Archbishop Rummel wrestler: Brains and brawn

The mantra that Scott Gibbons adopted as a childhood wrestler proved valuable in high school – never settle for second.    
    “In any competition, second place is never good,” he said. “It’s first place or bust. Whenever you are doing anything, you have to put in whatever you can.”
    A stereotypical athlete he isn’t. 

The recently graduated senior has been a main eventer for Archbishop Rummel High School in both athletics – he is a three-time state wrestling champion – and in academics – he is an Advanced Placement (AP) scholar with 31 on the ACT. Gibbons will attend Princeton University in New Jersey.

Wrestling in his blood
    Gibbons, 18, follows in the footsteps of his father, Stephen Gibbons, who was a two-time state wrestling champion at De La Salle. It was the one-on-one nature of the competition that drew Gibbons to the sport.
    “When you’ve won a match, you really beat the opponent, and you feel you are better,” he said.
    His first state title came in his third year of wrestling at age 8 or 9.
    “It felt good to be on top of the podium, and I wanted to stay there,” Gibbons said.
    For Archbishop Rummel, he has won three state titles in the 160-, 171- and 195-pound weight classes. He also placed first at nationals in Greco-Roman style wrestling in 2010. This spring, he received Rummel’s Rufus award for “excelling as student and athlete.”
    It takes discipline to be good. For Gibbons, that means practice five to six days a week and keeping up with homework and tests.
    “And, you have to have a mental edge, going into every match expecting to win,” Gibbons said.
    He began developing this mental edge in wrestling during eighth-grade year when he placed second at nationals. “I felt like I shouldn’t lose any matches,” he said.
    Academically, Gibbons said he’s always been a good student. He recalled all A’s at St. Francis Xavier Elementary School in Metairie and excelling at Rummel, never taking any courses for granted.
    “Even if I am taking an elective, I have to work hard in that, even if it doesn’t apply to my major,” he said. “That grade could sink my GPA.”
    He credits several Rummel instructors, including algebra and calculus teacher David Rodriguez and English teacher Dane Brackvitch, for preparing him for college with challenging classes and analytical discussions, especially in high-level English classes.
    “We are always learning something new each day, never taking a day off,” he said of Rodriguez’s class. “I imagine that’s what it’s like in college.”
    Gibbons considers calculus and physics to be among the most interesting classes he’s taken.
    “It’s interesting that there is always a way to get an answer,” he said. “If you follow the formula and path to get there, you will have the right answer.”
    Gibbons’ secrets to good grades have been paying attention in class and having the ability to remember things he’s only glanced at, having somewhat of a photographic memory.
    “I use images a lot for memorizing stuff,” he said.
    He’s uses this technique in wrestling as well.
    “When I am out there, I can’t be too focused on one thing,” he said. “I’m flowing. Whatever position I am in, I try to focus where I am, to get out of it.”

Wrestling is a bonus
    As much as he has enjoyed wrestling since age 6, Gibbons didn’t think he would continue at the college level until Princeton, Oklahoma and the University of Pennsylvania came knocking.
    Once he toured the breathtaking Princeton campus, met the team and recognized how the wrestling program relied heavily on self-motivation – partners working together to strengthen each other’s abilities and not coaches yelling over the wrestlers’ shoulders – he was hooked.
    “They selected me,” Gibbons said. “They were the first to call me and it blew my mind that an Ivy League school was even possible. … It gave me the opportunity to see how smart I really was and how I can test myself academically as well as athletically.”
    Gibbons has chosen to study chemical engineering at Princeton.
     “It’s cool to me that people (in oil-related industries) are working on ways we can find fuels and never run out,” he said.
    Gibbons will jumpstart his Princeton experience with the Freshman Scholars Institute (FSI) summer program July 15-Aug. 31. He will take a few classes, practice with the wrestling team and live on campus.
    “I am excited to get up there and see what it’s all about,” he said. “I get people telling me that it will be the best experience in my life. I’m hoping to make some good friends up there and start (as a freshman) on the wrestling team.”
    Christine Bordelon can be reached at cbordelon@clarion herald.org.