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Swann, Williams College Harriers Compete at NCAA Championships

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Mount Greylock Regional School alumna Kate Swann and the Williams College women's cross country team are in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday morning to compete at the NCAA Division III Championship.
 
Williams crushed the field at the 24-team regional championship in New London, Conn., to qualify for the national championship.
 
On Nov. 16 at the Mideast Regional, Williams finished with 59 points, well ahead of runner-up Rensselaer Polytechnic, which collected 110 points.
 
Swann, a junior, was the second Williams runner across the finish line, finishing 10th overall with a time of 21 minutes, 36 seconds on the 6-kilometer course.
 
Williams has finished first or second in every event it entered this fall, winning titles at its own Purple Valley Classic, Keene State (N.H.) Invitational, James Eareley Invitational (Westfield State), Connecticut College Invitational and New England Small College Athletic Conference Championships.
 
The NCAA DIII Championships get underway at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course.
 
The Division I Stonehill College women's cross country team placed fourth at the Northeast Conference Championship; Pittsfield High graduate Kellie Harrington was the second finisher for the Skyhawks, placing 17th at the season-ending meet.
 
At Division II St. Michael's, Jocelyn Sommers (Wahconah) ran on a squad that placed 10th at the NCAA East Regional Champinoship in Rochester, N.Y.
 
Dennis Love (Lenox) competed for Marist College's men at the NCAA Division I Northeast Regional Championship this month. The Red Foxes placed 28th at the qualifying meet for the national championships.
 
Parker Winters (Mount Greylock) scored for Framingham State at the NCAA DIII East Regional in New Hampshire this month. Winters placed 168th in a 231-team field to help the Rams place 27th.
 
On the gridiron, Pittsfield High alum Kieran Coscia has played nine games on the offensive line this fall at Bucknell University heading into Saturday's season finale at home against Colgate. The Bison are 5-6 this season with the second-highest scoring average (27.1 points per game) and best passing offense (253 yards per game) in the Patriot League.
 
Westfield State junior Ryan Scott (Wahconah) played in seven games under center for the Owls (4-6). He completed 20 of 41 passes for 317 yards and a touchdown. His teammate and fellow Wahconah alum Lucas Pickard played in six games at sophomore running back for Westfield State with eight carries.
 
Staying in the MASCAC, the Mass Maritime men's soccer team went 3-12-1 this fall, and Wahconah graduate Brody Calvert scored in all three wins and the tie. The final of his team-leading eight goals this season came in the 88th minute of a 3-3 tie against Worcester State in Mass Maritime's regular season finale.
 
Caleb Besaw (Drury) helped Vermont's Castleton State to a 7-7-2 campaign that ended in an overtime loss in the Little East Conference tournament. Besaw appeared in 17 games with five starts and six shots as a senior defender for the Spartans.
 
Another former standout at Drury, Springfield College junior Kayla McGrath, continues to contribute for the Pride, appearing in all 18 of its games this fall. Springfield (9-5-4) plays in the ECAC semi-finals on Saturday in Hartford, Conn.
 
With winter sports in full swing, Berkshire County basketball fans can follow the exploits of former Monument Mountain star Dion Brown closer to home this season. Brown, who transferred from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County to Boston College, has appeared in all four games for the Eagles (3-1).
 
Brown has started three games and averages 26 minutes per night with 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. BCC this weekend competes at the Cayman Islands Classic.
 
Another Monument Mountain alum, Connor Hanavan, has played in two games with a start at Emmanuel College (0-4), averaging 4.5 points in nine minutes per game. Emmnuel is at Bowdoin College on Saturday.
 
At UMass Boston, Carson Meczywor (Hoosac Valley) has played in two games for the Beacons, averaging 12 minutes per night. UMass Boston is 2-1 heading into Monday's game at Curry College. The DIII Beacons are at UMass-Amherst on Dec. 14.
 
If you know a local high school graduate who should be included in an upcoming edition of College Collage, email sports@iberkshires.com.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Health Board Considers Local Rule on 'Flavored' Tobacco

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health on Monday heard a suggestion that the town code be updated to allow the local authority to bar the sale of items that run afoul of the commonwealth's prohibition of flavored tobacco products.
 
Jim Wilusz of the Lee-based Tri-Town Health Department met with the board via Zoom during its monthly meeting.
 
Wilusz runs a Tobacco Awareness Program that serves 12 Berkshire County towns plus the cities of North Adams and Pittsfield.
 
He explained that in June, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health determined that five products labeled "non-menthol" in order to make them salable in the commonwealth in fact met the state's definition of "flavored." And the state agency instituted a ban.
 
The problem, Wilusz said, is that the state likely will not be able to keep up with the ever-evolving marketing efforts of the tobacco industry as it tries to market its products to new users.
 
"DPH is not going to keep coming out with these letters next year and the year after and the year after that," Wilusz said.
 
"[Big tobacco] spends billions in marketing and developing new products."
 
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