Drury senior Nik Andrews was recently named the Berkshire County Male Athlete of the Year by the WBEC Sports Caravan Committee.

Before joining iBerkshires.com, I covered Northern Berkshire County athletics at the North Adams Transcript since August 2008. While I had the pleasure of watching many talented athletes compete during that span of almost two full school years, there were a few athletes who kept coming back when it was time to name the all-star teams.

McCann senior Ben Raimer is one example. He is a three-sport star (football, basketball, baseball) with the Hornets. Hoosac Valley's Sam LeBeau is another. She excels in soccer, basketball and track & field. Drury's Cassie Lincoln (soccer, basketball, T&F),  Mount Greylock's Mackenzie Hitchcock (Cross country, Nordic Ski, T&F) and Mount Greylock's Andy Budz (golf, hockey, lacrosse) are a few more examples of local athletes who shine during all three seasons.

I'm sure that I'm forgetting a handful of other students who deserve to be mentioned. But, that's the beauty of a blog...if I think of any others — or the readers want to e-mail me at pronan@iBerkshires.com with their thoughts  — I can always update.

But getting back to Andrews....There wasn't one season that passed in my two years of covering sports that Andrews' name wasn't invading headlines. I wrote a feature on him last spring when he was the only Berkshire County athlete to qualify for the New England Track & Field Championships, and I have interacted with him dozens of times after basketball, soccer or track and field events.

Not only is he an exceptional athlete, but he's a stand-up kid. He's respectful to his teammates, coaches and opponents. He's always positive, and his performance in the classroom is just as impressive as his athletic resume. He'll be going to Providence College in the fall, and the Friars are lucky to have him.

By no means am I trying to downplay  the accomplishments of the other county athletes, and I'm certainly not implying that he's the only gem in the bunch, but in regards to athletic performance, academics and overall attitude, none  — at least in my two years  — have been more well-rounded than Andrews.

To read a couple nice features on Andrews, check out this and this.