John's Prep. They took the short trip to West Roxbury to play at Catholic Memorial where they would win the game (12-8). Sophomore Matt Ledbury led the way for the Rockets with 4 goals and 2 assists. 

• Baseball opened up their season on the road at non league opponent Dover Sherborn. The team scored runs in the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th inning but ultimately was not enough as they would drop their first game (5-4). The team had a total of 7 hits out of 28 at bats. Senior Charlie Ledbury had 2 RBI’s while Senior Nolan Gannon had 2 runs!

March 3, 2025

• Girls Indoor Track & Field had the 4x800 compete at the New England Championships this past Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. The team consisted of Audrey Adam, Greta Hammer, Eva Adam and Maddie Roach.  They had a season best time of 9:23.11 which earned them 2nd place in this event! Great season from the girls and the entire Girls Track and Field Team!

• Girls Basketball hosted Andover in the A gym last week in a MIAA Round of 32 game. The atmosphere was awesome! It was certainly a nail biter and a very close game for the majority of the game which would end up needing overtime to decide a winner. Dani Deroian hit a free throw with 3 seconds left to tie the game up to send it into OT. She also hit two clutch free throws in OT to seal the victory! The Rockets then went on a run and held off Andover for a (52-48) win! Eva Andrews led the way for the Rockets with 13 points , 16 rebounds and 2 blocks! The Rockets will travel to Braintree to take on the #4 seed! 

• Boys Basketball - On Tuesday night the Rockets won a MIAA playoff game at King Philip. The score was (56 to 37). Senior Jeremy Gould scored 10 points including a big 4th quarter three pointer and junior Matthew Cloonan added 12 points. Senior Sean Walker ignited the Rockets with eight second quarter points.  On Thursday the Rockets lost a MIAA round of 32 playoff game at Central Catholic.  The score was (58 to 34). Junior Foster Wilinski scored 10 points for the Rockets. The team played with heart and determination all night. Great season from the team!

• Girls Ice Hockey traveled to Attleboro last week to take on Bishop Feehan. They would have a 1-0 lead after the first period. Bishop Feehan then came out on a run in the 2nd period and would ultimately take the lead. The Rockets battled hard all game long but it was not enough. Cassie Ling scored 2 goals for the team. The Rockets would fall to Bishop Feehan (8-3). Great season from our Girls Hockey team! Needham's final record was 10-10-1 for the season.

• Boys Ice Hockey traveled to Randolph to take on Archbishop Williams in a Round of 32 clash. The team would battle hard all game long but came up short against Archies (6-1). It was a great season from our Boys Hockey team! The team finished their season with a 12-9 record.

• Dance competed at the MSAA Dance State competition this past Saturday. They competed in two different divisions (Pom and Jazz). The team did a great job hitting their routines and this earned them second place in the Pom division and Third place in the Jazz Division!

• Cheer competed at the MSAA South Regional  competition this past Sunday. The team did an awesome job with their routine and had the crowd rocking and engaged! Their routine earned them 74 points and a 4th place finish at the event! The Rockets scored well enough to receive an at large bid to the MA State championships this coming Sunday at Worcester State!

February 24, 2025

• Girls Indoor Track & Field - Another great day for the Rockets at the Meet of Champions highlighted by a win in the 2 mile by Greta Hammer. Her time of 10:21.48 was a MA #1, US #8 and broke our school record set by former Needham standout Margie Cullen. Additionally, we had a runner up finish from our 4x800m relay team of Audrey Adam, Greta, Eva Adam and Maddie Roach in a season best time of 9:25.04 as well as a 5th place finish from Maddie in the 600m.

• Boys Indoor Track & Field - Last week the boys finished their season at the MIAA Division 1 State Championship. The 4x200 relay (Kyle Railton, Nathan Cunoosamy, Michael Flueckiger, and Josh Batsevitsky) and 4x800 (Matteo Fucentese, Raj Randery, Sam Gustat, and Kaden Hu) finished strong with season best performances.Additionally, we’d like to recognize outstanding SCHOLAR-ATHLETES -  2025 National Merit Finalists: XC and Indoor Track Captain - Samuel Cooperman and XC Captain  - Ryan McCarthy.

• Girls Basketball went 0-2 on the week with losses to Norwell and Hanover at the Norwell Invitational Tournament to close out the regular season. Eva Andrews had 12 points and 13 rebounds in the game vs Norwell and 10 rebounds in the game vs Hanover. These performances earned her a spot on the all tournament team. The team finished the regular season 11-9 and earned the 13th seed in the D1 MIAA Basketball tournament and will take host Andover for the round of 32!

