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Pittsfield High graduate Taylor Maddalena competes for Salve Regina at the Purple Valley Classic on Saturday in Williamstown.
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Pittsfield High grads Chad Shade, left, and Dominic Traversa talk about Springfield College's win in a post-game news conference in this image from YouTube.

Busy Weekend for Local Collegians in Village Beautiful

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It was homecoming weekend of sorts for local graduates in Williamstown this weekend.
 
Cross country’s Purple Valley Classic and golf’s Williams Fall Invitational each attracted schools that feature Berkshire County alumni on their rosters.
 
At Taconic Golf Club, the Williams Fall Invitational included Salem State senior Chad Alibozek and an MCLA team that featured four locals.
 
Drury alumnus Matt Lawrence carded rounds of 83 and 85 to tie for 65th place in the field along with MCLA teammate Quinn McCormick. The pair were joined at the two-day event by Nick Bator (Drury), Josh Fortier (Pittsfield) and Liam Nolan (Pittsfield).
 
Salem State senior Alibozek finished tied for 40th after going 78-85--163.
 
The event was won by Williams’ A team, but its B squad included an impressive showing from Mount Greylock grad Jake Foehl, who went 82-80--162 to tie for 35th and help his squad place seventh in the 18-team field.
 
The top local finisher at running’s Purple Valley Classic was 2016 Lenox Memorial graduate Emily Tibbetts, who finished 11th for the Ephs in the women’s 5-kilometer race.
 
Tibbetts clocked a time of 21 minutes, 15 seconds to finish about a minute behind the victor, teammate and fellow Williams freshman Audrey Rustad.
 
Salve Regina’s Molly Kittler and Taylor Maddalena also ran in the event at Mount Greylock, although in different races.
 
Kittler, a sophomore graduate of Pittsfield High, competed in the 5K, where she placed 25th in 23:38.
 
Maddalena, a freshman from PHS, competed in the 6K, where the Seahawks finished in the middle of a 23-team field in 13th place. Maddalena, who did not score for the team, clocked a time of 28:12.
 
At Mount Holyoke College, the women’s cross country team has posted two strong finishes to start the year, and freshman Kayla Dillon, a graduate of Monument Mountain, has been in the mix both times for the Lyons. At her first collegiate meet, Dillon scored at the season opening Smith Invitational with a 60th place finish out of 97 runners. One week later at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, she placed 32nd out of 180 competitors to help Mount Holyoke place second out of 16 teams.
 
No local graduate grabbed the headlines this week more than 2015 Pittsfield graduate Chad Shade.
 
The Springfield College freshman quarterback burst on the scene with a 164 yards of rushing and two touchdowns in a 28-23 win over Worcester Polytechnic on Saturday. Shade came off the bench to complete two of three passes for 76 yards and a touchdown in his second game for the Pride.
 
Behind the headlines was the performance of Springfield junior linebacker Dominic Traversa and the Pride’s defense.
 
Traversa had three solo tackles and was in on three more for the Pride, which gave up 17 points in the first half but just six after the break.
 
“We made a lot of good half-time adjustments, and, after that, we started to believe in ourselves and got it done,” said Traversa, another PHS graduate.
 
At the postgame news conference, Shade was quick to reflect praise on the rest of his teammates.
 
“Coach always tells me to be ready to go if for whatever reason,” he said of the playing backup QB. “You just have to hop in there and step up. The guys around me really stepped up and helped us out.”
 
The Pride (2-2) takes a two-game winning streak to northern New York for Saturday’s game at St. Lawrence.
 
Westfield State University had Saturday off as it gets ready for Saturday’s home date against New Hampshire’s Plymouth State University. Wahconah graduate Evan Garvey is a freshman wide receiver with the Owls (1-2) this fall, and he will look to make a bigger impact going forward after returning two kicks for 53 yards in Westfield’s last game, a 41-21 loss to UMass Dartmouth.
 
Macalester College freshman defensive lineman Matt Heppleston of Lee High recorded his first collegiate tackle on Saturday in a 34-0 win over Grinnell College. Macalester puts a 3-1 record on the line on Saturday at Ripon College in Wisconsin.
 
St. Joseph graduate Nate Stump has five tackles this fall at Wisconsin’s Beloit College. The freshman defensive back, who played for the Crusaders and the former Drury-St. Joe co-op team, has appeared in three games for the Buccaneers (2-2), who go to Lawrence University on Saturday.
 
Heppleston’s Macalaster team will host Stump and Beloit on Oct. 22.
 
If you know a graduate of a local high school who should be included in a future edition of Collage Collage, email sports@iBerkshires.com.
 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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