Villanova University

June 12, 2011

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Matthew Gibney...

On how he felt during the race: I think I did the first lap in 1:06 and I was stoked at that, to get something like that in a slower race. After that the guy from Kansas took it off pretty hard. I had great position for the first 700 meters. I was doing so well that I kind of relaxed and all of a sudden people came past me and I wasn't quite as aggressive as I should have been. Coming in with 500 meters to go instead of being in eighth it was three wide in front of me and I would have had to put in a whole lot of work to get around them. I got around a few of them but the inside didn't open up like I wanted it to until 250 meters to go and by that point the leaders were too far ahead. They ran a great tactical race and they got the results.

On how he is feeling at the end of the season: I still feel great. I started pretty late and didn't go too hard until the week before the Penn Relays. I have been very measured with my training and actually I was surprised how well I pulled up off the prelim and at the East regional. I was pretty confident coming into the final today and thought I had a pretty good chance but obviously I didn't quite execute the race like I needed to.

On his training: We do a lot of aerobic work all the way through the season so even the last two weeks I was doing a little bit of threshold stuff still. I was doing workouts twice a week and apart from the races kept doing a lot with confidence stuff. I made sure kept within myself in training and believed that my training would get me through the races.

On whether he is satisfied with a fourth place finish: No, I am not. Getting fourth is a great result but I was really hoping for more and the way the race played out I feel like I could have gotten more if I ran the right race. It is pretty disappointing because of the type of race it wound up being.

On what is next for him: I am going to keep racing (over the summer) if I can. My season best is 3:43 and I know I am in shape to run a lot faster than that. If I can find a fast race in the next month I will do that. I also have one cross country season left and we are going to have a really good team this year so the cross country season is going to be a big deal for me. After that is the Australian Olympic trials in March. I will be headed home around Christmas time to give it my best shot there.

Villanova head coach Marcus O'Sullivan...

On the 1500 meters race: It is kind of ironic how it played out because we talked about the race beforehand and said it would be all about positioning. It was going to come down to a gunslingers' race and Matt had the speed to be in it. He knew that too. I could tell with a little over a lap remaining that he had lost his ground and then he kind of got sucked in. It is almost like quicksand where by the time you realize what is happening you are getting spit out at the back of the pack.

On Gibney's race: Matt did a terrific job of covering moves. He was back in 10th or 11th place at the bell lap or just after the bell and all things considered he probably ran his fastest 300 meters once he caught up. Instead of being in a comfortable position with 300 meters to go he was fighting for his life just to get back into the race, which he did. Matt did a pretty good job of recovering in a great field. It was a great race.

On Gibney moving up from 11th place during the final lap: That is the type of character that Matt has and that was his intent during the final lap. I think he knew it had kind of fallen apart and was doing damage control. That is a testament to his attitude and he just had a bit of bad luck to fall back. I watched it happen and at the pace the race was going at it was too much to overcome. It was going to be a sprinters' race then. In fairness to Matt, [winning runner] Matt Centrowitz did a good job of covering. He covered all his spots and was in the right position.

On Gibney finishing in fourth place and earning All-America honors: Matt finished in fifth place two years ago and this time around he came in fourth. Given the circumstances I am very pleased with the final result. I think Matt will be a little disappointed because it is one of those things that it is in your head that you have it and then it kind of slips.