Ryan Outerbridge is still on a high after the biggest wins of his college track career.

Outerbridge won gold in the 5,000 metres and mile and bronze in the 800 metres at the Northeast-10 Indoor Championships last weekend before being named the outstanding track athlete and the men's most valuable performer at the meet.

The Bermudian runner, who finished second in the Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby soil last year, is now a star man on campus at Franklin Pierce University, and his medal-winning exploits are just starting to sink in.

“It’s really big to be MVP and I’m extremely happy about that achievement,” Outerbridge said.

“It’s a big accomplishment and it means the world to me to achieve such a big goal. It also means a lot to the team, my coach and my family and friends

“I actually spoke with my coach a few days before the meet and he had the idea of me going for the Most Valuable Athlete award. We had pretty big plans going into it and he entered me in a bunch of events so I could score as many as points as possible.”

Outerbridge’s schedule was full on with sometimes as little as 40 minutes between his races and it took a wise head on young shoulders to be able to manage his race programme.

“I definitely did not have much time between races,” Outerbridge said.

“I had the 800 prelims on day one and that was my first event. I went into that race knowing that I had to win my heat to make it into the finals so my goal was to win it as easy as possible and save as much energy before the 5K, which was only 40 minutes later.

“But as soon as I finished the 800 I started jogging around a little bit, got a few stretches in and tried to regroup for the 5K.”

Tactics and early pace can play a huge role indoors on a banked track with tight turns so Outerbridge took the decision to control the 5K from the front.

“I feel like positioning in these races are important,” Outerbridge said.

“If you find yourself near the back it is hard to work your way to the front with the tight turns, the movement and no space to work with.

“But at the conference championships nobody is really looking to get fast times and it’s all about getting the win, so in the 5K I was able to go to the front and slow down the race.

“I was able to dictate the pace of the race, take it out slow and nobody wanted to take the lead so that worked in my favour. Winning the 5K was a momentum boost and definitely helped my confidence going into day two. That probably played a big role in what I achieved and it all worked out.”

With medals in all three of his events, it might be hard to pick out the race you are most proud of but without hesitation Outerbridge pinpoints the mile as his most rewarding victory

“The mile definitely felt the best,” Outerbridge said.

“I was in a good position for the entire race but with about 600 metres to go the leader made a push and ramped up the pace.

“I really started to feel it in my legs, he started to open a gap and I started to feel it slipping away and some doubt crept into my mind as to whether I would get it back. But something in my mind told me to give it one more push, one more go and then I found another gear to get the win.”

Outerbridge has just a couple of indoor meets left this year but his form lends real hope of a stellar season outdoors.

“I have two more indoor meets,” Outerbridge said.

“I’m competing in the BU Last Chance Meet on Sunday and then the New England Championships next week before switching my focus outdoors towards the end of March.

“Hopefully I can have a good showing outdoors this year. I had a pretty good one last year but I’d like to better that this year.”

Anyone on island last year for the Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby will remember the pulsating battle between Outerbridge and Lamont Marshall, with the younger Bermudian just outpaced by the veteran inside the last mile.

With the 2025 race just three months away, Outerbridge’s plan for now includes returning to the island and attempting to go one place better.

“That is the goal,” Outerbridge said. “I’m not focusing on that right now as I’m just looking to focus on my track season but the goal is to be back out there in May and this time I’m looking to get the win.”