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Track: Robinson's Gibson showing he's among state's best

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By BILL WARD

wward@tampatrib.com

Published: April 14, 2009

Robinson assistant track coach Mark Altimari laid down the challenge to Darrin Gibson last season with this simple question: "Do you want to be the best at Robinson High or do you want to be the best in the state?"

From the looks of Gibson's performance at Saturday night's University of Tampa Distance Carnival, Gibson is going for the latter. Gibson, a senior, captured first place in the meet's 800-meter run with a state-leading time of 1 minute, 52.6 seconds.

Earlier this season, Gibson proved his intentions were serious when he ran a then-lifetime best of 1:53.1 for the 800 at Jesuit. Saturday at Pepin Stadium, he showed that effort was no fluke by splitting the first 400 in 55 seconds and never looking back en route to his victory.

"I really didn't think I would run that fast again until the state meet," said Gibson, who finished fourth in the Class 2A state finals of the 800 in 1:57.99. "And coming in, I really didn't know I'd be running the 800 until five minutes before the race."

Indeed, Gibson was a last-minute entry for the Distance Carnival's 800. That happened when Wharton senior Sean Obinwa scratched from meet due to a strep throat. Gibson, who earlier in the meet collapsed briefly during his leg of the distance medley relay, decided to hop into the 800 and see what he had left.

Obviously, Gibson had plenty remaining in his gas tank. Not only is his time the state leader, it ranks among the nation's top-10 performances this season.

"I think this shows Darrin has made a complete commitment to be the best," Altimari said. "Anyone can stay in that comfort zone and be the best at their school. No big deal. But it takes a lot more work and determination to decide to go to the next level and reach for something higher."

REVORD ROLLS. A guy Gibson will likely face at the district, regional and state meets in the 800 will be Jesuit senior Connor Revord. But at Saturday's Distance Carnival, Revord's attention was focused on the 1,600. Like Gibson, he rolled to a time - 4:11.5 - that ranks him among the state (No. 2) and national (No. 5) leaders.

Revord was aiming for Andy Biladeau's 4-year-old school record of 4:11.06. But running alone almost the entire way, that was a difficult mark to take down for the Penn State-bound Revord.

With Gibson in the mix the remainder of the season, it will be interesting to see how Revord will handle the two events. Obviously, he would like to finish his career with two state crowns. But Gibson wants to end his with at least one. Both runners will also be part of their school's 4x800 relay teams, too.

COMING UP. The Class 1A and 2A schools will take the first steps toward the state finals with district meets this week. The county's 1A schools compete in the 1A-District 9 meet Wednesday at Indian Rocks Christian in Largo. Today in North Port, Spoto and Lennard will be part of the 2A-10 meet.

Thursday features the 2A-9 meet at Wiregrass Ranch in Pasco County, Hillsborough County schools there include Berkeley Prep, Academy of the Holy Names, Jesuit, Robinson and Tampa Catholic.

Saturday at Jefferson, The National Academy of Sports will host the Bring the Heat Classic, an all-ages meet. Action starts at 11 a.m. and registration is $15 per person for two events and $5 for any additional events. At that same site, the NAS will also host the Florida West Region Championships, starting at 9 a.m. For more information on either of the Jefferson meets, check the calendar listings on www.flrunners.com.

Reporter Bill Ward can be reached at (813) 259-7456.

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