St. Stanislaus School benefit, 9 to 4 in Kolbe Hall, Adams. Bake sale, snack bar, games, Chinese auctions, money raffle, crafts, and pierogi.
Blackinton Union Church, 1373 Massachusetts Ave., North Adams; 10 to 2. Crafts table, bake sale, Chinese auction, the Christmas table, and kid's grab bag. Lunch $4, $2 kids.
First Congregational Church, North Adams, 9-2.
Nov. 28 Becket Federated Church, Route 8, holiday bazaar from 9-3. Lunch, crafts, baked goods, holiday and other items. Information: Mary Peltier, Parish House, 413-623-5217.
Dec. 5
Holiday Fair at First Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee, from 10 to 3; handcrafted items, raffles, children's shop, bake sale, cut Christmas trees and lunch from 11 to 1. Includes angel-themed goods from SERRV. Information, 413-243-1033 or www.ucc-lee.org.
Dec. 12-13
North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Information: Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.
Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here.
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Mammography Dispute The government's issued controversial new guidelines stating that women shouldn't get annual mammograms until age 50, rather than age 40.
iBerkshires will be meeting with local medical experts Monday. Have a question you'd like answered on this issue? Send it info@iberkshires.com with "mammogram" in the subject line.
Track & Field Preview: North County Teams Vying to Lead the Pack
By Ryan Holmes iBerkshires Sports 06:32PM / Friday, May 01, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Drury boys' and Mount Greylock girls' track and field teams were the cream of the crop in the Western Massachusetts Division 2 field last year.
At least one of those teams seems poised for a repeat run in 2009.
The Mounties went 7-0 in the dual meets last season, won the Berkshire County team championship and finished the year off by tying New Leadership for the Western Mass. title. Greylock head coach Brian Gill did lose three key point scorers to graduation, but he’s confident he has the depth and the numbers to compete for another sectional title this spring.
"We only lost three, and we have a lot of people coming back," Gill said. "We have a lot of bases covered and we can do a lot of things, so we should be pretty good. I don't know if we'll go undefeated, but we’re going to be decent."
Early indications have the Mounties right where they left off last season. Gill's squad has already won the Mount Anthony Invite and finished first in the Berkshire Relays last week. Greylock will have to overcome the loss of Lindley Bell (hurdler, mid-distance runner), Amanda Burdick (thrower) and Alex Riley (sprinter), but there is still plenty of experience coming back on both the track and in the field.
Junior Jessi Payton returns to the 100 after a third-place showing at WMass a year ago. She'll be joined in the sprints by sophomore Liz Gorson, who was the Berkshire County champion in the 200 last season, and freshman Caitlyn Riley, who will also be in the mix after placing just behind Payton in last year's sectional meet.
Senior Abby Bishop returns to run the 400 and has already been setting personal bests in both the long and triple jumps. Gill is also fortunate to have the versatile Jackie Lemme back as well. The long distance machine was the WMass champion in the mile as a sophomore and then followed it up with a sectional title in the 800 as a junior last year.
Jackie's younger sister, Kaylene, is also a qualified 800 runner, finishing second in the county as an eighth-grader last spring. The Mounties even have the hurdles covered, with freshman Susie Shanley coming off of a second-place finish in the WMass high hurdles.
Sophomore high jumper Geena Chang has already cleared 4-10 this year, giving Greylock a top-flight performer in that event as well. Samantha Radke should score some points both in the field and from her coach, who calls the junior the best javelin thrower and one of the three best discus throwers in the county.
The range of athletes Gill has at his disposal should put the Mounties back in the drivers' seat for another Berkshire County title and possibly another sectional crown.
Drury Boys
Last season, Blue Devils head coach Jim Buffoni had the same depth and numbers that Gill is enjoying this year. The renewed interest in track and field at Drury led to an amazing year in which the Blue Devils went 6-1 in dual meets, won the Berkshire County championship, the Div. 2 title and finished fifth overall among all schools in Western Mass.
