Berkshire County Athletes And Coaches Honored

AM1420 WBEC held its 56th Annual Sports Caravan Awards Dinner Tuesday evening at the Berkshire Hills Country Club in Pittsfield. Once again the radio station, along with The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank honored Berkshire County’s outstanding High School Athletes and Coaches.  Most Valuable Player awards were presented to one athlete from each sport contested at the high school level and once again this year, Robert “Boog” Powell Award trophy bowls were presented to the Male and Female Athletes of the Year, Coach of the Year in Male Sport and Coach of the Year in a Female Sport.

In addition, both the Male and Female Athletes of the Year received $500 scholarships from The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank to be used at the college of their choice.  The Coaches of the Year also receive $500 from The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank to be used at their schools. The Berkshire County Athletic Directors presented the John Codey Official’s Award, designed to recognize an outstanding official.

The Robert "Boog" Powell Athletes and Coaches of the Year Awards were presented by Pittsfield Cooperative Bank President and CEO, Jay Anderson. The Outstanding Female Athlete Award was presented to basketball player, Gwendolyn Carpenter of Mt. Everett. The Outstanding Male Athlete Award went to football player, Vance Eugene of Hoosac Valley. Anderson also presented both athletes with $500 scholarships.

This year’s Outstanding Coach of a Female Sport was Wahconah Girls Basketball coach, Liz Kays. The Outstanding Coach of a Male Sport went to Taconic Baseball coach, Kevin Stannard. Kay's and Stannard were also presented with $500 scholarships from Pittsfield Cooperative Bank to be used for their schools.

The John Codey Official’s Award this year was presented to Colleen Doyle.

25 Most Valuable Player Awards were presented as well. The winners are as follows:

Boys Alpine Skiing, Michael Mansfield/Pittsfield

Girls Alpine Skiing, Adalaide McFarland/Monument

Baseball, Cedric Rose/Taconic

Boys Basketball, Reece Racette/Drury

Girls Basketball, Gwendolyn Carpenter/Mt. Everett

Boys Cross Country, Jesse Seid/Mt. Greylock

Girls Cross Country, Grace Phair/Monument

Football, Vance Eugene/Hoosac

Golf, Mike Kays/Taconic

Hockey, Jake Corcoran/Mt. Everett

Boys Lacrosse, Nick Waterman/Hoosac

Girls Lacrosse, Caroline Flynn/Mt. Greylock

Boys Soccer, Sam Dils/Mt. Greylock

Girls Soccer, Shannon Finnegan/Lee

Softball, Hayley Tobin/Pittsfield

Boys Swimming, Noah Schweitzer/Wahconah

Girls Swimming, Ellie Field/Hoosac

Boys Tennis, Kadin Shafiroff/Monument

Girls Tennis, Ava Martin/Lee

Boys Track & Field, Matthew Lighten/Wahconah

Girls Track & Field, Victoria Gamberoni/Wahconah

Volleyball, Emma Parkington/Wahconah

Wrestling, Dylan Burke/Taconic

Boys X-Country Skiing, Jakin Miller/Mt. Greylock

Girls X-Country Skiing, Brandi Gill/Mt. Greylock

Additional information about the Sports Caravan:

WBEC and The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank are proud to continue a tradition of recognizing excellence in high school sports with the 56th Annual Sports Caravan Awards Ceremony.

The first Athlete of the Year Award went to Mark Belanger of Pittsfield who went on to play Major League Baseball with the Baltimore Orioles, while the first Coach of the Year Award went to William Murray, also of Pittsfield.

Since that time, we have recognized hundreds of worthy individuals who have gone on to achieve successful careers both inside and outside of sports.

This year we carry on a tradition started in 1991 to recognize achievement in all scholastic sports.  We award a Most Valuable Player Medal to athletes from all sports contested at the high school level and we present Athlete of the Year Awards to a male and female athlete.  In addition, we recognize two coaches with Coach of the Year Awards.

Over the years, the award winners form a Berkshire County Hall of Fame of Athletes and Coaches.  This year is no exception as we continue to salute students and coaches for their dedication and achievements during the 2017-18 school year.

Awarded again this year, is the “Official’s Award”, created by the Berkshire County Athletic Directors Association in an effort to annually recognize an exceptional high school official serving our local student athletes.