WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University graduate student Irie Gourde of Portland, Oregon, and junior Keri Lehtonen of Oneco, Connecticut, have been named University Athletic Association Athletes of the Week for the week ending February 18. Gourde was honored for men's track and field, while Lehtonen was recognized for softball.
Gourde earned UAA Men's Track Athlete of the Week for the third time in four weeks. He earned All-New England honors as the runner-up at the New England Division III Championships in the 400-meter run with a time of 49.13 seconds. This marked the fourth time this season he has run under 50 seconds in the event. He currently owns the fastest time in Division III, 48.71 seconds run at Boston University on February 9th. He will be the top seed in the 400 and in the 200-meters at this weekend's University Athletic Association championships, which will be held in Cleveland at Case Western Reserve University.
Lehtonen, a catcher, had a terrific first four games for the Brandeis softball team while on her squad's February break trip to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In the four contests, Lehtonen batted .688 with a .737 on-base percentage and a 1.063 slugging percentage. She had 11 hits in 16 at bats, along with two walks. She had two doubles and two triples mixed in, driving in 11 runs. Her top performance was in the team's season-opening 11-5 win over Frostburg State University, when Lehtonen went 4-5 with a triple and six RBI, one shy of a school record. Later in the series, in a 12-7 win over Shenandoah University, Lehtonen went 4-4 with a walk, a double a triple and four more RBI. The Judges are in action on Tuesday afternoon against host school Salem College.
Gourde is a 2013 graduate of York Academy in Toronto.
Lehtonen is a 2015 graduate of Plainfield High School.
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