• Boys Basketball went 1-1 on the week with a win over BC High and a loss to Central Catholic. Junior Ben Marino scored 21 points in the Rockets win vs. BC High.  Senior Max Goodrow added 11 points and junior Foster Wilinski scored 11 points. With the win the TEAM qualified for the MIAA Basketball Tournament for the 11th straight year.  This team started the 1st half of the season 3-7 and ended the 2nd half of the season 7-3 to qualify for the tournament. So proud of this team's collective effort and next play/next game mindset. On Thursday junior Ben Marino scored 19 points in a loss to Central Catholic. The team finished the regular season 10-10 and earned the 36th seed in the D1 MIAA Basketball tournament and will travel to King Philip High School for the preliminary round!

• Girls Ice Hockey participated in the Hingham Showcase last week going 0-3 vs Andover , Archbishop Williams and Duxbury. The team finished the regular season 10-9-1 and earned the 26th seed in the D1 MIAA Hockey tournament and will travel to Attleboro to take on Bishop Feehan for the round of 32!

• Boys Ice Hockey - Boys hockey went 2-0 on the week with wins over Barnstable and Hopkinton. Senior Joe Kajunski led the way last week with 4 goals including a hatrick vs Hopkinton. The team finished the regular season 12-8 and earned the 21st seed in the D1 MIAA Hockey tournament and will travel to Randolph to take on Archbishop Williams High School for the round of 32!

• Boys Swim and Dive - Boys' Swimming & Diving finished 22nd of 44 schools at the D1 State Meet on Sunday Feb 23rd at Phillips Academy in Andover. The Rockets only had two athletes competing. Senior Vann Hotchkiss won his 3rd straight state title, scoring 562.45 points. Sophomore Andrew Call finished in 11th with 372.25 points. Amazing season for the Boys Swim and Dive team!

• Wrestling - The Needham Varsity Wrestling team had 4 wrestlers competing this year in the Division 1 State Wrestling Tournament. All 4 wrestlers that competed in the State Tournament showed great sportsmanship and finished their season with a great outlook for what’s to come next year. Sophomore, Baysangur Imakaev and Juniors Max Sherer and Daniel Burdin all wrestled hard but were unable to make it into the second day of the tournament. At 126 lbs. Junior, Nathan Taub managed to make it into day two and finish 8th place in the State. Big Congratulations to these wrestlers for accomplishing so much this season and being able to list their names among the best in the State. 

• Gymnastics - Needham Gymnasts Lucy Aswad, Ella Gravin and Julia Zosa participated in the State individual Meet on Monday at Tewksbury High School. Julia placed 10th on beam with a score of 9.1. Lucy had a fall, which knocked her out of running for the beam and a 9.1 in floor placed her 12th , just out of the medals. Amazing job from these Athletes!

• Cheer -  An amazing week for the Rockets Cheerleading program! JV scored an all time high and Varsity scored a season high (77.3) earning them first place at the Bellingham Invitational.  and is moving on to Regionals! Shout out to our cross over athletes Senior Alyssa Klein, Senior Charlotte Lawrence and Sophomore Joss Sewall! 

February 17, 2025

• Girls Indoor Track & Field had themselves a day last night at divisionals! We finished 4th overall with 32 points with top finishes from Ava Chiappinelli (6th) and Eva Geddes (8th) in the 55m dash, Maddie Roach (2nd) in the 600m, Audrey Adam (6th) in 1000m, Greta Hammer (2nd) in the 1 mile, Taylor Partridge (5th) in the 2 mile and Hammer, Audrey Adam, Eva Adam and Roach (4th) in the 4 x 800m relay. Maddie’s time of 1:35.52 in the 600m broke a 23 year old school record!

