Logansport's Gibson signs with Manchester University

Olivia Gibson helped turn the Logansport girls wrestling team into one of the best teams in the state in just its second year of existence.

She’s about to join a Manchester University women’s wrestling program that has rapidly emerged on the national scene in just two years of existence as well.

Gibson inked with the Spartans during a signing ceremony at LHS on Wednesday.

Manchester has one of the few collegiate women’s wrestling programs in Indiana and is already nationally competitive in NCAA Division III.

“It’s definitely a big step heading into a different direction and a new style of wrestling,” Gibson said. “Something I’ve never known, but we’re gonna get through it.

“The new style females typically go into is freestyle instead of folkstyle. And freestyle is just a little bit different and points are a little different, but it’s not too bad.”

Folkstyle (US scholastic/collegiate) emphasizes control, riding and top-position dominance, featuring longer matches with deliberate ground work and stalling penalties. Freestyle (international/Olympic) prioritizes rapid action, explosive throws, back exposure and immediate re-standing of wrestlers, rewarding high-amplitude moves with more points.

While men’s college wrestling uses folkstyle, the NCAA and other governing bodies (like the NAIA and NJCAA) for women’s wrestling use freestyle, featuring two 3-minute periods, immediate points for technical superiority and less emphasis on control time on the ground.

“Main adjustment is don’t stand up, you have to flatten out and I think that’s gonna be a little harder than I thought it would be,” she said. “I am great on my feet and I’m great on breaking people down from top, so it’s gonna be a little bit of a change when they’re already broken down to figure out what I’m gonna do next.”

Gibson will have a successful veteran coaching staff working with her at Manchester. The director of wrestling is Josh Hardman and the associate head coach for women’s wrestling is Trevor Young.

The Spartans already boast of a team with high, consistent performances, including top finishes at regional competitions and multiple wrestlers ranked, setting a strong, high-achieving foundation in their second year.

Gibson should fit right in. She placed fifth in the 125-pound weight class at the inaugural IHSAA State Finals last year. She placed fourth at 130 at state this year. She went 79-13 those two seasons overall, including 50-4 this past season. She helped the Berries place fifth at the Team State Duals.

She said it was difficult to choose between Manchester and Indiana Tech as both made generous offers.

“I was also considering Indiana Tech, but we had to weigh the pros and cons of everything and prices, and Manchester came out to be top on that,” she said. “They both gave me the same amount of scholarships, but Manchester wanted me just a little bit more, so they gave me just a little bit more money.”