It was the highest individual finish at nationals in the history of Whitman's cross country program.
In the men's race, Whitman junior Alex Rolfe ran with an injured Achilles tendon and placed 128th in a field of nearly 300 runners. His time was 27:33, well off the 25:44 he ran on the same course the previous season while placing 36th at nationals.
Gibson, who was slowed by a chronic asthma condition her first three seasons at Whitman, ran the 5,000 meters in 18:36 to win NAIA All-American honors. She was just one second out of fourth place. The race, which attracted 286 runners, was won by Cari Rampersad of the University of British Columbia won the race in 18:02.
"Kathleen ran with the leaders the whole way today," Whitman coach Keith Jensen said. "She had a really strong race."
Gibson, who who the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges championship two weeks ago, has enjoyed her most healthy season this fall, Jensen noted. Gibson's asthma was a problem her freshmen season at Whitman, when she earned All-American honors by placing 23rd at nationals, but the condition then worsened her sophomore and junior seasons.
"This has been Kathleen's first really healthy season," Jensen said. "We recognized her potential to run this well when she was a freshmen, but she never got the chance because of her asthma."
For Gibson's teammate and close friend, Jessica Bissonnette of Portland, Oregon, Saturday's national championship was a bittersweet experience. Despite having not run for the past five weeks due to a stress fracture in her lower right leg, Bissonnette finished 20th to earn NAIA All-American honors for the fourth consecutive year.
Bissonnette placed 11th at nationals last year and was one of this season's favorites for the national championship until she was sidelined in early October. In one of her last races this fall, Bissonnette finished just two seconds behind Rampersad at a Seattle cross country race.
"When Jessica looked at the winning time today, she knew it would have been well within her reach had she been healthy," Jensen said. "The fact that she ran an All-American time was amazing when you consider that her training has been limited to a stationary bike and the swimming pool for the past five weeks. She said she felt awkward during the race, and she was pretty well wiped out when it was over."
As a team, the Whitman women placed sixth. Whitman was fifth at nationals last year, after placing sixth in each of the two prior years. Also running for the Whitman women's team at nationals this year were Emily Anderson (65th), Dorothy Metcalf (81st), Melissa Thorne (100th), Faye Hutchison (130th), and Tanya Browne (203rd).