Thomas Gilman defeated Nathan Tomasello to reach the finals at 57 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)LINCOLN, Neb. -- Thomas Gilman's college wrestling career didn't end how he wanted in March when he fell short of reaching the NCAA finals as the top seed.
On Saturday, Gilman showed his resolve by bouncing back from his college wrestling setback to reach the finals of the Freestyle World Team Trials at 57 kilograms.
The eighth-seeded Gilman, who qualified through the Last Chance Qualifier, opened his tournament by avenging his NCAA semifinal finals loss against Darian Cruz, 9-0. He then edged top-seeded Tyler Graff 1-1, before dominating Nico Megaludis 11-0 in the semifinals.
In the challenge tournament finals, Gilman squared off against longtime rival Nathan Tomasello. Gilman scored first off a step out, but Tomasello responded with a takedown to grab a 2-1 lead. The score remained that way until the final 30 finals when Gilman scored a point off the shot clock to make the score 2-2, but still trailed on criteria. The two continued to battle, and with short time on the clock Gilman was able to get in on a shot and convert for takedown to win in the closing seconds.
World No. 6 David Taylor advanced to the finals at 86 kilograms (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)World No. 6 David Taylor was pushed hard by Nick Heflin in the challenge tournament finals, but prevailed 13-9 to advance to the finals at 86 kilograms. Heflin used a four-point throw in late in the first period to take a 9-4 lead. Taylor poured it on in the second period, scoring a four-point move of his own early in the period to cut the deficit to 9-8. He added two more takedowns to win by four. Taylor will now wrestle Olympic bronze medalist J'den Cox for a chance to make his first U.S. World Team. Cox is currently ranked No. 5 in the world by United World Wrestling.
Kyle Dake reached the finals at 74 kilograms by beating Isaiah Martinez and Alex Dieringer (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Kyle Dake advanced to the finals at 74 kilogorams where he will face Jordan Burroughs in highly-anticipated final. Dake handled two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez 9-2, and then grinded out a 2-1 victory over three-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer in the challenge tournament finals. A first-period takedown by Dake was the difference in the match.
U.S. Open champion Kendric Maple cruised to the finals at 61 kilograms. He opened with a technical fall over Chris Dardanes, and then blanked fellow Sooner alum Cody Brewer 8-0. He then met Brandon Wright in the challenge tournament finals. Wright scored first to take a 1-0 lead, but Maple responded with a takedown off a double leg before securing a leg lace, which he used to rack up six more points and take an 8-1 lead. Maple held on for a 10-4 victory. He will now face returning world champion Logan Stieber in tonight's finals.
Zain Retherford was unchallenged en route to reaching the finals at 65 kilograms. He picked up three technical falls in three matches, including a 10-0 shutout in the challenge tournament finals against B.J. Futrell.
At 70 kilograms, Jimmy Kennedy, who moved up from 65 kilograms, came through the challenge tournament as the top seed, beating Dylan Ness, Jason Nolf and Nazar Kulchytskyy. Against Nolf, Kennedy found himself in a 4-0 hole early, but battled back to win 8-6. He then blanked Kulchytskyy 7-0. Kennedy will now meet world No. 2 James Green, a 2015 world bronze medalist.
Kyven Gadson cruised to the finals at 97 kilograms, and will now face Kyle Snyder (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Kyven Gadson cruised to the finals at 97 kilograms with victories over Hayden Zillmer, Nathan Burak and Micah Burak. Tonight he will battle Olympic champion Kyle Snyder.
Dom Bradley took out Bobby Telford and Tony Nelson to reach the finals at 125 kilograms. He will face U.S. Open champion Nick Gwiazdowski in the finals tonight.
The finals are slated for 6 p.m. CT.
Challenge Tournament Finals Results
57 kilograms: Thomas Gilman dec. Nathan Tomasello, 6-2
61 kilograms: Kendric Maple dec. Brandon Wright, 10-4
65 kilograms: Zain Retherford tech. fall B.J. Futrell, 10-0
70 kilograms: Jimmy Kennedy dec. Nazar Kulchytskyy, 7-0
74 kilograms: Kyle Dake dec. Alex Dieringer, 2-1
86 kilograms: David Taylor dec. Nick Heflin, 13-9
97 kilograms: Kyven Gadson tech. fall Micah Burak, 10-0
125 kilograms: Dom Bradley dec. Tony Nelson, 8-1
Finals Matchups
57 kilograms: Tony Ramos vs. Thomas Gilman
61 kilograms: Logan Stieber vs. Kendric Maple
65 kilograms: Frank Molinaro vs. Zain Retherford
70 kilograms: James Green vs. Jimmy Kennedy
74 kilograms: Jordan Burroughs vs. Kyle Dake
86 kilograms: J'den Cox vs. David Taylor
97 kilograms: Kyle Snyder vs. Kyven Gadson
125 kilograms: Nick Gwiazdowski vs. Dom Bradley
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