Kross Negalha
Graduating class: 2015
Inducted into Hall of Fame: 2025
Hall of Fame Category: Athlete
His presence was felt in three different sports and when he graduated in 2015, Kross Negalha was justifiably recognized as one of the best all-around athletes to wear the blue and white battle garb of Fairhaven High School.
Negalha participated in just one season of track but in that freshman winter campaign he threw the shot well enough to be the only Fairhaven freshman to be invited to compete in the state competition.
But his athletic focus at Fairhaven was trained on two other sports and on the lacrosse and football fields he repeatedly played his way into the spotlight. In three of his four seasons of lacrosse he was among the area’s most solid de- fenders who specialized in shutting down the opposition’s top scoring threat despite being hampered by nagging injuries of his own.
In his senior year Negalha was moved to the long stick middle position where he enjoyed another banner season.
His favorite and most impactful sport was football and over his three seasons of varsity competition he battled through pain and frustration to become an all-star running back and free safety and was Fairhaven’s nominee for the Otto Graham Award as the area’s outstanding senior football player.
As a sophomore he suffered a shoulder injury that would require surgery following the season. Experiencing pain throughout the rehabilitation period, Negalha’s only goal was to be ready for his junior year and he appeared to be on track until he suffered a blow to his surgically repaired shoulder early in that 2013 season. More damage had been done and a more complicated surgery was prescribed. But since the damage had already been done, Kross was told he could finish the season if he was willing and able to play through the pain.
For Kross, that was the best news he’d had in his two seasons on the gridiron. And with the addition of a shoulder brace, he played through pain for the balance of the 11-game schedule, finishing with a co-leading seven touchdowns … including three in a 40-28 victory over Bourne. He also led the Blue Devis in tackles from his safety position and was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year while earning a spot on The Standard-Times All-Defensive Second Team.
Following a second operation in the off-season, he began prepping for his final year of high school football and for the first time in his schoolboy gridiron career he wasn’t disappointed. In that unforgettable senior season Kross remained healthy and went on to set a school single-season record for touchdowns with 17, and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, a Standard-Times and South Coast Conference All-Star and the team's nominee for the Otto Graham Award.