Sports Caravan Gives Top Honors to North County Athletes

By Ryan Holmes
iBerkshires Sports
09:10AM / Wednesday, May 27, 2009

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Photos by Larry Kratka/Berkshire News Network  Jackie Lemme of Mount Greylock gives her acceptance speech after being named Female Athlete of the Year; left, Dalton Larabee of Hoosac Valley is Male Athlete of the Year.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — North Berkshire County high schools were represented well both at the dinner table and the head table at the WBEC's 47th annual Sports Caravan Awards Dinner on Tuesday night.
 
More than half the awards given out at the Crowne Plaza went to students from Drury, Hoosac Valley and Mount Greylock, with the Mounties earning a county-best nine out of the 24 medals given out on the night. Mount Greylock's Jackie Lemme also earned Female Athlete of the Year honors, while Hoosac Valley had two major winners of its own in Male Athlete of the Year Dalton Larabee and Coach of the Year in a Male Sport (baseball) Bob Rivard.

Lenox's Jackie Shea was other the big winner, earning Coach of the Year honors in a Female Sport after leading the Millionaires to an undefeated tennis season and Berkshire County title in only her second year at the helm.

For a complete listing of Tuesday night's winners, see below.

The awards are named for Richard S. Jackson Sr., one of the founders of WBEC radio. The first Athlete of the Year went to Mark Belanger of Pittsfield, who later went on to play professional baseball.

WBEC, with the help of the Berkshire County media and athletic directors, selects MVPs from all of the sports contested on the high school level as well as a Male and Female Athletes of the Year and two Coaches of the Year. Each of the four major winners received $500 scholarships, with the athletes using the money for college and the coaches taking the funding back to their respective schools.

Lemme received her award first, a fitting tribute to an athlete who has been on the scene for several years now. The St. Lawrence University-bound standout in three sports has been an All-Western Mass. performer in cross country since the eighth grade and has won two different sectional titles as a member of the Mounties' track and field team. She's also been a valuable member of Greylock's state champion cross-country ski team, adding even more strength to her endurance sports resume.

Typically, athletes like Lemme don't normally get the credit they deserve at these types of events but after former Mountie Nick Fogel won the Male Athlete of the Year award for excelling in the same sports last year, it seems like people around the county are starting to take notice of the special athletes Mount Greylock has produced in recent years.

"I'm definitely honored that I got this award," Lemme said. "I'm was surprised that I got it because Nick and I did the same three sports, but I'm happy that I got it. It's been a great year, and I think running in college will be a great experience for me."

Larry Kratka/Berkshire News Network  Hoosac Valley baseball coach Bob Rivard was named Coach of the Year in a Male Sport.

In addition to winning the Athlete of the Year award, Lemme was also recognized as the MVP in both girls' cross country and track and field. Two other Mounties also won multiple medals. Senior Than Finan won the MVP for boys' soccer after his goalkeeping skills helped lead the Mounties to a state title. He also was named the baseball MVP and has his team currently set up for a run in the WMass tournament. Classmate Patrick Joslin also came away with two MVPs, earning medals for both boys' cross country running and skiing after going undefeated in Berkshire County events earlier in the year.

Other Greylock winners included Dylan Dethier for golf, Matt Vaughan for boys' tennis and Mackenzie Hitchcock for girls' cross country skiing.

Larabee didn't win an MVP in an individual sport, but his complete body of work was more than enough to win him the Male Athlete of the Year award. The Hoosac senior started an amazing run last spring by leading his team to a Western Mass. title in baseball, earning tournament MVP honors in the process. He followed that up by playing quarterback and safety on a Hurricanes' football team that advanced all the way to the county championship and continued it by helping the Hoosac basketball team earn a trip to the state finals.

Larry Kratka/Berkshire News Network  Jackie Shea of Lenox High is Coach of the Year in a Female Sport.

Not a bad year at all really, and he still has the Western Mass. Baseball Tournament to look forward to next week.

"I could only hope it was going to work out that way," Larabee said. "It's just the way it worked out and the way our teams played in clutch situations. I never thought I would win this [award]. Everything I do, I just work hard and do the best I can do."

Larabee's teammates and coaches were also recognized on Tuesday night. Junior Robbie Burke was named boys' basketball MVP after he clearly established himself as one of the best players in the Western Mass. region this year. The last person to accept his award was Rivard, the Hoosac baseball coach for the past 16 years. Although he's made the postseason 12 times in his career, Rivard was quick to point out just how special last year's team was that went 15-9 and won a Western Mass. title, the third time the 'Canes have accomplished that feat since 2001.

While most people said the 2008 team overachieved, Rivard insisted that they simply "maximized their talent and potential at the right time."

"For me, it's a team award," Rivard said. "I certainly went up there to accept the award, but they're the ones that won it. There's a lot of people I played with and coached with who have won this award, so it's nice to be recognized with them. It's a quite an honor."

Drury had three significant award winners, including senior Jake Cantoni, who led the Blue Devils football team its third straight postseason appearance, Taylor DeSanty, who became the all-time leading scorer in Drury basketball history over the winter, and Kelsey Malloy, who's pitching and hitting helped the Devils' softball team to a record of 18-2 and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming WMass tournament.

Sports Caravan Honorees

Female Athlete of the Year
Jackie Lemme/Mount Greylock
Cross Country running and skiing/Track and field

Photo by Ryan Holmes  Hoosac Valley honorees Dalton Larabee and baseball coach Bob Rivard were presented with engraved silver bowls.

Male Athlete of the Year
Dalton Larabee/Hoosac Valley
Baseball/Football/Basketball

Coach of the Year in a Female Sport
Jackie Shea/Lenox girls' tennis

Coach of the Year in a Male Sport
Bob Rivard/Hoosac Valley baseball


Boys' Alpine Skiing
David Graziani/Pittsfield

Girls' Alpine Skiing
Courtney Donovan/St. Joe's

Baseball
Than Finan/Mount Greylock

Boys' Basketball
Robbie Burke/Hoosac Valley

Girls' Basketball
Taylor DeSanty/Drury

Boys' Cross Country
Patrick Joslin/Mount Greylock

Ryan Holmes  Drury High MVPs Kelsey Malloy, left, Jake Cantoni and Taylor DeSanty.

Girls' Cross Country
Jackie Lemme/Mount Greylock

Football
Jake Cantoni/Drury

Golf
Dylan Dethier/Mount Greylock

Hockey
Chris Bolotin/Taconic

Lacrosse
Chris Herr/Lenox/St. Joe's

Boys' Soccer
Than Finan/Mount Greylock

Girls' Soccer
Mary Sheehan/Wahconah

Softball
Kelsey Malloy/Drury

Boys' Swimming
Joe Krok/Wahconah

Girls' Swimming
Maggie Rosenbaum/Monument Mountain

Boys' Tennis
Matt Vaughan/Mount Greylock

Girls' Tennis
Jess Martin/Taconic

Boys' Track and Field
Nick DeAngelo/Monument Mountain

Ryan Holmes Mount Greylock MVPs Than Finan, left, Dylan Dethier and Patrick Joslin.

Girls' Track and Field
Jackie Lemme/Mount Greylock

Volleyball
Julia Warner/Lee

Wrestling
Brian Clay/Mount Everett

Boys' Cross-Country Skiing
Patrick Joslin/Mount Greylock

Girls' Cross-Country Skiing
Mackenzie Hitchcock/Mount Greylock

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