Westmoreland notebook: Latrobe boys basketball jilted after holiday trip to Farrell

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, January 2, 2022 | 5:50 PM

The Latrobe boys basketball team never played a holiday tournament game, but it did get called for traveling.

In a strange scheduling snafu, the Wildcats were jilted after a long bus ride to the Ohio border.

The team drove more than 100 miles to play in the Farrell Tournament on Tuesday, but when they arrived they were told they had been replaced by another team.

Huh?

With no game against Hickory as they planned, the stunned Wildcats got back on the bus and drove home — a four-plus-hour U-turn.

They got all dressed up in game gear … and wore it to a team dinner on the way back.

Latrobe athletic director Zac Heide said he was not notified of the previously made schedule change that altered the four-team field to Meadville, Kennedy, Hickory and Farrell.

Heide said Farrell apologized but said there was nothing they could do. Farrell athletic director Anthony Pegues could not be reached for comment.

Latrobe (1-6) has not played a game since Dec. 23.

Swan song

Hempfield boys basketball coach Bill Swan picked up his 250th career win Wednesday when the Spartans defeated his alma mater, Connellsville, 52-25.

Swan is 250-205 in 19-plus seasons.

His next win will be his 200th at Hempfield. The Spartans host Norwin on Tuesday in the Section 3-6A opener.

Swan also coached at Portage and Connellsville. He spent 13 years as an assistant at Wilmington, Central Cambria, Connellsville and Greensburg Central Catholic.

Spartans on track

Hempfield simply wins in track and field, no matter the time of year — spring or winter — or whether the Spartans compete outdoors or indoors.

The indoor season is underway, and Hempfield already has a win. The Spartans won an invitational at Franklin & Marshall.

Winners included the boys 3,200-meter relay of Owen DeMatt, Tyler Miller, Antonio Tuttoilomondo and Francisco Diaz Lopez; the girls 3,200 relay of Cydney Blahovec, Lily Murphy, Julia Snider, and Alicia Weimer; Liz Tapper (shot put and pole vault); Cydney Blahovec (800); and JP Gera (shot put).

Second-place finishers included Alexa Gray (long jump) and Peyton Murray (shot put), while the girls’ 1,600 relay of Abigail Blahovec, Cydney Blahovec, Grayce Semow and Alexa Gray finished third.

Recruiting

Norwin senior football player Nate Kadosh-Harris will continue his playing career at Grove City. Harris is a running back and linebacker.

He also considered Marietta and Bethany. He rushed for 316 yards and made 43 tackles with six sacks last season.

• Greensburg Central Catholic senior football player Alexander Colcombe picked up an offer from Seton Hill. He is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound defensive end, linebacker and tight end.

His teammate, senior Danny Dlugos, also has a Division II offer from Mercyhurst. Dlugos (6-2, 225), who missed four games last season with a knee injury, is a middle linebacker and fullback.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Latrobe, Norwin