Northwest Whitfield’s Henson Gibbs signs with the Roadrunners. Seated, left to right, are Jayson Gibbs, Henson, Heather Gibbs. Standing are Maddie Gibbs, Coach Tom Sell, Janet Sadbury, McKenzie Gibbs, and Steve Sadbury.
Ringgold, Ga. – Dalton State cross country coaches have come a long way in filling positions on the defending Southern States Athletic Conference champion men’s squad.
Roadrunner Co-Coaches Margie Bruner and Andy Meyer announced the signing of three outstanding northwest Georgia runners who also have Zell Miller Academic Scholarships.
In addition, women’s cross country recently signed White County High School Valedictorian Sinead O’Bryant.
“Not bad,” said Meyer. “We will certainly help the academic arm of Dalton State.
Realize that these kids are coming here because of athletics.”
The coaches made a familiar trip to Heritage High School to sign two key members of the 7 AAAA Championship Team.
Meyer said the new Roadrunners Ryan Gebelein and Devin Swafford are true scholar-athletes.
In addition to being an accomplished athlete, Gebelein is an engineering major.
“We are very fortunate to be able to sign Ryan,” said Meyer. “He has had a stellar high school career and we are looking for him to step in and make an immediate impact as a freshman. Ryan has immense talent to develop potential for some great results in his first year. “
Gebelein has a two-mile personal record of 9.51 and a mile personal best of 4.37. He finished fifth overall at the Georgia AAAA State Meet and was Region 7-AAAA runner-up in the mile and two-mile.
“Ryan is a great student and an outstanding person,” added Meyer. “He will also be a great fit for our program.”
Swafford ran as the third man for the Generals. He has a personal record of 2:09 in the 800 meter, 10:41 in the two-mile, and a cross country personal best of 16:50.
“Devin continues the tradition of very good Heritage High School runners,” said Meyer. “He has only been running a couple of years and has made great progress. We look forward to working with Devin and seeing just how good he may become. He works very hard with his running and we hope he develops into a varsity contributor. He is both a great student and a key team member at Heritage High.”
The Roadrunners visited Northwest Whitfield to sign two-time state qualifier Henson Gibbs. Another Zell Miller Scholar, Gibbs is a multi-sport athlete who also played baseball and was an All-7AAAA region wrestler.
“Henson is a great athlete and we are lucky to have him sign with us,” said Meyer. “He has had success with whatever he has attempted. Henson is a very strong runner with a lot of heart as evident with his wrestling success. His baseball career shows that he understands the concept of team. We are looking forward to Henson devoting himself to running in college and seeing what potential results might lie ahead.”