The MIAA D-V State Championship trophy is handed to Hoosac Valley senior Ashlyn Lesure.  MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE

 

Winning is hard. Winning consistently is even harder. Winning championships is nearly impossible.

 

There were 44 teams that earned entry to the MIAA Division V State Tournament this year, 45 received bids last year. Despite the 87 other playoff-caliber teams, there was no one as good as Hoosac Valley. Two years in a row.

 

It’s a monumental achievement that has become almost normal in Adams and Cheshire. Don’t let it.

 

Four straight Class D Crowns in the new Western Massachusetts format is not normal. That succeeds a stretch of dominance in the old system where the Hurricanes won seven Western Mass. Championships in eight years.

 

Don’t take that for granted either.

 

“This is great. How many teams can do it? There’s only 10 teams left at this point so let’s go win ours and get out of here," Hoosac coach Jon Frederick said after his team came back to beat Renaissance 64-57 in the D-V Championship game on Saturday in Lowell. “In the end that’s what the kids did. They wanted it. It was great to see.”

 

Hoosac Valley head coach Jon Frederick pumps the air in celebration with the Hurricanes' crowd.  MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE

 

That win shouldn’t be taken for granted and it brings more history than just another trophy to the case at Hoosac Valley High. The last time a Berkshire County basketball team — boys or girls — went back-to-back was… well, Hoosac… sort of.

 

The Hurricanes won the state title in 2019 in Division III in the old system with a victory over St. Mary’s of Lynn. The next year was set to be a rematch, with St. Mary’s and Hoosac both in the final once again. Then COVID struck and the game was never played so each team got a share of the title.

 

But the last time a Berkshire team was an indisputable back-to-back champion was 34 years ago when the Lee girls finished off their Division III 3-peat in 1991. The Tom Cinella-coached Wildcats owned Massachusetts basketball, winning state titles in 1989, 1990 and 1991. In fact, Lee might’ve won five in a row if not for Lenox claiming the 1992 title, before the ‘Cats won it all once more in 1993.

 

But that’s it. In the history of Berkshire County basketball, just two programs went back-to-back as state champs. The Lee girls of the 90s, one of the greatest dynasties in state history. And yet Berkshire County has now churned out a new dynasty in the state, a Hurricanes program that is determined to keep its stranglehold on the Commonwealth.

 

The program that, since 2013, has won 11 Western Mass. Championships, been to nine state title games, won three state championships and earned a share of another. It’s not like Massachusetts is lacking for quality girls basketball. And yet it doesn’t seem to matter because Hoosac is still the juggernaut.

 

Hoosac Valley senior Ashlyn Lesure raises her arms after dribbling out the clock in Sunday's State Championship game.  MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE

 

Despite the best player on the court being Renaissance’s Zi’Yan Wallace, who led all scorers with 20 points and 22 rebounds, Hoosac outlasted its opponent. The way dynastic teams tend to do. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. You have to be perfect. Renaissance wasn’t and Hoosac made the Phoenix pay.

 

And now this year’s crop of Hurricane seniors have permanently etched themselves into the lore of an already storied program. Ashlyn Lesure, Emma Meczywor and Maryn Cappiello graduate with a career record of 94-19, that’s 23.5 wins a season. Not to mention four straight Western Mass. titles and three trips to Lowell. Ending their careers with back-to-back crowns.

 

“It’s amazing. The feeling that we have after we won that game, it was like no other,” said Meczywor after the game.

 

“I’m so proud of us, it’s amazing,” added Cappiello with a grin, who played the game on one ACL.

 

“I’m speechless, I don’t know what to say right now. I’m just so damn proud of this team,” said a beaming Lesure, who finishes her career with 1,227 points, 33rd on the All-Time Berkshire County Girls Leaderboard.

 

Hoosac Valley seniors Ashlyn Lesure, Emma Meczywor and Maryn Cappiello leave the Tsongas Center floor in Lowell Sunday afternoon as MIAA D-V State Champions.  MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE

 

“The push from the locker room after halftime [when Hoosac was down 13] was that we wanted to win that game no matter what,” Meczywor continued. “We went out there and we showed that.”

 

Reagan Shea played sparingly as a freshman on last year’s title team while her sister Hanna was a senior starter and a key 3-and-D player. This year it was Shea who stepped up to the moment as a sophomore, scoring 15 points and hitting three 3-balls to help Hoosac come back from its halftime deficit.

 

Freshmen Sophia Wilson and Genevieve Lagess, and eighth grader Gianna Witek came off the bench and gave Hoosac critical minutes and play. Lagess and Wilson on the glass, combining for 11 second half points in a game that saw both teams receive multiple technical fouls, four Renaissance players get ejected, another Renaissance and one Hoosac player foul out.

 

Hoosac Valley's Sophia Wilson blocks a shot in the paint against Renaissance.  MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE

 

Sometimes not, “totally mentally engaged in the game. Things like that happen,” Frederick said.

 

“Saw that when the kids got disengaged, got frustrated, emotions came out on the other side. It’s tough. They want to win. Everyone wants to win when they get here. But if you’re going to play that kind of ball, we’re OK with it. We’ll play that kind of ball with you.

 

“We’re not gonna let one kid beat us. Wallace is a great player. She is it. Who wouldn’t want to have her on your team? But I’ll tell you what, I’ll take Emma over her seven days a week.”

 

It’s now two years in a row that Renaissance has run into the Hoosac roadblock, after losing to the Hurricanes in last year’s semifinal. Hoosac assistant coach Kailynne Frederick, the daughter of head coach Jon Frederick, experienced the highs and lows of being a part of the Hoosac dynasty in its formative years.

 

She was a player for then-head coach Ron Wojcik and was a part of the Hoosac teams that won four straight Western Mass. titles, but went to four straight State Finals and lost all four. Now as a coach, she’s helped these ‘Canes get over that hump to claim back-to-back titles.

 

“I’ve had Ashlyn, Emma and Maryn since fifth grade. I’m super excited for them,” Kailynne Frederick said. “Our [playing] careers, we never got over that hump. But to see them do it, is that much better. Seeing these kids, working hard, in and out everyday at practice, during AAU and the summer. I’m so happy for them. It’s unbelievable.”

 

With Hoosac as a constant presence in state title games, it wouldn’t be a surprise if members of the Adams-Cheshire community invested in timeshares in Lowell. After all, driving two to three hours every year is now a decade-plus tradition. Yet despite that, the fans in red and white far outnumbered the ones from Springfield, as did Hoosac’s student section.

 

“Our community always shows out for us. It’s a very close-knit community,” Kailynne said. “To see not only students but older fans that have followed us throughout the years and it’s great to see them come out even if it’s a three-hour drive.”