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WELLESLEY – Here’s the deal: no more hail.
Steve Balter hatched a plan four years ago for a biennial April vacation trip for his Wellesley High girls lacrosse team. The first jaunt in 2023 landed the Raiders in Chicago, where they played two highly-ranked teams, took in a Cubs game and watched eventual national champ Northwestern’s women defeat Maryland.
Good times, 1,000 miles away. One problem: April. The weather in the Windy City is routinely worse than New England this time of year, which – after it snowed here Tuesday – is saying something.
Hail fell during both of Wellesley’s games in Chicago; a tornado warning also hindered the schedule.
“So the request,” Balter said, “this time around was, ‘hey, can we go somewhere where the weather’s better?”’
Granted.
The Raiders leave on Patriots Day for a cross-country flight to San Diego. Among plans other than games Tuesday and Thursday are a ropes course, go-karting and a beach day.
No hail, no tornado but a Coronado is in the forecast.
“I’m looking forward to the warm weather; I’ve heard it’s a completely different vibe,” said senior captain Emery McGraw, who has yet to visit California. “Just excited to see new things.”
Wellesley is playing against Torrey Pines High on Tuesday, April 22, and, two days later, Coronado High, the No. 1-ranked team in the state and the Western region. Torrey Pines is listed No. 12 in California by laxnumbers.com, and the Falcons won their second consecutive CIF Open Division Championship last spring, defeating Coronado in the finals.
Wellesley, a state finalist a year ago, plans to balance business with pleasure.
“It’s important that we stay focused because we want to have a successful trip and play well against the teams we’re playing,” said senior captain Olivia Comella. “It’s important to have half and half: bonding with the team and also making sure that we’re super focused and ready to play those teams.”
Balter estimates the total cost of the trip to be $50,000, which is why they happen every two years to allow time for fundraising. But because of the team’s effort toward raising money, each family is on the hook for roughly $100.
The team held several youth clinics, which helped raise nearly two-thirds of the cost. The Raiders also held a Friday night sleep under at Sprague Elementary School, where from 6-9 p.m., children K-5 played games and ate pizza.
“We were able to do so many fun things with them so that their parents could go to dinner,” said Wellesley senior captain Kaitlin Uller.
The Raiders also sold corporate sponsorships for their team rosters and the local Shake Shack donated 25% of proceeds to the team last week. But the youth clinics offer the greatest connection, according to Balter.
“You see these little kids whose faces light up when they see someone who’s really good at lacrosse teaching them. It’s much better than having me there doing it,” he said with a laugh.
Wellesley will face its first out-of-state competition on Saturday when Cicero North High out of Syracuse, New York, visits for an 11 a.m. game. The Northstars won their first state title in 28 years last spring and lost just twice in 2024, including a setback to St. John’s Prep.
One of Cicero North’s top players in Gabrielle Putman, who is heading to Division I Vanderbilt after originally committing to Marquette. Cicero, which is playing Notre Dame of Hingham on Friday, contacted Wellesley to set up the game.
“They reached out,” Balter said, “and I looked them up and I said, ‘ok, we can bash our heads against this wall if we want to. Come on down!’”
The Coronado team the Raiders will face in San Diego is 9-0 and has outscored opponents 147-47. The Islanders recently defeated the No. 1 ranked program in Virginia - St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes - and the No. 1 team in Illinois, Loyola Academy. Wellesley played Loyola two years ago.
Coronado has three players committed to play in college: Grace Elardo, Holy Cross; Sydney Dunn, Brown; and Brooklyn Parma, Mt. St. Mary’s.
“That will be an ultimate challenge for us, but that’s also part of our goal,” Balter said of playing Coronado. “We have a very good team and wanted to challenge them.”
Torrey Pines, which lost to St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (20-8) and Loyola (19-11) in March, has three players committed to Division 1 colleges: Sydney Stewart, USC; Cameron Silver, San Diego State; and Catherine Tonelli, SDSU.
Wellesley’s future college players include: Comella, Arizona State; Bryce Lane, Colgate; Uller, Davidson; senior captain Emily Munchak, Elon; Abby Beggans, Villanova; Alexa Heller, Cornell; and Kristina Garcia Miller, Wooster.
But before they leave for the next level, the Raiders have quite the trip waiting.
“You try and create experiences for the kids – the games are great, obviously, and we’re in it for the competition,” Balter said. “My guess is, other than if we can win a state championship or something, when they look back on it five or 10 years later, it’s going to be things like this trip they’re going to remember.”
“It’s going to be huge,” added Uller. “We’re so lucky to be even to be able to go on the trip. So many teams are never able to go on a trip like this. I think future generations of Wellesley girls lacrosse will look at this as something to look forward to.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram at tdumas1.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Wellesley girls lacrosse headed to San Diego for April vacation
Continue reading...