•  Girls Basketball went 2-0 on the week with wins over Walpole and Canton. Hannah Levine had a career high in points vs Walpole with 27 points! She also added 3 rebounds and 2 steals. On Senior night vs Canton Senior Captain Callie McCarthy led the way with 13 points , 8 rebounds and 5 steals! The team is 11-7 and is ranked 8th in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Boys Basketball went 1-1 on the week with a win over Walpole and a loss to Catholic Memorial. Junior Ben Marino scored 21 points and junior Foster Wilinski added 20 points in a hard fought loss at Catholic Memorial Friday night. Junior's Ben Marino and Foster Wilinski each scored 18 points in a great team win at Walpole Tuesday night. Congratulations to Max Goodrow for being named a Bay State League All Star.  Also, congratulations to Ben Marino for being named a Honorable Mention All-Star. The team is now 9-9 on the season and are ranked 36th in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Girls Ice Hockey Needham improved to 10-6-1 with an 8-2 win over Walpole and a 6-3 win over Medfield; Seven players scored in the Walpole contest with Jill Peabody leading the way tallying two goals and an assist; Ceci D'Amelio, Sarah Porras, Katelyn Birnbaum, Bella D'Amelio, Adrienne Giancola, and Cassie Ling all added goals; Five players scored in the Medfield win; Bella D'Amelio led with two goals; Jill Peabody, Ceci D'Amelio, Cassie Ling, and Liv Leschinski all added goals. The team is ranked 26th in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Boys Ice Hockey - Boys hockey went 1-1 on the week with a win over Waltham and a loss to Walpole. Matt Rutter, Will and Joey Saratella , Matt Peabody and Matt Ledbury all scored goals for the Rockets in their 5-1 win on senior day vs Waltham! The team is now 10-8 on the season and are ranked 23rd in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Wrestling - The Needham Varsity Wrestling team was able to send 8 wrestlers to Malden to compete for a spot at the State Tournament. Out of the 8 wrestlers that competed in Saturdays MIAA D1 C/M Sectional Tournament, 4 wrestlers will be attending the State Tournament in North Andover, Friday & Saturday. At 126 lbs. Nathan Taub managed to go undefeated on the day, winning all four matches with two pins and two decisions. At 175 lbs Junior Captain, Daniel Burdin placed 2nd Place. At 120 lbs Baysangur Imakaev placed 3rd Place. At 138 lbs Max Sherer placed 4th Place. With great performances also by 106 lbs. Siddhant Phatak, 150 lbs. Elias Langsner, 165 lbs. Robert Mahar, & 215 lbs Dean Mostafa. Congrats to all the Needham wrestlers this season for helping 4 teammates make it to the State tournament. 

• Girls Alpine Ski won the Ski East League Championship, a first for Needham High! What made the girls team special this year was the strength and depth of the entire varsity team, who stepped up after an injury to number one seeded racer sophomore Jessie Brandish. State Championship qualifiers junior Cassie Vincenzo stepped up and took the lead along with freshman Elodie Rosen, her sister junior Adah Rosen, and junior Story Bracker. Other varsity racers who played key roles in their championship season included senior captain Zoe Ettinger, juniors Anna Del Vechio, Haley Larsen, sophomore Zoe Gacs, and freshman Juliette Poulin.

• Boys Alpine Ski team finished second in Ski East led by captain Will Kence, who finished a highly successful four-year career on the team with a second place finish overall in the individual boys standings after the team's season-long battle with perennial Ski East powerhouse BC High. "Will is a special racer who has a passion for skiing and racing and  leaves a hall of fame legacy with the Needham Ski Team, " said Head Coach Tom Guarente. "He was consistently on the podium throughout his career and had three first-place finishes this season. He was also a four year qualifier for States”. Other varsity Boys Ski Team standouts included state qualifiers senior captain Evan Bagg, juniors Zach Raley and Adam Ganetsky, and freshmen Jake Musiak and Christian Rocamboli. Other varsity racers included senior captain Jake MacNeil, sophomore Brandon Ah Kee, freshmen Daniel Bloom and Ryan Curtis. 

• Gymnastics - Needham Gymnastics had a quiet week, waiting to hear of postseason opportunities. Lucy Aswad, Ella Gravin and Julia Zosa were invited to participate in the State individual Meet on Monday at Tewksbury High School based on their event averages from the season. Congratulations to them all for their high achievements and Best of Luck to them at this exciting meet.

• Squash - The Club Squash team had their last match of the season last week vs Acton - Boxborough. The team would lose the match 14-2 but had some great performances. The team learned many new skills and strategies throughout the course of the season and showed great development! 

February 10, 2025

• Girls Indoor Track & Field finished 5th at the BSC championship scoring 54 points led by wins from Greta Hammer (2 mile run) and the 4x400m relay team of Ava Conti, Audrey Adam, Eva Adam and Maddie Roach. Other notable finishes were Ava Chiappinelli (3rd in 55m dash), and Maddie Roach (3rd in 600m run).

