County Athletes Revved Up For Bay State Summer Games

By Patrick RonaniBerkshires Staff
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Jen Delasco
LENOX, Mass. — Jen Delasco will be one of 24 athletes representing Berkshire County next week at the Bay State Summer Games. In the days leading up to her trip to Eastern Massachusetts, Delasco's supporters might tell her to "break a leg."

She's been there, done that.

Delasco, 15, of Lenox broke her right leg during a junior varsity soccer game in September 2007. The injury was caused primarily because of a benign cyst she had on her tibia bone. After a bone-graph operation in January 2008 and several months of physical therapy, she was back on the soccer pitch that spring.

Delasco said her journey back to playing soccer was "overwhelming."

"When I found out I needed surgery, I was scared," she said. "I was worried I wasn't going to play soccer again."

She debuted with the Lenox Memorial High School varsity team last fall, splitting time between midfield and forward, and she contributed to the Millionaires' trip to the Western Massachusetts Division III semifinals.

On Thursday, July 8, she'll be the lone Berkshire County soccer player on the "West" team at the annual Bay State Summer Games. She was one of about 30 girls who tried out for the regional team and, as one of the younger girls trying out, she had her doubts.

"I didn't know what to expect going into it," she said. "I was kind of nervous. I was second-guessing myself, and I didn't know if I was going to make it."

Delasco attended all four tryout sessions in Westfield, and her hard work paid off when she was chosen for the team. Since being selected, she's been practicing twice a week with the West squad, which will play one game on July 8, two on July 9 and two on July 10. If the girls perform well enough, they'll advance into the medal rounds on July 11. All the contests will be played at Waltham High School in Waltham, Mass.

The Summer Games is organized by the Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation (MASF), and it provides Olympic-style athletic competitions and developmental programs for amateur athletes of all ages and abilities. The Summer Games started 29 years ago with four sports and 300 athletes, and has since grown into an event featuring more than 8,000 athletes in 29 different sports.

Delasco is honored to be representing Western Mass. on a grand stage, and she's excited to spend a full weekend playing soccer, especially after being sidelined from the sport two years ago.

"It was painful," she said of her rehabilitation process. "I had to do exercises at my house, and when I went in for rehab I had to build up strength in my leg and work on my balance.

"I really wanted to get back and play soccer again."




Eli Coniglio, wrestling on the Mount Greylock co-op team, takes control of an opponent during a match this past winter.
While Delasco still has three more years of high school, Eli Coniglio recently graduated. The 18-year-old from Stamford, Vt., graduated from Drury High School on June 4, and he is one of four local wrestlers competing at the Summer Games.

Coniglio was one of the top wrestlers on the Mount Greylock co-op team this past winter, winning a Western Mass. individual title and finishing fourth at the State Tournament.

He'll be attending University of Vermont this fall, and while the Catamounts don't have a wrestling squad, that's not keeping Coniglio off the mats. He'll be competing in the 156-pound weight division in the Open Tournament (18-years and older) on Saturday, July 10, on the UMass-Boston campus.

Coniglio advanced into the 152-pound championship match last year at the Summer Games, and said it was a no-brainer to sign up for the event again this year.


He said his preparation for the Games is far different than the work he expended during the high-school season. 

"I've been doing mostly endurance training and some off-season weight lifting," he said. "So I'm just going to show up and give what I've got at the time.

"During the [high-school] season, you're doing everything you can to win and to help the team win. This is a one-day tournament. It's fairly semi-formal. They're not super strict about most things. It's more of a friendly competition."

What makes this year's experience quite different than last year for Coniglio is his age-division. In the Open Tournament, Coniglio may square off against collegiate wrestlers and could theoretically face a grappler of any age over 18.

"I'm sure I'll see some good wrestlers and some not-so-good wrestlers," he said. "I'm just looking to have fun."

Other Berkshire County participants in the 29th Bay State Summer Games are:

Mike Geannelis  (Williamstown, Baseball)
Robert Morin III, (Lee, Basketball)
Tara Dooley, Tara (Lee, Basketball)
Katie Eckert (Lee, Basketball)
Sarah Mills (Great Barrington, Basketball)
Lavante     Wiggins (Pittsfield, Basketball)
Whitney Sitzer (Lee, Lacrosse)
Jamie Budaj, Jamie (Windsor,    Lacrosse)
Jessica Budaj, Jessica (Windsor, Lacrosse)
Emma Wilber, Emma     (Great Barrington, Swimming)
Maeve Wilber, Maeve (Great Barrington, Swimming)
Tanner DeVarennes (Lee, Tennis)
Kelly Babich, Kelly (Lenox Dale, Tennis)
Alexandra Levinsky (Williamstown, Volleyball)
Mitch Graves (Adams, Wrestling)
Zach Larabee (Cheshire, Wrestling)
Dylan Hilchey (Cheshire, Wrestling)
David Senecal (North Adams, Ice Hockey)
Megan Gaul (Lee, Lacrosse)
Taverick Roberson (Pittsfield, Basketball)
Mike McMahon, Mike (Pittsfield, Basketball)
Robbie Burke (Cheshire, Basketball)

Note: If we're leaving any local athletes off of this please, please e-mail info@iBerkshires.com with the athlete's name, hometown and the sport he/she is participating in.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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