Drury's squad was senior-laden last year, and the losses of sprinter Wyatt Demo, WMass 800 champion Alex Scheuckler, and hurdler/jumper Drew Boudreau will certainly hurt, but Buffoni still thinks he has enough to be one of the top teams in the county this season.
Junior Nik Andrews should help keep the Devils in the front of the pack. Last spring, Andrews ended up finishing fourth overall at Western Mass. and 11th at states in the 400. He also helped the 4x800 team to a WMass title, beating all other teams from both Div. 1 and 2. In order to score more points for his team this year, Andrews will drop the 800 in favor of the 200. He might also have to pick up the triple jump and maybe even a shot put or a discus as well.
Anything to help his team win.
That attitude worked out well for Andrews in Drury's first meet of the season, an 84-56 win over Pittsfield. On that day, Andrews won the 200, the 400 and the triple jump, setting a school record of 50.4 in the 400 in the process. The good thing for Buffoni is that Andrews wasn't the only other triple winner that day. Senior Anthony Milazzo took the 800, the javelin and ran a leg of the Devils' victorious 4x800 relay team. Both Andrews and Milazzo, who also went to states as part of Drury’s 4x800 team last year, should provide the points and the leadership the Blue Devils will need this year.
Others who plan on contributing for Drury this year include sophomore Pete Dassati in long distance events, junior Shaun Derby-Kilfoyle in the 200 and 400, sophomore Ben Gamache in the mile and John Patton in the 400 and 800.
Jack Guerino will try to replace Boudreau's skills in the hurdles and will also run the 400 at times as well, while senior Colton Andrews and John Tietgens should provide points in both the discus and shot put events.
Drury Girls
While Buffoni looks to reload the boys' team, second-year coach Jenn Allard is hoping to keep rebuilding the Drury girls' squad. The Blue Devils went 2-5 in 2008, earning wins over Lenox and Pittsfield to highlight their season.
The good news for Allard is that the main core of her team is back for her second year at the helm. That includes sophomore Cassie Lincoln, who developed into Drury's top point scorer in her first year in the program. Lincoln seems poised for a breakout second season, and has already put up a monster day in a loss to Pittsfield in the Devils' only meet of the year so far.
Against the Generals, Lincoln won the 200, the 400, the long jump and finished third in the triple jump. That's a 16-point day and one great way to start the season.
"I'm hoping she can stay this consistent and strong," Allard said. "She's a workhorse. In the beginning of the season, she was going to the gym after practice to get herself back into shape. If she continues to work that hard she’s going to do really well."
Lincoln ran the 800 as a freshman last year, but Allard said she found out that her speed in the shorter races was a little more helpful to the team. Lincoln isn't the only sprinter on Drury's squad this season, though, as juniors Hilary Lesniak and Ashley Varruzzo return for the third year in a row. Allard said their experience has been a great help to some of the younger girls on the team.
Both Lesniak and Varruzo will compete in a combination of both the 100 and 200. Just like freshman Allie Bona, who took first in the 100 and second in the 200 in the first meet against Pittsfield. Bona's older sister, Miranda, is the Devils' captain this year and will be a force in both the 100 and 400 hurdles.
Allard said her team's low numbers should hurt them when they need to fill out relay teams, but she's upbeat about the possibilities of senior Sam Hartman and sophomore Meagan McCarthy in the field events. Against the Generals, that combination finished 1-2 in both the shot put and javelin.
Hoosac Valley Boys
Another team hurting from low numbers is the Hoosac Valley boys.
"This is the lowest numbers we've had in the history of the school," Hurricanes coach Ron Namislo said. "A lot of the athletes just aren't doing it. Some of it is because lacrosse is taking so many of our kids."
Hoosac went 4-3 in dual meets last year, and Namislo said he'd be happy with a similar finish in 2009.
"This year we're hoping to go 4-3 again," he said. "If we can do that, I'd be very happy. That would be 17 years in a row with a winning record. I'd like to keep our winning record going."
