PITTSFIELD — Four years ago, when Jim Ziter took over a doormat Taconic Football program, he brought along a sizable crop of underclassmen on the varsity roster.
That original roster in Ziter’s first year didn’t include the name Devon Walker. He was a freshman in the stands watching the Braves Week 1 victory over St. Joseph. On the field were a bunch of his classmates and friends, guys he grew up playing football with.
PITTSFIELD — There are a few things Allie Hunt has never done as a student-athlete.
Pittsfield High School’s star has never played a junior varsity game, in any of her three chosen sports. Nor has she ever missed out on qualifying for the postseason tournament. However, entering her final season as a high school athlete, the one thing she has never done that stands out most is win a Western Mass title.
PITTSFIELD — Next fall will be a homecoming of sorts for St. Joseph’s Jessie Tobin.
The senior, who hails originally from the Sunshine State will return to Florida to swim and study in the collegiate ranks.
Tobin signed a National Letter of Intent Monday to attend the University of Tampa, where she will swim freestyle for the Spartans in NCAA Division II competition.
PITTSFIELD — As the Berkshire Force 16U squad moves through New England Regionals in Charlestown, New Hampshire, and prepares for the Babe Ruth Softball World Series in Jensen Beach, Florida, they will do so while led by a triumvirate of talented stars in the pitching game.
Ashley Keegan is a three-year veteran of the 16U team with a cannon on her right shoulder, while Giuliana Pierce is a newcomer with a plethora of off-speed options in her repertoire. Both, however, would seem to have a lot less direction without catcher Hayley Tobin managing things from behind the plate.
PITTSFIELD — Bowling has simply always been a part of Lynsey Aldam’s life.
On a recent Wednesday evening, she was working the front desk at Kens Bowl in Pittsfield, while her father and uncle were both playing frames as part of a league night. The 17-year-old Taconic junior grew up going to Kens and has been bowling for 11 years.
Winning a state championship, though, that’s something new.
Most high school football players look at halftime as a reprieve. They catch their breath and strategize for the second half. For Eric Lier, a senior at Auburn High School, halftime is just another showcase.
Memorizing a football playbook and a marching band’s halftime program would seem like a tall task for any student, but for Lier, that is a typical Friday night. When his teammates hit the locker room at intermission, he jogs across the field to join his Auburn High bandmates.