McCann Tech's Dowling, Taconic's Burke Earn Weekly Honors

Championship season is in full swing, and this week's iBerkshires.com/Bedard Bros. Athletes of the Week picked up a pair of titles over the weekend.

 

Aimee Dowling and the McCann Tech girls got things started on Friday night, scoring 20 points to lead the Hornets to a 42-37 win over Mohawk to clinch a league title and a berth in next week's Western Massachusetts Division 4 tournament.

 

"Aimee was a true senior tonight, no question," McCann Tech coach Kathy Budaj said.

 

Although Dowling had the hot hand all night, her biggest play came in the closing seconds when she fed Emma Marino in the post to make it a two-possession game.

 

"Huge assist," Budaj said. "She could have been selfish and took it, but, no, she saw the better play and made it, and that's what she's been doing all year."

 

For the season, Dowling has averaged just under eight points per game. But down the stretch, with McCann needing to win its last four league games to have a chance to make the tournament, she averaged 11.5 points per game.

 

While she was leading her team past Mohawk Trail for a fifth straight win, Burke was at the other end of the commonwealth starting a four-win streak of his own.

 

Burke took the 170-pound title at the State Division 3 Championships.

 

In Friday's preliminaries and quarter-finals, he won with a 5-2 decision in the first round and a sixth-minute pin in the second.

 

On Saturday, he went the distance in both his bouts.

 

First, he edged Scituate's Jason Dwight, 4-3, to reach the championship final. Then he took down Foxborough's Dave Dow, 7-3.

 

The Taconic sophomore finished the weekend with a 34-5 record this winter and a 71-11 mark for his career.

 

The iBerkshires.com Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Bedard Bros. Auto of Cheshire.