Jalen Hosea, Karissa Heffernan Named Eureka College Scholar Athlete of the Week

EUREKA – Jalen Hosea (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) and Karissa Heffernan (Metamora, Ill./Metamora/Lewis) are this week's recipients of the Eureka College Scholar-Athlete of the Week Award.

The Eureka College Scholar-Athlete of the Week award goes to one male and one female student-athlete every week based on academic achievement and performance in that week's slate of athletic competitions. EC student-athletes must hold at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average and have completed at least one semester to be eligible for the award.

Hosea, a 5-foot-9 senior point guard, wrapped up his collegiate basketball career with two of his best performances.

Last Tuesday, Hosea tallied 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting while adding three rebounds, three assists and three steals in Eureka's 72-63 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals win over Principia at the Reagan Athletic Complex.

Three days later, he racked up a team-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, hit three 3s, distributed three assists, had two rebounds and played tough defense in an 89-77 loss against Blackburn in the SLIAC Tournament semifinals. After the game, he was named to the SLIAC All-Defensive Team, and after the tournament, he was selected to the SLIAC Tournament All-Tournament Team.

This is Hosea's fourth Eureka College Scholar-Athlete of the Week Award of the season. He is currently majoring in business administration.

Heffernan, a freshman runner who transferred from Lewis at semester, led the Eureka women's cross country and distance team to its best finish ever at the SLIAC Indoor Championships on Saturday, taking sixth overall.

She placed fourth in the mile against a competitive field with a time of 5:48.42, finishing four seconds faster than her previous indoor personal record and meeting her outdoor PR. She also placed sixth in the mile with a time of 2:42.41.

Heffernan is a business administration major.