WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University graduate student Irie Gourde of Portland, Oregon, has been named the Most Outstanding Runner from the 2018 University Athletic Association (UAA) Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Gourde earned three All-UAA honors at the meet. He started with a second-place finish in the 400-meter dash, posting a time of 49.42 seconds in the prelims and 49.03 seconds in the finals, just five-hundredths of a second behind the winner from NYU. Between the indoor and outdoor seasons, it was the fifth UAA silver medal in Gourde's two years running for the Judges. In his sixth individual race, Gourde finally captured gold in the 200-meter dash, running times of 22.09 seconds in the prelims and 22.54 seconds in the finals to win by 0.12 seconds over the runner-up from Chicago. Gourde completed his medal set by anchoring the 4x400-meter relay to third place with a time of 3:25.80.
For the season, Gourde is tied for the top-ranked time in Division III in the 400-meter run at 47.81 seconds, which was run on February 9 at Boston University. His preliminary run in the 200 at UAAs is ranked eighth in Division III. The top 15 men's runners in each event will qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 9-10.
Gourde is the third runner in Brandeis history to earn UAA Most Outstanding Performer honors during the indoor season, joining Paul Norton '11 in 2010 and Geoff Getz '99 in 1999.
Gourde is a 2013 graduate of York Academy in Toronto, Canada. He received his B.A. from Brandeis last year.
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