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Nathaniela Bourdeau is primed for another big performance in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships.

The St. Joseph’s junior, a Coughlin grad, had a solid winter with the women’s indoor track team. She stands fourth on the A-10 performance list in the 60-meter dash with a personal-best time of 7.69 seconds, which she recorded when she finished first at the Wagner Invitational on Jan. 5. She’s ninth in the 200-meter dash, and her time of 25.04 came from a third-place finish at the Penn 8-Team Select meet on Jan. 20.

Bourdeau also runs the leadoff leg on the Hawks’ 4×400 relay which stands third on the A-10 list after finishing second at the Villanova Invitational on Feb. 3 with a time of 3:48.85.

“Nat opened the indoor season strong, and she has only gotten stronger as the season has gone on,” coach Melody O’Reilly said. “Her confidence has gone up and she’s ready for the A-10 Championships.”

The coach feels that Bourdeau is at her best when she gets into high-level competition.

“Nat responds very well to the pressure,” O’Reilly said. “She is very focused and she doesn’t let anything get in her head except for what she has to do.”

As a sophomore, Bourdeau finished third in the 60 and 12th in the 200 at the indoor meet. As a freshman, she was fourth in the 200 and fifth in the 60. Last spring, she captured both the 100 and 200 meter dash titles at the A-10 outdoor championships.

This year’s indoor meet will be held Saturday and Sunday in Kingston, R.I.

“I’m excited to see what’s going to happen,” O’Reilly said.

Triple-double for Hopkins

Senior Mia Hopkins was named PSAC East Co-Athlete of the Week on Monday after recording a triple-double as the West Chester women’s basketball team topped Cheyney 98-63 on Saturday. The Pittston Area grad had 22 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.

It was the first triple-double in the league this season and the first in 17 years for the Golden Rams, who are 19-4 overall and stand in first place in the PSAC East with a 16-3 record. Hopkins is second on the team in scoring (15.3) and leads in rebounding (8.8) and blocked shots (23). She’s also second in assists (90) and steals (45).

Big effort for Callahan

Junior Seth Callahan was named Landmark Conference Player of the Week on Monday after a standout performance for the Susquehanna men’s basketball team in a 90-72 victory at Drew. The GAR grad scored a career-high 38 points aided by a school record 12 3-pointers to help the River Hawks avenge an earlier loss to Drew and lift their record to 9-13 overall and 6-6 in league play.

Callahan is second on the team in scoring (13.4) and has hit 56 of 126 from behind the arc (44.4 percent).

Hawkins moving up

Lehigh freshman Madisyn Hawkins stands in third place on the Patriot League performance list after she finished second in the pole vault with a career-best 12 foot, 1 ½ inch-effort at the Villanova Invitational on Feb. 3.

The Coughlin grad finished first at the Bucknell Tune-up on Friday in Lewisburg with a height of 11 feet, 11 ¾ inches. That was the third first-place finish for Hawkins along with three runner-up efforts in seven meets thus far this winter.

Bennett at her best

Elon junior Ellie Bennett tied her career best when she finished 10th in the pole vault at the Liberty Invitational last Saturday in Lynchburg, Va. The Crestwood alum cleared 11 feet, 5 ¾ inches. That was the same height she hit when she finished eighth at the Liberty Kick-Off meet Jan. 26.

Bennett finished second in the pole vault at the Team Challenge Feb. 8 in Winston-Salem, N.C., with a 10 foot, 10 inch performance.

Mattson running strong

Travis Mattson is a middle distance runner with the Grove City men’s indoor track team but the junior, a Dallas High grad, is competing in distance races for the Wolverines this winter.

Mattson ran the first 5,000-meter event of his college career and finished 44th with a time of 16:40.97 at the SPIRE Midwest Open on Jan. 27 in Geneva, Ohio. Last Friday, he ran his first 3,000-meter race and finished 17th with a time of 9:35.10 at Baldwin Wallace’s mid-February meet.

Gearinger honored again

Haverford junior Dylan Gearinger was named Centennial Conference Athlete of the Week for the third straight week after another solid performance for the Fords indoor track team at the NYU Invitational on Saturday.

The Berwick grad captured the mile in 4:11.65, the 10th-fastest time in team history. The time also ranks second on the Centennial performance list and is the 16th fastest time in NCAA Division III thus far this season.

Balicki solid for Blackbirds

Senior Alyssa Balicki is one of the top performers on the Long Island-Brooklyn bowling team. The Hazleton Area grad helped the No. 14-ranked Blackbirds finish 16th out of 27 teams at the Kutztown Invitational on Jan. 21 in Reading. She averaged 203.8 for five games with a 1,019 total aided by games of 234 and 233.

Individually, Balicki finished 33rd out of 171 bowlers. LIU Brooklyn (41-26) will compete in the Jacks Invitational starting Friday in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Career game for Kornfeld

Freshman Maya Kornfeld scored a college career-high 18 points to lead the Ursinus women’s basketball team to a 79-53 victor over Swarthmore in a Centennial Conference contest on Feb. 6 in Collegeville.

The 5-foot-5 guard, a Holy Redeemer grad, hit eight of 12 shots from the field and added a team-high five assists and four rebounds. She followed that up with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in a 58-48 league victory over Dickinson on Saturday in Carlisle.

Nathaniela Bourdeau will compete in the 60-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the 4×400 relay at the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships this weekend.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_BourdeauN_25803576528_05b7b3da89_o.jpg.optimal.jpgNathaniela Bourdeau will compete in the 60-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the 4×400 relay at the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships this weekend. Sideline Photos, LLC

By Bill Arsenault

For Times Leader

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