Gibbons Commits to Columbia, Places at State Meet

Also, Bernards High Senior Dana Giordano breaks record for 3,200 meter run at indoor track Meet of Champions.

Ridge runner Tyler Gibbons, who earlier this month committed to attending Columbia University in New York placed sixth in the 3,200-meter event at last Saturday's state Meet of Champions in Toms River. Gibbons said he expects to be running with the nationally ranked cross-country, track and field teams at Columbia next year.  Gibbons said that more than 40 runners competed in the boys event. He said he had been seeded 24th, so had exceeded expectations. His finish time was 9:27.50, according to NJ.com. Two weeks earlier, he said he had finished a mile at 4:24 in the state sectionals, also held in Tom River. Gibbons, a Patch Athlete of the Week when he ran with boys track in the fall, said he hopes to wrap up his senior year running spring …

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Ridge Fall Sports 2011

Ridge Runner Shines at Nike National

Tyler Gibbons, County and Skylands Conference champion, travels to Nike Cross National to represent Ridge High School.

Ridge High School cross-country runner Tyler Gibbons, who this October took the Somerset County and Skylands Conference championships, was the school's first participant in the Nike Cross National cross-country competition, which he attended with his two coaches from Ridge. Gibbons qualified for the national event, held the first weekend in December in Portland, Ore., after his finish in Nike's Northeast regional competition on Nov. 26. Tyler said he then finished at 16:11 as one of the top five individual runners, and two top cross-country teams from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine, winning a silver medal. At the national meet, Gibbons said he finished 71st in a field of about 200 crosss-country …

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Ridge Fall Sports 2011

Gibbons, Girls X-Country, Head To Sat. Meet of Champions

Gibbons lone representative for boys after finishing fourth individually at group meet.

The Ridge Red Devils cross country team participated in the Group IV championship meet this past Saturday, qualifying several runners—including the girls’ team and star runner Tyler Gibbons—for the Meet of Champions this Saturday in Holmdel. The girls' team finished fifth at the group meet, capturing the last wild card berth into the Meet of Champions. It was a great accomplishment for the Red Devils’ girls, despite what their coach said was not their best day. “We just didn’t show up that day, unfortunately,” said Red Devils’ head cross country coach Tim Mooney. “It was probably our weakest race of the year so far. It was disappointing; fortunately, they still move on.” The previous week, the girls had won a sectional title. Mooney said …

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Athlete of the Week

Athlete of Week: Gibbons Already Two-Time Cross-Country Champ

Gibbons will arrive at Saturday's state sectional meet having already captured recent Somerset County and Skylands championship crowns.

While both the boys and girls cross-country teams have logged fairly solid performances this season, senior Tyler Gibbons has moved far ahead of the pack both on his own team and in competition. During recent weeks, Gibbons captured first-place finishes in both the Somerset County championship and then, a week later, at the Skylands Conference Championship. This Saturday, Gibbons will be traveling with both girls and boys teams to the beginning of the state sectionals, to be held at Warinanco Park in Elizabeth. Both the Somerset County and Skylands races were held in the second half of October. Both also were held in a picturesque fall setting at Natirar County Park in Peapack-Gladstone. But the first race was held on an ideal fall day — …

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