Westmoreland high school notebook: Multi-sport athletes contribute to GCC boys’ track and field title

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, May 14, 2023 | 5:15 PM

Purchase Photo Options

It should not come as a surprise that Greensburg Central Catholic is a WPIAL Class 2A boys track and field champion for the first time.

The roster is chock full of talented athletes who play multiple sports, so putting all of that talent into one lineup should produce points.

Take senior Carlo Denis, a key sprinter and relay runner: He now has multiple WPIAL titles. Denis won two WPIAL titles and was a runner-up another time for the soccer team.

A Grove City soccer commit, he set the all-time goals record at GCC with 145.

Denis helped the 400-meter relay to a victory in the finals as GCC defeated Quaker Valley, South Park and Shenango for the title Tuesday at Peters Township.

“It’s really special to be a part of the first boys track and field team in GCC history to win the WPIAL championship,” Denis said. “What a thrill, really, to win championships in multiple sports. I know that I was super fortunate to be a part of something where I could represent my school in a positive way.”

The 1,600-meter relay of freshman Samir Crosby, junior Nick Dlugos, junior James Brewer, and senior Jake Havrilesko also won and broke the school record by three seconds in the process. Their winning time was 3 minutes, 29 seconds.

Crosby is a budding talent is football and basketball, and Dlugos and Havrilesko also have played football.

Crosby added a win in the high jump and took second in the long jump with a personal-record mark of 21 feet, 2 1/2 inches.

“Coach (Mike) Brewer has always been so flexible with multi-sport athletes and our schedules,” Denis said. “He has given us a platform where we can work on our speed and agility. We know he cares, and he pushes us to go out of our comfort zones because he knows we can do it.

“We support each other and genuinely want each other to do well. We are a team, and we won as a team and it was awesome.”

Brewer also won the pole vault and the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. Havrilesko won the 400.

“Everyone pulled together,” Havrilesko said. “It was a great team effort.”

Junior Da’sjon Craggette, another football player, won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and joined Denis on the winning 400 relay.

Senior Amari Mack, a Maine football commit, won the triple jump.

Senior Nate Dlugos, another two-sport standout with football, also had a role in the title.

Senior Kyler Miller, another soccer standout who is headed to Robert Morris, also is on the team.

Nate Dlugos, Havrilesko, Mack, Denis and Miller are team captains.

…

Century club

Junior lacrosse player Braeden Mastine of Penn-Trafford reached a pair of career milestones last week.

In a game against Moon, Mastine scored his 100th career goal and also registered his 100th career point.

…

School record

Norwin senior Nataiah Robertson-Dutrieuille helped the Lady Knights to a runner-up finish in WPIAL Class 3A.

Along the way, she set a school record in the long jump.

Robertson-Dutrieuille posted a mark of 18-5.

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., Norwin, Penn-Trafford