Gibbs Field dedication next week

On Oct. 17, the same track where Jim Gibbs once tediously lined the dirt lanes will be dedicated in his name. 

The name Gibbs has become associated with athleticism, accolades and dedication at Riverside Schools, where Gibbs started as a P.E. teacher in 1973. Over a more than 30-year career in physical education, as a teacher, athletic director and coach, Gibbs had a hand in decades of success for Riverside athletes and students. 

“Jim impacted the lives of countless students, not just the athletes he coached,” said his wife, Shauna Gibbs. 

Jim Gibbs was born in Kellogg, Idaho. He graduated from Shoshoni High School and attended Rocky Mountain College with baseball and football scholarships for a degree in physical education. Gibbs began his teaching career in Montana before moving to Meeteetse to coach. He met his wife, Shauna, there and the couple moved to Basin so Jim Gibbs could coach.

Gibbs stayed on as the school transitioned from the Basin Bobcats to the Riverside Rebels, coaching track, volleyball, basketball and middle school football before his retirement in 2002. He also spent many years volunteering for Little League baseball. 

“Jim Gibbs did everything,” school board member Greg Gloy said. “He lived and breathed Riverside.”

Through his career, Gibbs brought home two boys track state championships (1986 and 1987), and one girls track state championship (1991). He took the boys basketball team to state five times and volleyball to state six. After his retirement, Gibbs was awarded the WHSAA Lifetime Gold Card membership and elected to the Wyoming Track Coaches Association Board of Directors. He continued to follow the Rebels, even as he moved to Casper. 

Retirement did not exclude coaching for Gibbs. In Casper, he continued to coach volleyball at Dean Morgan Middle School and trapshooting at Casper College. 

Beyond the student achievement he promoted, Gibbs himself was inducted into the Rocky Mountain College Athletic Hall of Fame for his participation on the 1963-64 championship baseball team and honored as a Wyoming 2A boys coach of the year. 

Gibbs passed away unexpectedly in 2022 at 76 years old. In September of that year, the school board moved to dedicate the newly renovated track and field in his name.

As construction nears completion on Riverside Middle High School’s new track and field, a project that has been in the works for years, Big Horn County School District No. 4 will invite back friends, family and students of Jim Gibbs to recognize the legacy he has left. Signs mark the new field, on his old grounds, “Gibbs Field.”

Those who knew Gibbs from around the state, some even beyond state lines, are expected to visit. The ribbon cutting will take place on the old track, now paved, off B Street behind Riverside Middle High School at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 17. School board member Greg Gloy will give opening remarks, with Pat Neely as speaker. A National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, Neely once student-taught under Gibbs before the pair coached against each other for many years, Gibbs for Basin and Neely for Greybull. All are invited to attend. 

The first competition for Gibbs Field has yet to be scheduled, with lights and scoreboard still in the works. It is predicted, however, that the first may be track.