LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Brandeis graduate student Irie Gourde (Portland, Ore./York Academy, Toronto) is into the finals in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse.
Gourde entered the event as the 11th seed. Though he made a false start and did not win a race for the first time this season, Gourde's time of 22.15 seconds was one-one-hundredth of a second faster than Vernon Lott of George Fox University to claim the ninth and final spot in Saturday's final, which will be run at 2:40 PM local time, 3:40 Eastern. The race was run in a stiff (5 m/s) headwind.
Gourde is in search of his second All-America honor in the 200, having finished in eighth place at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in March.
Gourde is back in action tomorrow in the 400-meter dash, which will be run at 4:00 PM Central/5:00 Eastern. He is ranked fifth in the nation in the 400. He will run in the second of three heats out of lane 8.
Also competing tomorrow is junior Doyin Ogundiran (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West), who will be running in the women's 800-meter dash at 5:15 PM Central/6:15 Eastern. She is seeded 14th and will also run in lane 8 of the second heat. Junior Emily Bryson (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) will represent the Judges on Saturday in the 5,000-meter run.