The Hometown Weekly for all your latest local news and updates! Over 27 Years of Delivering Your Hometown News!  

Category Archives: Needham

A tribute to senior athletes

By Maddie Gerber
Hometown Weekly Intern 

Last spring, Needham High School’s girls’ softball team played its final game against Braintree, which was not only an undefeated team, but also the league champions. The Rockets, who hadn’t made the playoffs that year, were undoubtedly the underdogs, and knew this would be...

Read more

Needham’s Mathias, O’Brien make own marathon

Avery Mathias (left) and Kate O'Brien (right) are cheered on by friends and family as they make their way down Boylston Street in Boston on Saturday afternoon during their makeshift marathon run. Photos by Needham Swim & Diving.

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports...

Read more

Needham’s Burnett decade’s fastest MIAA runner

Davonte Burnett was a dominant force for Needham High School track from 2014-2018.

At the indoor championships his senior year in 2018, Burnett set a new meet record in the 55M at 6.36 seconds. As a junior in 2017, Burnett won state championships in the 100-meter dash (10.63 seconds)...

Read more

Spotlighting match-up nightmare Hugh Curran

Pictured on the ice this past winter, senior Hugh Curran (6) has served as a defensive mainstay for Needham High boys lacrosse and hockey each of the last four years. Photo by Mike Flanagan.

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

An athlete who has perhaps...

Read more

Needham legend Ftorek a hockey lifer

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

If you grew up in Needham playing ice hockey, there is a 100 percent chance you’ve heard the name Robbie Ftorek. My father, Joe Flanagan, grew up in Needham in the 1970s. So, even as a Walpole guy, Robbie Ftorek's name was all I heard...

Read more

St. Sebastian’s lax sends off its seniors

Annually one of the top boys high school lacrosse leagues in the country, 2020 was going to be one of the ISL's most competitive seasons in years.

St. Sebastian's entered the year looking to defend their league title following a dominant 15-0 campaign in 2019 that also saw an...

Read more

Needham baseball honors seniors through social media

Needham High School baseball was robbed of its season and ability to honor its seniors in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Mike Flanagan.

After winning the 2018 Division I state championship and making it back to the tournament in 2019 (5-4 first-round defeat to Xaverian),...

Read more

Needham’s Kocho named All-Conference

Needham native and Montrose center/forward Sophie Kocho (20) was named All-NEPSAC after helping lead the Mavericks to back-to-back IGC Division I championships this season and leading the team in rebounds. Photo by Montrose Athletics.

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

The Montrose varsity basketball team...

Read more

Spotlighting former Needham standout athlete Eric Johnson

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

One could certainly call Eric Johnson accomplished. Born and raised in Needham, Johnson attended both Needham High School and Belmont Hill, where he played football as a wide receiver, as well as basketball. Johnson’s efforts on the gridiron and in...

Read more

Senior salute: Middlebury’s Danny Jacobs

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

Needham native Danny Jacobs was living the dream: a senior lacrosse player at Middlebury College in Vermont preparing to cap off his athletic and academic career this spring. 

Nicknamed “Diesel” by teammates, the 5’10,” 175-Ib attack-man out of Nobles was set...

Read more

MIAA sports back May 4

By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

The MIAA has pushed back the potential start of the 2020 spring athletic season to May 4, at the earliest, the organization announced on March 30. Originally scheduled to resume on April 27, the decision to push back the start of the season an...

Read more

McIntyre, Rockets eye ultimate prize

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor It has been a special season for the Needham High School girls varsity basketball team in 2019-2020. An 18-2 regular season allotted the Rockets the No. 2 seed in Division I South. Entering the season, many believed Needham would be a state championship contender. So did the Rockets,...
Read more

Needham girls blank Newton

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor The Needham High School varsity girls hockey team took to the ice at Babson Skating Center last Wednesday evening as the Rockets (12-5-2, 9-4-1) looked to bounce back from a 3-2 defeat to Braintree on February 8. Just 38 seconds in, sophomore winger Maddie Ledbury fired home a...
Read more

Singh leads Rockets over Tech Boston

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor The Needham High School varsity boys basketball team hosted reigning Division II state champ TechBoston Academy on Saturday night in a battle between two of the top programs in the state. From the start, Needham was in control. Behind a trio of double-figure scoring performances by senior captain...
Read more

Klemm, Rockets outlast Scales, Rebels

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor The Needham and Walpole High School girls varsity basketball teams met for the third and final time this 2019-2020 season on Tuesday night with both teams looking to secure a victory and take the season series. Needham defeated Walpole, 44-28, back on December 18. The Rebels (9-4, 5-3)...
Read more

Spirited gymnastics team falls in tough meet

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Maddie Gerber Hometown Weekly Intern On Friday night, a patched-up Needham team, missing many integral gymnasts including captains Jackie Alford and Amanda Cohen, fell to Weymouth by a score of 123.3-128.2, giving the Rockets the second loss of their 1-2 season. “The beginning of this season has been a little rocky from the...
Read more

Klemm, McIntyre lift Rockets over Wamps

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor Braintree has served as Needham’s kryptonite in girls basketball over the last two seasons. In 2018-2019, the Needham girls dropped both regular season contests to Braintree as the Wamps took the Herget Division title. In the postseason, Needham and Braintree met in the Division I South finals, with...
Read more

Girls’ basketball continues to dominate

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Maddie Gerber Hometown Weekly Intern Last Tuesday night, the Rockets managed to overcome a tough first half against Weymouth to eventually best the Wildcats, 60-31, adding another win to their already-impressive 5-1 record. Although the girls had just come off an easy victory over King Philip’s last Saturday, they struggled in the first...
Read more

Rockets cruise to drama-free win

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By James Kinneen Hometown Weekly Reporter On Saturday afternoon, the varsity girls’ basketball game between Needham and King Philip High School was delayed by almost an hour due to an intense JV game between the two teams, which culminated in a double overtime King Philip victory. Hopefully the varsity fans that wanted to see...
Read more

Dorion, Needham basketball ready up

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Mike Flanagan Hometown Weekly Sports Editor A 14-6 regular season earned the Needham High School boys varsity basketball team the No. 7 seed in Division I South last winter. The Rockets drew a tough first-round matchup, having to face Catholic Conference power and No. 10 Xaverian in the first round. Needham fell, 62-47. In...
Read more

Top