Mount Everett, Mount Greylock Boys Earn Top Seeds in Western Mass Tourneys
The Mount Greylock and Mount Everett boys both start Western Massachusetts tournament play as king of the mountain.
Now, they have to protect their No. 1 seeds.
With a 13-2-1 record and both losses against Division 1 programs, the Mount Greylock boys team Friday was seeded first in the Western Massachusetts Division 3 tournament.
The Mounties started their regular season with a loss against Longmeadow, which went on to earn the tournament's top seed, and ended it with a 1-0 loss to Minnechaug, a non-qualifier in D1 this season.
Mount Greylock benefits from receiving one of four byes in the 12-team D3 boys field and awaits the winner of a first-round matchup between No. 9 South Hadley (9-5-4) and No. 8 Easthampton (9-5-3).
Mount Everett (9-6-2) is seeded first in Division 4 and thus gets to host the winner of a first-round matchup between No. 8 McCann Tech (11-6-1) and No. 9 Mohawk Trail (7-7-4) in the quarter-finals.
The winner of a potential McCann-Mount Everett quarter could be on a collision course for a final against No. 2 Lenox (8-8), which is home in the quarter-finals against either No. 10 Hampden Charter (9-7-2) or No. 7 Hopkins Academy (6-10-2).
The boys and girls seedings for all six Western Mass tournaments were revealed on Friday afternoon at Chicopee High.
Lenox has the highest-seeded Berkshire County girls team headed into the post-season.
The Millionaires (8-8-1) are seeded third in Division 4 and get a bye into the quarter-finals, where they will face either No. 6 Smith Academy (9-7-2) or No. 11 Hampden Charter (7-6-5).
The D4 girls bracket has two other Berkshire County squads.
Lee (9-7-2) is seeded fifth and received the final bye in an 11-team bracket. The Wildcats will host No. 4 Ware (9-9) in the quarters.
The McCann Tech girls (13-2-4, 12-2-4 for seeding purposes) also open the playoffs at home. They are seeded seventh and will host No. 10 Pathfinder (8-7-3).
Five Berkshire County girls teams help fill a crowded 15-team bracket in Division 3.
Fourth-seeded Wahconah (10-3-5) leads the county contingent in the division and will be home in the first round against No. 13 Pioneer (11-5).
Mount Greylock, Monument Mountain and Hoosac Valley are seeded sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
The Mounties (12-4-2) will be host No. 11 Frontier (11-5-2) in the first round. Monument Mountain (9-5-3) hosts No. 10 Greenfield (14-2). And Hoosac Valley (7-4-7) hosts No. 9 Palmer (11-4-3) for the right to go to top-seed South Hadley (17-0-1) in the quarter-finals.
The 15th-seeded Drury girls (6-10-2), who qualified by virtue of a second-place finish in the Berkshire County South Division, start their tournament run on the road at No. 3 Mahar (15-1-2) on Tuesday.
The way the seeds fall, a Drury upset could create a rematch against Mount Greylock in the quarters, which would be the only possible matchup of Berkshire County opponents before the semi-finals.
Back on the boys side, Pittsfield and Wahconah join their Berkshire County North Division rivals Lenox and Mount Greylock in the post-season.
In Division 1, Pittsfield (7-8-3) is seeded eighth and gets to host No. 9 Chicopee Comp (7-5-4) for a berth in the quarters at No. 1 Longmeadow (16-0-1).
In Division 3, The Mounties are joined in the bracket by fourth-seeded Wahconah (13-5), which also gets a bye to the quarter-finals to face either No. 12 Franklin Tech (9-7-2) or No. 5 Hampshire (8-4-4).
As with all MIAA seeding announcements, all seeds are tentative for 24 hours to allow for appeals.