Heading into the season, the ADM wrestling Tigers had plenty of star power. Three wrestlers whom had made it to the state tournament last February all found themselves ranked in the preseason top-10 for their respective weight classes by the predicament.com.

What remained to be seen was who else might join juniors Zach Johnston and Nathan Heath and senior Trevor Harsh as having a legitimate chance of making a run at the podium in Des Moines. One such Tiger is junior Hunter Gibson, a 195-pound lineman for ADM football that came razor close to making it to state last season.

Gibson, 32-7 on the year and ranked 9th in Class 2A, said he has used a more aggressive approach on that mat this year to rack up the victories.

“I’m not exactly the greatest technician. But I have a unique style and like to control wrist, and that works for me, and I’ve learned to take a lot more shots,” Gibson said. “Last year I never would shoot at all, and this year I would take lots of shots and get lots of takedowns off of them.”

Gibson also has momentum on his side heading into Saturday’s sectionals at Saydel. Since the calendar flipped to 2015, the junior is 19-1 and has captured three tournament titles (Gary Christensen Invite, ADM Tiger Invitational and the Raccoon River Conference Tournament) and was runner-up at another (Ed Winger Classic).

Sectional competition begins at noon Saturday.