WALTHAM, Mass. — Brandeis University senior sprinter Irie Gourde of Portland, Ore., and first-year swimmer Tamir Zitelny of Syosset, N.Y., have been selected as University Athletic Association (UAA) Athletes of the Week for men's track and field and men's swimming and diving for the week ending Feb. 19.
Running at Tufts University on Saturday, Gourde helped the Brandeis men to an 11th-place finish at the New England Division III Indoor track and field championships, their best finish at New Englands since 2006, by scoring 18 of the team's 22 points. He became Brandeis's first men's New England Champion since '06 by claiming the 200-meter dash in a photo finish. Gourde and Colby-Sawyer's Rasheed Foster were separated by just 0.004 of a second, 22.321 for Gourde to 22.324 for Foster. Though his 200 time wasn't his fastest of the season, because of track conversions, he improved to 18th in Division III in the event with his win. Gourde also placed second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.09 seconds to earn a second All-New England honor. Heading into the UAA Championships, which will be held Feb. 25 and 26 at Brandeis, Gourde owns the top two times in both events.
Zitelny won three individual events at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA) Championships this past weekend at the University of Rhode Island. He set three individual school records and reached his first career NCAA B cut in the process. Zitelny won the 200-yard backstroke (1:51.70), the 100 backstroke (50.61 seconds - a meet record) and the 200 butterfly (1:52.74 - an NCAA B cut). He was also part of a school record 200 medley relay team (1:35.92). The Judges finished in third place in their first trip to the NEISDA championships since 2006.
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