For a first-year effort, it's not too bad.
Columbian junior Brandon Gibson will cap his first year of cross country - after just his first year of track - by running in the Division I boys state meet Saturday.
"It's definitely mind-blowing for him and mind-blowing for myself because, you see a kid come out for track and see a little bit of success and he doesn't know if he wants to run cross country," TC coach John Kihorany said.
"Then he decides 'I'm going to give cross country a go.' He immediately bought into the program, he immediately went full-bore and did everything a coachable athlete can do," he said. "He's now reaping the reward."
Gibson is the first individual Columbian boy to run at state since Chris Seamon took 21st in Division I in 2003, and the first TC boys representative since the 2007 team finished 15th in Division II.
While he can't better the team's finish, Kihorany said the goal is to hopefully match Seamon's All-Ohio effort.
Though he added it won't come easily.
"I think that is going to be maybe the biggest challenge of his year, to really hang with that front group, with the best of the best," Kihorany said.
"I think now he realizes this is the cream of the crop, this is where everybody wants to be in the whole state," he said. "He's just one of those kids that just kind of gets it. You tell him what to do and his body just tells his mind what to do."
The message now is a top-25 finish and All-Ohio status, though Kihorany said Gibson has difficulties ahead of him.
Of course, he said, it was the same at the regional and Gibson came through then.
The regional plan was to have Gibson in state-qualifying position after the first two miles, then improve from there.
Gibson covered the first two miles in a personal record and was sitting 15th, then passed five more runners over the next half mile before sprinting past another three in the race's final 100 meters to claim seventh.
"Brandon, as a runner, he gets stronger as the race goes," Kihorany said.
"He ran one heck of a race," he said.
And Kihorany said there's no reason to doubt he doesn't have another one left.
"He's got something now. He's found his niche," he said. "He knows where he belongs now and I think this is something he can really . I think he's found his calling."