Steve Balter hatched a plan four years ago for a biennial April vacation trip for his Wellesley High girls lacrosse team. The first jaunt in 2023 landed the Raiders in Chicago, where they played two highly-ranked teams, took in a Cubs game and watched eventual national champ Northwestern’s women defeat Maryland.
Good times, 1,000 miles away. One problem: April. The weather in the Windy City is routinely worse than New England this time of year, which – after it snowed here Tuesday – is saying something.
Hail fell during both of Wellesley’s games in Chicago; a tornado warning also hindered the schedule.
“So the request,” Balter said, “this time around was, ‘hey, can we go somewhere where the weather’s better?”’
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Granted.
The Raiders leave on Patriots Day for a cross-country flight to San Diego. Among plans other than games Tuesday and Thursday are a ropes course, go-karting and a beach day.
No hail, no tornado but a Coronado is in the forecast.
“I’m looking forward to the warm weather; I’ve heard it’s a completely different vibe,” said senior captain Emery McGraw, who has yet to visit California. “Just excited to see new things.”
Wellesley is playing against Torrey Pines High on Tuesday, April 22, and, two days later, Coronado High, the No. 1-ranked team in the state and the Western region. Torrey Pines is listed No. 12 in California by laxnumbers.com, and the Falcons won their second consecutive CIF Open Division Championship last spring, defeating Coronado in the finals.
Wellesley, a state finalist a year ago, plans to balance business with pleasure.
“It’s important that we stay focused because we want to have a successful trip and play well against the teams we’re playing,” said senior captain Olivia Comella. “It’s important to have half and half: bonding with the team and also making sure that we’re super focused and ready to play those teams.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Wellesley used clinics, ‘sleep unders’ to raise money
Balter estimates the total cost of the trip to be $50,000, which is why they happen every two years to allow time for fundraising. But because of the team’s effort toward raising money, each family is on the hook for roughly $100.
The team held several youth clinics, which helped raise nearly two-thirds of the cost. The Raiders also held a Friday night sleep under at Sprague Elementary School, where from 6-9 p.m., children K-5 played games and ate pizza.
“We were able to do so many fun things with them so that their parents could go to dinner,” said Wellesley senior captain Kaitlin Uller.
The Raiders also sold corporate sponsorships for their team rosters and the local Shake Shack donated 25% of proceeds to the team last week. But the youth clinics offer the greatest connection, according to Balter.
“You see these little kids whose faces light up when they see someone who’s really good at lacrosse teaching them. It’s much better than having me there doing it,” he said with a laugh.
Wellesley hosts team from Syracuse on Saturday
Wellesley will face its first out-of-state competition on Saturday when Cicero North High out of Syracuse, New York, visits for an 11 a.m. game. The Northstars won their first state title in 28 years last spring and lost just twice in 2024, including a setback to St. John’s Prep.
One of Cicero North’s top players in Gabrielle Putman, who is heading to Division I Vanderbilt after originally committing to Marquette. Cicero, which is playing Notre Dame of Hingham on Friday, contacted Wellesley to set up the game.
“They reached out,” Balter said, “and I looked them up and I said, ‘ok, we can bash our heads against this wall if we want to. Come on down!’”
You must be registered for see images attach
The Coronado team the Raiders will face in San Diego is 9-0 and has outscored opponents 147-47. The Islanders recently defeated the No. 1 ranked program in Virginia - St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes - and the No. 1 team in Illinois, Loyola Academy. Wellesley played Loyola two years ago.
Coronado has three players committed to play in college: Grace Elardo, Holy Cross; Sydney Dunn, Brown; and Brooklyn Parma, Mt. St. Mary’s.
“That will be an ultimate challenge for us, but that’s also part of our goal,” Balter said of playing Coronado. “We have a very good team and wanted to challenge them.”
Torrey Pines, which lost to St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (20-8) and Loyola (19-11) in March, has three players committed to Division 1 colleges: Sydney Stewart, USC; Cameron Silver, San Diego State; and Catherine Tonelli, SDSU.
Wellesley’s future college players include: Comella, Arizona State; Bryce Lane, Colgate; Uller, Davidson; senior captain Emily Munchak, Elon; Abby Beggans, Villanova; Alexa Heller, Cornell; and Kristina Garcia Miller, Wooster.
You must be registered for see images attach
But before they leave for the next level, the Raiders have quite the trip waiting.
“You try and create experiences for the kids – the games are great, obviously, and we’re in it for the competition,” Balter said. “My guess is, other than if we can win a state championship or something, when they look back on it five or 10 years later, it’s going to be things like this trip they’re going to remember.”
“It’s going to be huge,” added Uller. “We’re so lucky to be even to be able to go on the trip. So many teams are never able to go on a trip like this. I think future generations of Wellesley girls lacrosse will look at this as something to look forward to.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram at tdumas1.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Wellesley girls lacrosse headed to San Diego for April vacation
Continue reading...