Namislo lost three quality athletes from a year ago with the graduation of sprinter/jumper Jeremy Pierce, thrower Scott Wojciechowski and 800-specialist Kai Chee, who Namislo said was versatile in so many races.
Their departure leaves the door open for people like senior Nick Lefebvre, a discus and javelin thrower who has already qualified for Western Mass in the latter event. Sophomore Dana Labee has also impressed early, winning both hurdle events in the 'Canes season-opening loss to Monument Mountain.
Namislo said sophomore Patton Linder has also surprised him with how well he's doing in the hurdles, while senior Evan Czerwinski is excelling in the sprints and working on both his high and long jump skills.
As far as distance races, Hoosac will lean on junior Nick Martinelli and sophomore twins Ethan and Andrew Harmon. Zach Ziemba should also score some points competing in the high jump, sprints and relays.
"We have about 18 juniors, so I'm hoping they develop and they do well next year," Namislo said.
Hoosac Valley Girls
After going 6-1 in dual meets last year, the Hoosac Valley girls are also setting their sights on a winning record this spring. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, they've already matched loss total from of a year ago, falling to Monument Mountain 79-62 in the first meet of the season.
The Spartans are a tough team, however, which leaves Hoosac head coach Greg Lucia confident that his team can hang with anyone in the county this year. The 'Canes biggest challenge will be replacing Becky Bosworth and Courtney Hart. Bosworth, the team MVP last season, was capable of scoring points in the long and triple jump, both hurdle events and the 100, while Hart was a former WMass champ in the high jump.
Senior Sara Sworzen should pick up some of the slack, however. Sworzen was a WMass champion in the 100 as a sophomore and came up big against the Spartans with a pair of victories in the 100 and triple jump.
Sworzen also helped run a leg of the victorious 4x100 relay team, one of the more successful units at Hoosac over the past five years. Joining her on the team are juniors Hannah Noel and Sam LeBeau and sophomore Emily Rodowicz, all who are capable of scoring points in their individual events.
Both Noel and LeBeau will tackle the 200, high jump and long jump this year, while Rodowicz will try her hand at the triple jump, high and low hurdles and wherever else Lucia needs her.
The Hurricanes coach said he's also counting on seniors Bethany Frye in the mile, 2-mile and javelin, Johanna Sutliff and Chelsea Tarsa in the discus and shot and Brenna Harmon in the 2-mile, javelin and 4x800 relay team. Lucia said Sutliff is one of the top five shot-put throwers in the county this year and just one of three girls who can throw a discus over a 100 feet, meaning she's already qualified for WMass in that event.
Freshmen Miranda Gajda and Liz Provost have also qualified in the javelin and our quickly making an impact in their first year on the team. Lucia said Provost looks really good in the high and low hurdles, while Gajda will run the 100, 200 and compete in the high jump.
Junior Jessica Gamari will also play a vital role by bouncing back and forth between middle and long distance events, while sophomore Jess Bailot will try her hand at the mile, 2-mile, 4x800 relay and triple jump.
Drury's squad was senior-laden last year, and the losses of sprinter Wyatt Demo, WMass 800 champion Alex Scheuckler, and hurdler/jumper Drew Boudreau will certainly hurt, but Buffoni still thinks he has enough to be one of the top teams in the county this season.
Against the Generals, Lincoln won the 200, the 400, the long jump and finished third in the triple jump. That's a 16-point day and one great way to start the season.
"This year we're hoping to go 4-3 again," he said. "If we can do that, I'd be very happy. That would be 17 years in a row with a winning record. I'd like to keep our winning record going."
The Hurricanes coach said he's also counting on seniors Bethany Frye in the mile, 2-mile and javelin, Johanna Sutliff and Chelsea Tarsa in the discus and shot and Brenna Harmon in the 2-mile, javelin and 4x800 relay team. Lucia said Sutliff is one of the top five shot-put throwers in the county this year and just one of three girls who can throw a discus over a 100 feet, meaning she's already qualified for WMass in that event.