Bianchi-Barbarotta Foundation Names Athletes, Coaches of the Year
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – A pair of three-sport athletes will be singled out as tops in the county by the Bianchi-Barbarotta Foundation with its Athlete of the Year Awards this month.
The foundation recently picked Hoosac Valley’s Ashlyn Lesure and Wahconah’s West Dews from among the graduating members of the Class of ‘25 nominated by the county’s high school athletic directors.
Dews and Lesure will be recognized, along with girls and boys sports coaches of the year Brian Gill of Mount Greylock and Randy Koldys of Monument Mountain in a ceremony at the Polish Falcon Club on Bel Air Avenue.
Three of the honorees brought state championships back to the Berkshires this year. The fourth led his team to within one game of the state crown.
Both Lesure and Dews excelled in multiple sports.
Dews was an all-state running back on a Wahconah football team that qualified for the Division 7 State Tournament before winning a 144-pound state wrestling championship in the winter with the Taconic High cooperative team. Competing again for his own school in the spring, Dews earned all-county recognition as a sprinter in track and field.
“His leadership is utmost a determination to succeed in any environment,” Wahconah head football coach Gary Campbell Jr. said of Dews. “It doesn’t matter the situation. He is determined to succeed and also determined to make other kids around him better.
“There are many kids that do not want to give up their time, and they’re talented kids. But many kids – nationwide – are just choosing to do their individual thing. This kid is determined to make not just himself successful but others around him better.”
Lesure was a 1,000-point scorer who led the Hoosac Valley girls basketball team to back-to-back state titles. She also was a standout on the soccer pitch and in lacrosse, where she compiled more than 400 points.
“I’ve been around Ashlyn since sixth grade, and she is extremely coachable, which is not something you see every day,” Hurricanes girls basketball coach Jon Frederick said. “Most of the Hoosac kids I’ve had over the last three years have been coachable. That speaks to where they’ve come from, whether the feeder programs or the family situations.
“[Lesure] is a consummate athlete. She’s 100 percent committed to whatever sport she’s playing. If it’s soccer, she’s 100 percent invested. If it’s basketball, the same. Lacrosse, the same.”
Gill has been getting the most out of athletes at Mount Greylock for years.
“One thing I admire about coach Gill is his determination and coaching skills," Mountie Elizabeth Dupras said in 2021 when Gill was honored with North County’s Frank A. Zoltek Passion for Coaching Award. "He always knows how to make his athletes motivated but also not kill them. He makes you love the sport, which is a gift because I have had coaches throughout the years who work you too hard and you start to not like what you're doing.
"But coach Gill always pushes you just the right amount to still help you go far and achieve your goals."
The last couple of years, Gill’s Mount Greylock girls achieved the ultimate goal, taking the Division 6 team State Championship after placing second in the commonwealth in 2023.
Gill’s achievements stand out even more when you realize that the school did not even have a track on its campus until this spring.
This winter, the Monument Mountain Spartans went further than any other boys basketball team from Berkshire County, advancing to the Championship Game of the Division 4 State Tournament.
Koldys has led the Monument program to a remarkable run the last three years, going 62-9 (an .873 winning percentage) over that span.
But his success goes beyond the scoreboard, according to Spartans assistant coach Eric Cardinal.
“Coach Koldys is a brilliant mind, someone who has found consistent success with his ability to adapt to the game,” Cardinal said. “I’ve never met a coach that cares more about his players on and off the court. His relationship with his team carries well beyond the hardwood and years after they graduate.
“Coach K has been a huge mentor to me personally, he’s taught me situational basketball and a lot of game strategies. No one prepares a team more than Coach Koldys. The most important lesson he’s taught me has really been what it means to be a players coach and how to align a vision for a team year after year.”
The Bianchi-Barbarotta Foundation, which sponsors the county-wide honor, is a non-profit dedicated to giving back to youth sports in Berkshire County and beyond. In recent years, it has funded scholarships for local student athletes, recognized a Volunteer of the Year and made donations to a number of youth programs.
This year’s Bianchi-Barbarotta Sportsman Scholarships went to Pittsfield High grads Ella Bassi and Jack Reed.
The foundation asked media representatives from the Berkshire Eagle and iBerkshires.com to participate in the selection of the athletes and coaches of the year. Members of the selection committee were impressed by the versatility of each of the athletes selected.
Their coaches, too, said they appreciated the fact that both Lesure and Dews pursued multiple sports while in high school.
“She found time to pick up a basketball in the summer,” Hoosac Valley’s Frederick said of Lesure. “When soccer was over, she found time to get herself into the gym to get ready for basketball. She enjoyed playing AAU basketball the same time as lacrosse.
“It speaks to her commitment to Hoosac Valley sports as well as her commitment to my program.”
Wahconah’s Campbell echoed Frederick.
“I love the multisport athlete,” he said. “I saw that because they’re always in competition. And it’s not just doing the same thing. When you put yourself in different situations, it adds value.
“Wrestling is 1-on-1. Football, you have to commit to a team. … In track, it’s not about toughness like in wrestling and football. It becomes more technical. It’s paying attention to techniques and how he’s doing something. I think each sport helps each other, whether it’s football/wrestling/track or soccer/skiing/lacrosse. It doesn’t matter.
“You have to put yourself in various athletic situations and be able to adjust and adapt.”
Both Campbell and Frederick talked about this year's honorees' leadership ability.
"She always did everything the right way," Frederick said of Lesure. "From practice, games, locker room, raising questions or concerns and, at times, even offering a suggestion on what she thought might work better than what we planned or were doing."
The awards dinner is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 11, at the Polish Falcon Club, 32 Bel Air Ave, Pittsfield. The awards presentation will follow at 7 p.m. Tickets for the spaghetti dinner are $15 for adults, $8 for children 5 to 12, free for children under 5. All proceeds benefit the Bianchi-Barbarotta Foundation.