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.
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Williamstown Fire District Expects Slightly Lower Tax Rate
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A rise in operating expenses for the Williamstown Fire Department will be offset by lower debt service payments on the new fire station, resulting in a slightly smaller tax bill from the district, officials noted last week.
One week after the Prudential Committee, which oversees the district, reviewed the fiscal articles it will send to May's annual district meeting, the fire chief explained that while operational funding is up by by nearly $125,000 from the current fiscal year to FY27, a drop in principal and interest payments will make up the difference.
Currently, the tax rate for the district — a separate taxing entity apart from town government — is projected to be $1.15 per $1,000 of valuation in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The current rate is $1.24.
In FY26, district taxpayers paid $1.9 million toward principal and interest for the Main Street fire station. The draft warrant for the May 26 annual district meeting calls for $1.7 million to be raised for that capital expense, a drop of just more than $198,000.
"The impact of the new debt and, indeed, the entire budget is offset by certain revenue items, particularly the $5.5 million in gifts from Williams College and the Clark [Art Institute]," Chief Jeffrey Dias wrote in an email discussing the proposed budget.
The $500,000 pledge from the Clark and the $5 million donated by Williams College are being utilized at the start of the payback period for the bonds that fund the station's construction — when those payments are higher.
Melissa Cragg, chair of the Fire District's Finance Committee, explained that the use of those gifts early in the process will not necessarily mean a sticker shock down the road.
Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing 84 North Summer St.
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The tax bill of a median-priced single family home will go up by 8.45 percent in the year that begins July 1 under a spending plan approved by the Finance Committee on Wednesday night.
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Colleen Taylor and her brother and business partner Sean Taylor grabbed the concession offered by the Five Corners Stewardship Association, which purchased the store at the junction of Routes 7 and 43 in 2022.
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The Prudential Committee last week reviewed a draft annual fire district meeting warrant that includes an operational expenses budget up 9.4 percent from the figures approved at the May 2025 annual meeting.
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