• Boys Indoor Track & Field Solid day for the Rockets at the Bay State Conference Championship on Wednesday. The team finished in 6th place led by Austin Conti who is the conference champion in the 2 mile running a PR of 9:58.50! Charlie Simeone finished 2nd place in the shot put and Cash Lindsley raced to a 5th place finish in the 2 mile with a 3-second PR. Nathan Cunoosamy finished 8th place in the high jump and all 3 relays scored to help put points on the board. 8 other Rockets had PR performances, showing that they are peaking at the right time as we approach the Division 1 State Championship Meet this upcoming Wednesday!

• Girls Basketball went 1-1 on the week with a win over Framingham and a loss to Braintree in what was a very close game. Callie McCarthy led the way against Braintree with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Annie Camozzi had a career high night at Braintree with 23 points. She also added 10 rebounds and 4 steals. The team is 9-7 and is ranked 10th in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Boys Basketball went 1-1 on the week with a win over Framingham and a loss to Braintree. Junior Matthew Cloonan scored 16 points in a (63-27) win over Framingham. Senior Sean Walker added 11 points. Max Goodrow scored 16 points and added seven rebounds and six assists in a loss vs. Braintree on Friday night.  He played with heart and hustle all game. The team is now 8-8 on the season and are ranked 35th in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Girls Ice Hockey Needham Girls Hockey went 2-0 this week, improving overall record to 8-6-1, with wins over Framingham, (1-0), goal by Katelyn Birnbaum, and (3-1) versus Braintree, goals by Sarah Porras, Bella D'Amelio, and Cassy Ling. Caitlin McNeill backstopped both wins with several key, timely, saves. The team is ranked 27th in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Boys Ice Hockey - Boys hockey went 1-1 on the week with a win over Framingham and a loss to Braintree. Matt Rutter led the way this past week with 3 goals The team is now 9-7 on the season and are ranked 23rd in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Boys Swim and Dive came in 23rd out of 46 teams at the South Sectional Meet.  Senior Vann Hotchkiss won his 3rd straight title in the 1 meter diving and sophomore Andrew Call came in 5th. Sophomore Eithan Kogan finished 21st in the 200 freestyle and 18th in the 500 freestyle.  Junior Daniil Landau finished 30th in the 50 freestyle and 20th in the 100 freestyle.  The 200 freestyle relay of Daniil Landau, Ian Zeylikman, Gabe Pressman, and Jack Reilly came in 27th and the 400 freestyle relay of Daniil Landau, Eithan Kogan, Shawn Yu, and Jack Reilly finished 19th.

• Wrestling -  Last Wednesday, Needham Varsity Wrestling finished off their last team dual of the season against Wellesley High School. The duel was exciting from start to finish and one of the best performances of the year. Team wins came from 6 of the 12 Varsity Wrestlers. Siddhant Phatak, Baysangur Imakaev, Andres Lemus-Mesa, Senior Captain Alex Rutley, Robert Mahar, Junior Captain Daniel Burdin all were able to capture team points on the night. Needham gave up 12 points due to Forfeits at 113lbs and HWT and the team dual went to Wellesley H.S. (35-41). Needham Varsity Wrestling also attended a quad in Middleborough last weekend and had team dual matches with Durfee H.S. (36-37), Middleboro H.S.(30-48), Newton South H.S.(18-56) and Catholic Memorial H.S. (39-18). Junior Captain Daniel Burdin and Dean Mostafa, and Max Sherer were all able to go undefeated and Robert Mahar was able to pick up 3 wins on the day. The Needham Varsity Wrestling team now prepares to head to Malden Saturday, February 15th for sectionals to earn their spot at States this year. 

• Gymnastics - Gymnastics had a successful week, with a win over Braintree, at Braintree: 136.8 over their 132.  On Saturday the team went to the Bay States Meet, placing third overall with a final score of 139.7 and multiple in meet All stars, including Izzy Lemaire, Leah Koroukh, Francesca DePaul, Julia Zosa, Ella Gravin and Lucy Aswad - all placing in their chosen events.  Also announced at the meet were Ella Gravin as a Bay States All Star on Vault and Julia Zosa and Lucy Aswad taking both the Bay States All Star positions on Floor.  Congratulations to the entire team for a successful season!

• Dance - The dance team took part in the Bay State Conference championships on Saturday at Newton North High School. The team did a phenomenal job as they were spectacular in their routine. They competed in the Pom and Jazz Division where they would place 2nd for each division. 

