State champ

Gibson finds right fit with hurdles

ALBUQUERQUE

When Shiprock High School junior Adrian Gibson slid into the stepping blocks two years ago, he wasn’t sure if it was a good fit.

He was only 5-feet tall and he didn’t believe he had what it took to be a star hurdler even though his coaches did.

“I didn’t want to do it my freshman year, but they threw me in there because they knew I was going to grow,” he said. “… Ever since then I’ve just been getting better and better, and (I’m) starting to get used to it.”

Last Saturday at the 2016 NMAA 4A state track and field meet, Gibson finally understood what his coaches were talking about.

The now nearly 6-foot tall hurdler placed first in the 110-meter hurdles at the state meet and earned his first state title in a time of 15.79; his fastest time ever.

He ran neck-and-neck to the finish line with Hope Christian School’s Caleb Meyer-Hagen, Hagen finished in second in 15.82.

Gibson said he felt confident and at ease going into the race. He beat Hagen and other top hurdlers in late April at a meet in Taos.

“My heart was taking off. I looked back to make sure just a little bit when I started running,” he said. “I felt pretty fast coming out of the box. I’ve been studying him since I’ve raced him. I knew what I was up against.”

Shiprock assist track and field coach Nik Paniagua said the coaching staff saw the potential in Gibson, it just took the hurdler some time to see it within himself.

Paniagua said he started working with Gibson last season and has watched him progress since, especially after the Taos meet.

“He was a pretty good hurdler, not confident, but we got him pretty confident this year. The last month, six weeks, he turned it on, everything started coming together – he started learning to three step and the rest is history,” Paniagua said. “He turned a lot of heads there (in Taos) when he won that one. It was kind of his coming out party. Ever since then, he’s just been improving each week, it showed today.”

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