Sandifer, Miller Earn Athlete of the Week Honors

Two programs with high pedigrees produce this week's iBerkshires.com Athletes of the Week.

 

No boys basketball team in Berkshire County has rivaled the success of Taconic over the last decade.

 

And no one had a better week than Tayvon Sandifer and this year's edition of the Thunder.

 

Sandifer scored 16 points on Tuesday to lead his team to a home win over Minnechaug.

 

Three nights later, he scored 10 points in a 30-point win over West Springfield as Taconic took two from the Terriers -- the only two losses for West Side this winter -- and sole possession of first place in the Suburban North.

 

Overall this winter, Taconic is 10-2. The most recent of the two losses was to city rival Pittsfield, a Generals team that lost to West Springfield earlier last week.

 

As good as Sandifer was this week, he actually scored below his season average, which stands at just more than 17 points per game going into Monday's game at Agawam.

 

The Mount Greylock girls Nordic team is a perfect 3-0 in high school races this winter.

 

And they have done it with their Big Three.

 

Anne Miller, Lauren Miller and Cornelia Swabey have finished in the top five at each of the Berkshire County Cross Country League races this winter.

 

Anne Miller has led the trio -- and the rest of the league -- each time, notching her third straight gold on Saturday at Mohawk Trail Regional.

 

After an eight-second margin of victory over Lauren Miller in the season opener on New Year's Eve, Anne Miller has posted some impressive times the last two outings.

 

At Butternut under the lights, she beat the field by 36 seconds. On Saturday, she was was 42 seconds better than the pack.

 

On Wednesday, Miller and the Mounties race in their home opener with a 3:30 meet in Williamstown.