Dec 9, 2024 5 min read

By John Sacco

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

Ask a fellow long-distance runner and champion what made Waynesburg Central High School graduate Carlos Gibbs go.

“Carlos always had fun,” said Kathy Knabb, a friend of Gibbs. “He always had that smile. We grew up together. We were at the same competitions. Carlos was the most-friendly person.”

Gibbs said his family joined with the Knabbs to “tour” together.

He added: “We’re tight. Kathy and I were always together. We hung out, pulled for one another and became good friends.

“She was a close friend, and our families traveled to all the track meets together, almost every weekend and all over the United States. She is an exceptional athlete and always worked hard.”

They ended up becoming two of the greatest distance runners in the Washington-Greene County area. Knabb, a Peters Township graduate, has long been the queen of Washington County distance running, Gibbs is the king of Greene County.

“I had a good time,” Gibbs said of his scholastic career. “I was just running. When I got older and started running professionally, the fun wasn’t there.

“I probably could have been a four-time track state champion. My freshman year, I kind of got pushed off track a little bit I just felt: ‘OK, they won’t push me off again.’ It’s what motivated me.”

Gibbs’ accomplishments include five PIAA track and cross country championships, winning three straight 3,200-meter titles – the first two earned in Class AA and the third in Class AAA. He is the lone athlete in meet history to win the 3,200 three times. In addition, Gibbs won two WPIAL cross country championships – the Class AA title in 1988 and the Cass AAA crown in 1989.

Months after his graduation from Waynesburg, Gibbs broke the record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Junior National Championships in Fresno, Calif. That was just the fourth steeplechase race he entered. A week earlier, Gibbs won the Keeble International Prep Meet in Elmhurst, Ill., with a time of 9:14.

The steeplechase is a long-distance, obstacle race that includes four intermediate hurdles, a water jump, which includes a barrier followed by a pit of water with a landing area.

Gibbs helped Brevard Junior College, in North Carolina, win a national championship. After gaining a scholarship to Auburn University became an NCAA qualifier in the 3,000-meter steepleshase in 1994.

Perhaps Gibbs’ greatest accomplishment came in April 1994, winning the steeplechase at the prestigious Penn Relays in a career-best 8:42.77. That victory qualified him for the NCAA championships.

Knabb’s grandfather, also a Penn Relays steeplechase champion, presented Gibbs with his award, which was in the 100th year of the event.

Gibbs also ran a 3:42.4 split as part of Auburn’s 6,000-meter relay. The Tigers finished third in the world-class relay field. Auburn was ninth when Gibbs took the baton, starting the second leg of the relay and carried the Tigers into second-place when he handed off the baton.

His aunt, Evaughn Gibbs, who resides in Waynesburg, took him around the country to participate in running events. Evaughn Gibbs, along with Carlos’ grandmother, Della Gibbs, raised Carlos. He is appreciative of those efforts.

Gibbs didn’t exactly enjoy running after his scholastic career.

“When I got to Auburn, I felt like they weren’t worried about me,” Gibbs said. “I felt like I was being used. It left a bitter taste. I would have liked to coach but I couldn’t live off that.”

Gibbs, 52, moved far away from sports and home.

“I lived between Waynesburg and New York City/New Jersey ever since leaving Shanghai because of the Pandemic in 2020,” he pointed out. “I was creative director of my own agency in Asia that I ran out of Shanghai – The Texture Group. We designed and created custom fit outs for restaurants and bars.

“I specialized in custom signage, especially neon for both exterior and interior builds. I am working on a personal custom build out project now. But I am also consulting and executing interior solutions.”

Gibbs, 52, has a special someone and he’s proud of her and their three black cats. He feels lucky.

“Kris Houlton and I met in San Francisco in early 2000 and started to build a life together. We moved to Tokyo together in 2004, then Shanghai later around 2010.”

“Carlos used the natural talent God gave him,” said Howard “Butch” Brunell, Waynesburg’s longtime track and field coach. “Even at a young age, he was a great runner. In seventh and eighth grades, many times he could have placed in varsity.

“His natural talent just showed up. Carlos was just a natural, fluid runner and could have been even greater if he really pushed himself. He’s a great person and really nice to be around.”

John Sacco writes a column about local sports history for the Observer-Reporter.