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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins anxious for ‘Dads’ Trip’ to Canada

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Josh Grzech is looking forward to championship season with the Bloomsburg men&#8217;s swim team.The senior from Mountain Top (Crestwood) really sparkles when it comes time to compete in the PSAC Championships and the NCAA Division II Championships. &#8220;Josh is in a great place going into the second half of the season,&#8221; coach Stu Marvin said. &#8220;He is the defending conference champion in the 100 backstroke and was part of three championship relays in last year&#8217;s PSAC meet.&#8221;Grzech is also a five-time All-American.&#8220;Josh is a team captain and showing tremendous leadership,&#8221; Marvin said. &#8220;He is poised to make his third consecutive trip to the NCAAs in March.&#8221;Grzech has five Bloomsburg records &#8211; the 50 backstroke (22.97) and the 100 backstroke (49.2) along with being part of the 200 medley relay (1:27.45), 400 free relay (2:58.08) and 800 free relay (6:45.25). He will be defending his 100 back and the three winning relays &#8211; 200 medley and 200 and 400 freestyle &#8211; at this year&#8217;s PSAC meet set for Feb. 21-24 in York.The NCAA Division II Championships will be held March 14-17 in Greensboro, N.C.Bourdeau an early qualifierSt. Joseph&#8217;s junior Nathaniela Bourdeau returned to the track at the Wagner College Invitational on Friday in Staten Island and became the first Hawks&#8217; woman to qualify for the ECAC Indoor Track Championships in March.The Coughlin grad captured the 60-meter dash in a time of 7.69, which tied her career best and ranks her second in the Atlantic 10 Conference. She also finished third in the 200-meter dash in a time of 25.35, fourth best in the league. She was named A-10 Performer of the Week for her efforts.Junior teammate Lindsey Oremus (Dallas) finished fourth in the 3,000-meter run (10:18.80). Sophomore Tamar Bourdeau, Nathaniela&#8217;s sister, finished ninth out of 33 runners in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.91.Hopkins on a rollSenior Mia Hopkins has been outstanding all season long for the 9-4 West Chester women&#8217;s basketball team. But the 5-foot-11 forward has really done the job in the last three games &#8211; all PSAC victories.The Pittston Area grad had 22 points and six rebounds in a 76-69 victory over Millersville on Jan. 3, 19 points and nine rebounds in a 91-73 triumph over Mansfield on Saturday and 16 points and five rebounds in a 74-65 win over Bloomsburg on Monday.She leads the Golden Rams in rebounds with a 9.6 average, assists with 52 and blocked shots with 10 and is second in scoring with a 14.2 average and steals with 23.Hawkins continues to soarFreshman Madisyn Hawkins has started off the indoor track season with the Lehigh women&#8217;s team in fine style. On Friday, she tied for first in the pole vault at the Wagner Invitational in Staten Island, N.Y., with a vault of 11-3.75 feet. The Coughlin grad ended up in a three-way tie but had to settle for second based on the misses.She took first with a college-best 12-foot effort at Lehigh&#8217;s Fast Times Before Finals meet on Dec. 8 in Bethlehem. That performance tops the Patriot League leaderboard.Solid start for KoshinskiThe West Virginia women&#8217;s gymnastics team kicked off the season against No. 2 Florida on Friday in Morgantown, W.Va., and the Mountaineers came out on the short end of a 195.900-194.425 score.Junior Kirah Koshinski, a Berwick grad, had a big effort against the Gators. She finished second in the vault (9.850) and third on floor exercise (9.800). She also finished 11th on the balance beam (9.700).Army&#8217;s Harry takes twoThe Army wrestling team posted a 1-2 record in the UNC Duals on Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C., but junior Austin Harry came away from the meet with two victories.The Lake-Lehman grad posted a 10-2 major decision victory in the final bout for a come-from-behind 23-20 victory over Duke. He was pinned in a 38-3 loss to Wyoming but gained a victory via injury default in a 28-12 loss to North Carolina. The wins gave him 36th career victories. He&#8217;s 11-11 overall and 2-2 in duals this season.Plaksa helps ChippewasThe Central Michigan women&#8217;s gymnastics team had a historic opening to the season on Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., and junior Gianna Plaksa came up big for the Chippewas, who posted their best-ever season-opening score in a 196.375-191.600 victory over Illinois State.Plaksa, from Mountain Top (Wyoming Seminary), finished second in floor exercise (9.875), third in uneven parallel bars (9.800) and eighth in vault (9.700).Thamert leads CougarsFreshman Michael Thamert was named male Cougar of the Week on Monday for his performance with the Chatham men&#8217;s hockey team the previous week. The Crestwood grad collected his first points of the season with a goal and an assist in a 2-2 tie in a non-league game against SUNY Canton on Jan. 4 in Canton, N.Y.Thamert has played in 13 games for the Cougars, who are 1-10-3 overall and 1-6-0 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference.Grohowski seeing actionJunior Amber Grohowski is starting to get more playing time with the Delaware Valley women&#8217;s basketball team, which is 3-10 overall and 0-2 in Freedom Conference play after a 60-55 loss to DeSales on Saturday in Center Valley.The 6-foot center, a Hanover Area grad, had a career high 14 points with eight rebounds in a 65-61 league loss to King&#8217;s on Jan. 3 in Wilkes-Barre. On the season, she&#8217;s played in all 13 games with seven starts and is averaging 3.5 points and 3.6 rebounds. Grohowski has averaged 19.1 minutes of action in the Aggies&#8217; last seven games.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Josh Grzech has earned All-America honors five times with the Bloomsburg men&#8217;s swimming team and will be looking for a third straight trip to the NCAA Division II Championships. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_grzech.jpg</photo0><caption0>Josh Grzech has earned All-America honors five times with the Bloomsburg men&#8217;s swimming team and will be looking for a third straight trip to the NCAA Division II Championships. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Bill ArsenaultFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</shirttailMeta></div>

College Corner: Crestwood’s Grzech poised for another big finish for Bloomsburg