Benzinger, Kratz Named Athletes of the Week

Individual milestones and team missions were the focus of this week’s Athletes of the Week.

 

On Monday at Mount Greylock Regional School, senior Jenna Benzinger reached the 500-kill plateau for her career in a win over Wahconah. Later in the week, she led the Mounties to a victory over Pittsfield that clinched the Berkshire North championship.

 

On Tuesday, McCann Tech’s Cole Kratz became the fifth Berkshire County high school golfer to qualify for the state championships with a 10-over-par round of 82 at Wyantenuck Country Club in Great Barrington.

 

This week, Kratz and Lee’s Thomas Fraser will compete in the Division 3 State Championship in Northbridge. The D1 field includes Pittsfield’s Kevin Quinto, and in D2, Mount Greylock’s Kyle Alvarez and Wahconah’s Jon Dos Santos will carry their schools’ colors into competition.

 

Benzinger was just the first Mountie to reach a career milestone this week. Later, teammate and fellow senior Dagny Albano recorded her 1,500th assist at Mount Greylock.

 

As she celebrated her big day, Benzinger said the only numbers she worried about were in the win column.

 

“I'm glad I got 500, but in the end, that wasn't my main goal,” she said. “My main goal was to have so much fun and just get to Western Mass, get a great seed and get a home game. That's the goal.”

 

Mount Greylock figures to be a shoo-in for a home game when the Western Massachusetts tournament seeds are announced on Tuesday.

 

Kratz’s McCann Tech teammates saw their high school season come to an end at the Western Mass tourney, but the Hornets could hold their heads high after placing fourth in a nine-team field at Wyantenuck.

 

“I was happy with how we played,” Kratz said. “I thought we did fairly well. We left some out there like everyone else, but it was a big improvement from last year.”

 

Kratz’s coach was pleased to see his sophomore excel at the sectional.

 

“I'm really happy for him,” Corbin Brassard said. “Out of all the kids on the team, he definitely works the hardest. It just shows that if you put in the time, you get results.”

 

iBerkshires.com's Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Bedard Bros. Auto Sales of Cheshire.