Sports

Railroader Ray Gibson Shatters High School Record

Gibson Has Absolutely Destroyed The Five Minute Barrier In The Mile

Sammy Joseph, Engineer|February 7, 2023

Gibson running alongside Contreras, battling for first place.

Brunswick High has never seen a faster runner for the indoor mile than Ray Gibson.

With a blistering time of 4:35.64, he came first place in the Frederick County Indoor Track and Field Championships at Hagerstown Community College. Moreover, Gibson crushed the previous school record of 4:38.6 held by Paul Spurrier for an astounding twenty-seven years—in addition to his own personal record of 4:41.02.

From the crack of the gun to the finish line, it was a struggle for first place. At first, the outcome of the race was far from decided. “Ray sat back and ran in the top pack for the first few laps, he had a good kick at the end,” Railroaders coach Anne Zumbach said.

Going into this meet Gibson was somewhat of a dark horse candidate. He entered as the fourth seeded runner, so it ended up being a massive upset when he blazed to a gold medal, beating the top three seeded athletes, including Alex Contreras, the MPSSAA 1A XC State Champion. “It’s awesome to have gone against a lot of other great runners,” said Gibson, “I just like to be in the conversation with those guys.”

Gibson usually likes to pace his eating throughout the day leading up to his races. However, this was not the case on the day of the record mile. “The only thing I ate that day was four Pop-Tarts,” Gibson said.

“

The only thing I ate that day was four Pop-Tarts…

— Ray Gibson

That’s right, he broke the indoor Brunswick record, eating Pop-Tarts… Could this toaster pastry be the secret ingredient to breaking records? Is this the key to getting faster times?

“And I would not recommend it, I felt pretty terrible after the race,” said Gibson. Maybe not, but he could always just be trying to throw us off his track…

Ray celebrating the record following his victory. Dewey Gibson

The running season is far from over though. Our Railroaders have three more meets remaining in the indoor track season in addition to an entire season of outdoor track. Gibson is not done yet, “My ultimate goal is getting the outdoor record,” he said. He has a good shot too, with the Brunswick outdoor record being 4:26.83, Gibson still has to close a 9 second gap to beat it.

Ray Gibson has left his mark on Brunswick High School history. “It shows where good hard work can get you. Talent on its own isn’t enough. Ray is a runner that works hard and this is the fruit of his labor,” said Coach Zumbach.