• Cheer - The Varsity competition team had a strong and clean performance this weekend! Earning the team 3rd place and a new high score! A very well deserved recognition after a challenging week following our first competition of the season. Shout out to freshman Lily Andelman and sophomore Phoebe McCourt for throwing new tumbling skills and Senior Lilly for hopping back into flying after a year on the ground. Coaches are excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds. JV successfully completed their highest skills at Billerica Memorial High School, despite the trials of winter sickness. Jumping through endless hoops, they overcame tribulations that would have intimidated many. JV kept their heads held high in the face of adversity and performed an exciting and enticing routine! Congrats JV!

February 3, 2025

• Girls Indoor Track & Field took part in the Bay State Conference Open last Tuesday at the Reggie Lewis Center with lots of PRs. The Most notable was a 5:42 mile from freshman Ellie Bookston. Her time was an 8 second PR and qualified her for the D1 State Championship.

• Boys Indoor Track & Field took part in the Bay State Conference Open last Tuesday at the Reggie Lewis Center. Many athletes got a chance to record PR’s and it was a great way to wrap up the regular season.

• Girls Basketball went 2-0 on the week with wins over Milton and Weymouth. Annie Camozzi led the way last week with 30 points in two games. Callie McCarthy had 11 assists in two games and Eva Andrews with 17 rebounds in two games. The team is 8-6 and is ranked 13th in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Boys Basketball went 2-0 on the week. Junior Caden McNamee scored a career high 8 points in a great win vs. Milton.  Juniors Ben Marino and Matthew Cloonan added 7 points each. On Friday night Senior captain Jeremy Gould scored 16 points in the team win vs. Weymouth. Junior Matthew Cloonan added 10 points. The team is now 7-7 on the season and are ranked 36th in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Girls Ice Hockey went 1-1 last week with a loss to Milton and a win versus Weymouth. Jill Peabody had two goals and two assists in the Weymouth win, Sami Bonasia had a goal in both, Sarah Porras and Emmie Verville each contributed a goal to the win. Record stands at 6-5-1 for the season. The team is ranked 24th in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Boys Ice Hockey - Boys hockey went 0-2 on the week with loss to Milton and Weymouth. Team battled hard and created many chances however could not find the back of the net this week and look to keep building as they try to clinch their spot in the postseason. The team is now 8-6 on the season and are ranked 23rd in the D1 MIAA Power Rankings.

• Boys Swim and Dive had more than 20 season best times at the Bay State Conference Meet this week where they finished 6th. Vann Hotchkiss broke his own Conference Meet record in the 1 meter diving with a score of 3436.25. The 400 free relay team of Daniil Landau, Eithan Kogan, Shawn Yu, and Jack Reilly dropped 3.5 seconds and qualified for the South Sectional Meet at MIT next Sunday.

• Girls Alpine Ski - The Needham Girls Ski Team had another successful week of racing earning a first place finish at Blue Hills Wednesday night and with a Top 10 finish by Casie Vincenzo. The girls team also had a first place finish in the combined race and Senior Day at Ragged Mt. Sunday led by sisters Adah and Elodie Rosen who finished in the Top 20.

• Boys Alpine Ski team finished second overall at Blue Hills led by freshman Jake Musiak (2nd) and senior captain Will Kence (3rd) on the  podium. Freshman  Christian Rocamboli also had a top 10 finish. On Sunday, Will Kence , senior captain Evan Bagg, Jake Musiak, and junior Zach Raley all had Top 10 finishes to help The boys team came in second place overall finishing the combined races.

• Wrestling - The Needham wrestling team celebrated Senior Night with a dual against Brookline. Senior Captain Alex Rutley, Junior Captain Daniel Burdin and Sophomore Baysangur Imakaev all secured wins for the night. The Rockets also competed over the weekend at the Middleborough Quad. The team went 1-3 against Middleborough, Newton South, Durfee and Catholic Memorial. Max Sherer had an impressive performance by securing four pins on the day. This coming Wednesday the Varsity Wrestling team will be traveling to Wellesley for their final team dual. 

• Gymnastics - Rocket Gymnasts had their Senior night on Tuesday, celebrating 9 Seniors, all of whom were able to show their skills to a packed audience against Walpole. With multiple 9.0 or above scores brought in by Lucy Aswad and Ella Gravin, the team scored first ever 140.1 score to Walpoles 125.8.  On Friday evening the team went to Weymouth and celebrated another winning performance with a score of 137.55. A great week overall with many important contributions from Francesca DePaul, Leah Korboukh and Sarah Robbins, and all the team.

• Fencing took part in a 6 team tournament at Beaver Country Day on Sunday February 2nd. The Boys team finished the day 5-1 in their duels and the girls team finished 4-2 on the day. Sophomore Joshua Weiner competing in his first competition had an 11-7 win.