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St. Mary's Team Takes 24th Annual Berkshire Robotics Challenge

Trophies for this year's Robotic Challenge.

DALTON, Mass. — The 24th annual Berkshire Robotics Challenge, hosted and sponsored by the Berkshire Innovation Center, was held Saturday, March 15, at Wahconah Regional High School.  

"This is such a great after school activity for them to get involved in. So they can learn all about science and technology and math, but also have that, you know, learn to collaborate with teammates and work with friends and problem solve as a team, said said Berkshire Innovation Center executive director, Ben Sosne.

"So all those great skills that you learn team activities, plus the science and technology stuff that you learn here."

This year's challenge, "Submerged," featured a field of 27 teams with more than 200 students from all over Berkshire County, using programmable robots to complete a variety of missions. The Submerged theme shines a spotlight on the ocean, which is home to some of the planet's most complex ecosystems and encourages students to explore the layers of the ocean and bring what they learn to the surface.

The teams competed in three rounds with the top eight point-scorers advancing to the Great Eight Playoff. After the great eight, two teams were left, the Lee RoboWildcats and the SMS Coding Crusaders of St. Mary's School in Lee.

They faced off in the finals with the SMS Coding Crusaders hitting first place with a total of 235 points.

Some of the teammates expressed how happy they were with their hard work.

"My year has been really good with this, I've had some struggles but as I went along I found out how to pick them up with some friends.” said eighth-grader Jasmine Filek. 

"It's my last year at St. Mary's right now and I was sincerely hoping that we would get into the great eight but to finish on top and it's my last year too it's just amazing because I get to go out with something I can be proud of," said eighth-grader Sophia Springstead.

We just had a group of kids that were ready to work and support each other and did what was best for the team,” said coach Christine Barry.

The awards ceremony followed the competition:

Best Research Project: Ro-BART-ics

Against All Odds Awards: WES Purple Owls

Comeback Kids: Engenuity 2B (Lenox)

Rookie Team of the Year: Roboty McRobotFace

Best Programming: Lee RoboWildcats

Most Innovative Design: Richmond Robotics

Team Spirit: Crosby Crew

Sportsmanship Award: Pine Cobble PSC Pringles

First Runner Up: Lee RoboWildcats

Challenge Champion: SMS Code Crusaders

Hot plate Brewing Co. on Becoming Top 3 Best New Brewery

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:49PM / Sunday, April 20, 2025

Hot Plate is located at 1 School St. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hot Plate Brewing Co. was recently recognized as No. 3 in USA Today's list of  "Best New Brewery."

 

A panel of beer experts selected their top picks and then readers cast their votes to determine the "10 Best" breweries founded since 2022, according to the publication. No. 1 was Frazier Creek Brewing & Distilling Co. in Stuart, Fla.

 

Hot Plate, which opened in 2023, is owned by couple Sarah Real and Mike Dell'Aquila.

 

"I started home brewing first, Sarah was just much better at it than me," Dell'Aquila laughed. He got a home brewing kit in 2013 and a couple of years later Real decided to try and brew as well.

 

"Hot Plate was sort of born when we were living in Brooklyn and the city came and turned off the gas in our condo building because there had been a code violation so that meant no heat, no hot water, no functioning stove," he said. "But Sarah had already decided that she really wanted to pursue this."

 

Real bought a hot plate to start brewing, a hot plate that is hanging up at their brewery today. 

 

Dell'Aquila said he wanted to change the industry through diversity, equity, and inclusion.