Gibson defends SOSSA crown
The newly crowned 64-kilogram boys Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association wrestling champion was anything but an immediate sensation in the sport.
“I tried it in Grade 9 and didn’t really like it and I tried it again in Grade 10 and I loved it,” said Brodie Gibson, who won his division Thursday at the SOSSA meet at Governor Simcoe.
One year made all the difference for the Grade 12 student at Thorold Secondary School.
“In Grade 9, I was so small and I just got beat up.”
He returned in Grade 10 with an attitude adjustment to the sport.
“I knew that I had to get beat up to get better,” the 17-year-old Thorold resident said.
Gibson qualified for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Asssociations championships in Grade 10 and didn’t win a match, but in Grade 11 he topped the podium at SOSSA and placed fourth at OFSAA.
He has much higher provincial aspirations in 2020.
“I want top three or top two after all the training I have been doing,” he said. “I have been training four or five times a week with Brock University kids.
Although difficult, that training is paying huge dividends for Gibson.
“They take their training so seriously there and it is a whole new atmosphere for me,” he said. “But I was prepared for it after training with the Brock Junior Badgers.”
Thorold coach Heather Sweezey is impressed with how far Gibson has come in such a short time on the mats.
“He has been wrestling for about three years and he is a great athlete,” she said. “He continues to see improvement, he has that killer instinct and he is really coachable too.”
Gibson recently made it to the provincial juvenile semifinals before getting injured.
“I was down by four points and I was going to try and flip a guy over, but he stood up and my arm moved weird and I hurt it pop three times,” he said. “Now my chest is all bruised and it still hurts.”
He was good enough to wrestle Thursday, but was favouring his arm after his gold-medal match.
This is Gibson’s last crack at an OFSAA medal as he is planning to head to Niagara College in the fall to study house renovations.
After OFSAA, which is scheduled for March 2 to 4 in Sault Ste. Marie, he will be going to Estonia to compete in an International event at the end of March.
“The experience of competing on an International stage will be really valuable for him,” Sweezey said.
It will be the latest step on a journey that Gibson has thoroughly enjoyed.
“I love that it is just me by myself on the mat against one other guy trying to see who is superior,” he said. “If I win, I know I am better.”
