Gibson's Wrestling Comeback Complete with 3rd at Districts

The District 29 tournament was almost the end of the road for West Deptford's Dan Gibson.

As a freshman, he came in as the No. 7 seed, and was quickly overwhelmed and bounced from the bracket in the early going.

That loss could have been the last of his career, but after a two-year hiatus from the sport, Gibson was back at Gloucester County College as a senior, a No. 4 seed with rocky path to regions.

Following a win Friday night over Gateway/Woodbury’s Tommy Miller, Gibson lost to top seed George Skibinski Saturday morning, setting up a consolation-round rematch—and loser-goes-home moment—with Deptford's Jack Sprague, with a chance to not only make it to regions, but to avenge a pin loss earlier this season.

Gibson knew he had to avoid a similar situation as that first meeting, when Sprague built an early 5-0 lead, forcing Gibson to take some risks toward the end of the match that led to that pin.

But the way Gibson looked at it, there was no pressure on him to win this time—as a No. 4 seed, the expectations were heaped on his opponents, leaving Gibson to go out loose and wrestle free.

“There’s nothing to lose now," he said.

And that's exactly how the wiry 152-pounder wrestled.

Gibson fired out early to nab a 2-0 lead in the first 30 seconds, and stayed aggressive throughout, eventually building a 5-1 lead after a near-fall in the second period, before taking total control and riding out the 9-2 upset.

“This time, I just went out there and went after him,” Gibson said. “I’ll be honest with you, if I don’t take my shot, I’m going to take a loss. That’s the only way I can dictate a match.”

Coach John Craig praised Gibson's growth through the season and tenacity at districts; despite all three seeds above him having beaten him by pin, Craig said Gibson’s efforts all season paid off in the mild upset victory.

“Having Danny Gibson out here do well was awesome,” Craig said. “It's great for him—he deserved it, he earned it.”

Gibson knows he has a difficult road in front of him if he wants to make a splash at regions, but he knows by getting through districts, he’s gotten to where he was aiming for back in December.

“That was my goal from the beginning of the season,” he said. “First, second or third, any one was fine by me…It feels great.”