He's as tough as they come
NPHS wrestler Sam Gibbs has battled through adversity, including the loss of his father
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers TIGHT GRIP- Newbury Park High senior Sam Gibbs wraps up a teammate during practice. Gibbs has compiled an 18-6 record for the Panthers this season and has yet to be pinned.

It seems as if nobody can get Newbury Park High senior wrestler Sam Gibbs down.

Even though Gibbs has dealt with many difficult situations this year, from losing his father in a tragic motorcycle accident to learning how to adapt to a new coaching staff at NPHS, nobody has pinned Gibbs on the wrestling mat.

In a rebuilding year for the Panthers, Gibbs has been one of the team's lone bright spots. After going 14-7 his junior season and getting pinned twice, Gibbs hasn't been pinned since. He's currently 18-6 for Newbury Park.

Although his record is outstanding, what Gibbs' coaches are most impressed with is his attitude and how he never hangs his head.

"He is the only senior that shows any leadership qualities on this team," first year head coach Dimitry Tsybulezsky said.

"He has showed great character, great integrity, and he exemplifies everything we as coaches have been trying to teach. He has shown up every day and has never stopped working hard. He has been dealt with a lot of pressure this year and has never complained, even when most people would have."

Sam Gibbs

Assistant coach Lindley Kistler, who has seen Gibbs wrestle for a couple years at NPHS, agreed with Tsybulezsky.

"Not only does he succeed in wrestling, but he does very well in the classroom and is a great person," Kistler said. "My daughter isn't old enough to date yet, but if she was, I would want her to date someone like Sam."

Although Gibbs is a nice person off the mat, on it he can be an opponents' worst nightmare.

"I'm real motivated to win," Gibbs said. "I always want it bad, and I never want to lose and let the team down.

"I take great satisfaction in finishing every match I compete in," he said. "However, the (pinless) streak is not something I ever think of."

Gibbs is a captain on the Panthers this year, and although his coaches have called him a leader, they believe he's more of a silent and l e a d b y e x ample type.

"I think he is a calm leader and isn't one to get up and yell at someone if they are doing something wrong," Kistler said. "There was one match when he did let out some emotion. He wrestled someone for three overtimes, and in the fourth overtime he finally pinned his opponent. He just sprang up off the mat fast and yelled 'Whoo!'

"It wasn't like him to show that type of emotion, but you could see in him that he realized that he had been working very hard and all that hard work finally paid off," the coach said.

Gibbs has many wrestling fans, with six older brothers that have wrestled before him at Camarillo High or Newbury Park. Gibbs, however, lost what may have been his biggest fan when his father passed away shortly before his senior year.

"I miss him, of course," Gibbs said. "He didn't wrestle that much himself when he was young, but he was always in the stands rooting for me. He used to yell out 'Squeeze!' real loud when I was close to pinning someone. It was as if he was telling me to finish it right then. I don't see wrestling as a way of venting my anger over losing him, but I do think it helps."

Kistler recently talked with one of Gibbs' older brothers and found out that even though Sam doesn't show it, he does have his father on his mind when he wrestles."

"I was talking with one of his brothers, and he told me that Sam used to love wrestling because he knew his dad was in the stands watching and he loved that," Kistler said. "I think he feels as if his dad is still watching him somewhere, and he still gets a kick out of that."

After his senior year is finished, Gibbs said one of the colleges he may go to is BYU-Idaho.

"They don't have a wrestling team, but there is a wrestling league there that I will probably join," Gibbs said. "When I go there I want to study politics and history. I like history because I like learning about what other people have done before me."

With the way he's been wrestling, Gibbs is building his own legend at NPHS.

"He is the one person who we model what we are trying to enforce here after," Tsybulezsky said. "It's a pleasure to have him on the team."