State Title Looks Inviting to Gibson
By Joe Reardon

The chances Brookline’s Robert Gibson or any of his Warrior teammates are mentally or physically wiped out by the time the class and all-state meets roll around are very slim. The 17-year senior, who has two invitational wins under his belt already, is nowhere near reaching anything close to a peak.

He captured his wins at the Amherst Invitational and Bowdoin Classic solely on the strength of the distance work he put in during the summer. And, hopefully, they’re a preview of things to come for Gibson, a self-proclaimed skateboard enthusiast..

After a seventh-place finish in last year’s Div. 1 all-state meet, that bordered on the bizarre, Gibson is the favorite to capture this fall’s title at the Gardner Golf Course. He still shakes his head when he thinks of that day last November at Northfield Mountain when Brockton and St. John’s of Shrewsbury left the Warriors a beaten third.

"Last year we were the favorites going into states and came in third so we know anything can happen," said Gibson. "I was out a week before the race. I got a concussion playing basketball before practice. I don’t remember the race. I was really out of it. I passed a kid I thought was (Xaverian’s Mark) Amirault near the end and I said, ‘Hey, I beat Amirault.’ Everyone told me, ‘No you didn’t.’"

Gibson has no intention of a repeat of that disastrous day. He worked hard to get into the best shape of the life this past summer, running up to 85 miles per week, which included a long run between 12-13 miles. Gibson also worked on improving his form and running more efficiently. "I wound up putting in well over 600 miles," he said.

Gibson has backed off on his training, but not by much. He is still logging 75-mile weeks amidst Brookline’s Bay State League schedule. Head coach Mike Glennon, though, has the luxury of resting different runners, thus avoiding over-racing the fourth-ranked team in New England and 21st ranked in the country.

Gibson’s wins in the invitationals obviously gave him a jolt of confidence, but he has yet to be truly challenged at the end of a race. In the Amherst Invitational on Sep. 15, Gibson led a 1-2-3 Brookline sweep in a course record 15:41. Teammates Michael Burnstein (15:54) and Dave Wilson (15:55) nailed down the next two slots as the Warriors captured the team title.

Gibson wasn’t overly surprised by his individual win, but a week later, at the Bowdoin Classic in Shenendehowa, NY, he expected a much closer race. "I wasn’t surprised at Amherst," said Gibson. "It was a matter of staying up there with the leaders. I was talking to Burnstein and Wilson and we made a few jokes. I was very relaxed.

"At Bowdoin, I wasn’t too sure because there were a lot of kids I didn’t know from different states. It was nice winning a big invitational."

Gibson and Kellenberg, NY’s Tom Elnick broke from the pack and pounded their way along the 3.1-mile course that is a stone’s throw from the Hudson River. Gibson used his 1:55, 800-meter speed to pull away from Elnick for a 14-second win in 16:13. Brookline wound up with its second team title in as many weeks.

Although Gibson and Carlos Montrond of Brockton are considered the favorites to capture the Div. 1 all-state crown, the Brookline harrier believes there are at least a half dozen other runners more than capable of garnering the first-place medal, among them, teammates Burnstein and Wilson ("They’re both looking ridiculously strong"), Chelmsford’s Chris Brown and Liam Anastasia-Murphy of Gloucester.

"It is important," Gibson said of winning the individual title. "It would be nice. I’d rather have us all win (the team title) because we’ve been looking forward to it since our sophomore year."

There’s little doubt that beating Gibson will be a monumental task. "He’s very strong and very coachable," said Glennon.

Nowhere was Gibson’s strength more evident than in last winter’s New England Track & Field Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center. After blazing a 1:55.0 to pace Brookline to third in the 4x800 relay, Gibson was back on the track just 20 minutes later for the mile. He wound up completing an impressive double with a personal best of 4:17.31.

Unlike track, where he goes into a race with a tactical strategy, Gibson lets cross country races develop before he assesses the situation and decides what move to make. "I have yet to learn how to run a 5K," Gibson said with a laugh. "I normally try to push the hills. That’s the one strength I know I have. I’ve found I can push from a 1,000-meters out or a mile out and really start to kick when I see the finish line."