GIBSON
HONORED BY AMC FOR TRACK AND FIELD
HOUGHTON,
N.Y.
– Houghton College senior Mary Gibson (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.
/ Grosse Pointe South) was recently honored by the American
Mideast Conference as
AMC Female Track Athlete of the Meet for the women’s teams at
the AMC Track and Field Championships held at Cedarville
University on April 21-22.
Gibson shared this distinguished award with Chelsea Shelnick, a
sprinter from Tiffin University.
Gibson won both the 800m and 1500m races with nearly
seven-second leads in each race, setting new AMC meet records in
each event with times of 2:14.79 and 4:37.67, respectively. Her
record-breaking times automatically qualified her for NAIA
Outdoor Nationals in May.
“Mary’s races at the AMC Conference Championships were two of
the most dominant races from a middle distance runner I have
ever seen,” said assistant track and field coach Matt
Dougherty. “She controlled both races from start to finish and
she did it with commanding leads. The 800m – 1500m double is
one of the toughest pairs of races to run in track, and she ran
both races with only 40 minutes between them. Setting one
conference record in a conference with such a rich history in
distance running is amazing. Setting two conference records in
the span of one hour in a single day is unheard of. Mary is a
rare athlete with outstanding talent, an athlete a coach may
only see once in his or her career.”
Gibson is well on her way to becoming the most decorated track
and field athlete in Houghton’s history. Currently, she has
four All-America awards to her name for her accomplishments in
track, two of which she earned at NAIA Indoor Nationals in
March. She will have a shot at two more All-America honors at
this year’s Outdoor Nationals. Achieving this feat would put
her ahead of Houghton’s other great female distance runner,
Krista Ruth, who was a five-time All-American in cross country
and track.
“Mary’s athletic versatility can be seen in the fact that she is
our #1 runner for the 5k in cross country, and that she holds
school records in the 400m, 500m, 800m, 1000m, 1500m, and one
mile races, as well as in the 4x400m and 4x800m relays,” said
head track and field coach Bob Smalley. “And she has not just
broken school records—she has crushed them.”
“This is a
tremendous accomplishment,” said Highlander Athletics Director
Skip Lord. “Mary may very well be one of the most accomplished
athletes in Houghton history, and she has shown exceptional
determination in getting to this point. She is a wonderful
example of what it means to be a student-athlete in our
program. We are all very proud of her.”
Gibson will travel to NAIA Outdoor Nationals in Fresno, Ca. on
May 25-27.
For meet summary, click
here.