State of the Program - Lake Gibson (FL)
Coaching Staff:
Daniel Walker (start of 24th year)
Brent Jorge
Isaac Crowell
2023 Recap:
2A Traditional State Champions
2A Dual State Champions
Individuals:
Christian Fretwell - State Champion at 120
Jeffrey Messner - SQ at 106
Gianni Maldonado - State Champion at 152
Elijah Lowe - 3rd at 113
Jace Brownlow - 4th at 170
Gaetano Tedesco - 6th at 132
Graduated:
Hayden Whidden - State Champion at 145
Colt Brown - 4th at 126
Ny`Travious Walker - 4th at 138
Frank Solorzano - 6th at 182
Tristan Vann - SQ at 195
2023-2024
Returners (Grade):
113 Jeffrey Messner
120 Elijah Lowe
126 Gaetano Tedesco
132 Christian Fretwell
138 Gabriel Jones
144 Austin Chung
150-157 Gianni Maldonado
175 Jace Brownlow
285 John Arellano
Teams talk about reloading and not rebuilding, but Gibson is one of the few schools that actually reloads. Coach Walker has this program humming and 2023-2024 should be no different. Few programs can graduate a State Champ, 3 State Placers, and a State Qualifier and still return as one of the favorites to win a title. But the best thing about this program is the mindset in the Gibson room … nothing is given - everything is earned. They know 2A teams across the state are looking to knock them from the top spot so the mentality of the next group has to be … step up and make their own noise. Maldonado and Fretwell are two of the best in the SE and the country … so you know what you get with them in the lineup. Brownlow, Messner, Tedesco, and Lowe will be called on to step up in a big way - both at the traditional state tournament and in the duals. Gibson welcomes State Placer Austin Chung into the room and he should fit into the lineup just below Maldonado. Whether Gibson claims another title or not might come down to names like Jones, Arellano, Tyler White, Brayden Kahelin, Robert DeJesus, Gabriel Samano, and Jerry Ware. Keep an eye on freshman Ayden Gruver as well to make some noise in 2024. - SEWrestle