Hawkeye Spencer Lee tops Gilman at trials, moves closer to Olympic dreams

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — With a big takedown in the second period of his second match in a best-of-three championship series against fellow Hawkeye Thomas Gilman on Saturday, Spencer Lee pulled out three more back exposures before pinning Gilman and winning the U.S. Olympic trials in dramatic fashion.

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After raising his arms, before the ref officially raised his hand, Lee acknowledged with the crowd that his Olympic dreams are within reach. And after shaking the opposing coach’s hand, Lee then lept off the stage and into his mom’s arms — who was leaning over from the stands to celebrate him.

“If it wasn’t for the Iowa Hawkeye program, and their support in me, I’d probably be retired by now,” Lee told reporters, referencing injuries and challenges he faced at the end of his NCAA career in 2023.

Because Lee’s 57 kilos bracket is one of five Olympic weights not yet qualified for the Olympics, his U.S. trials win Saturday isn’t an automatic ticket to the Summer Games. He still has to qualify the United States at that weight in Istanbul, Turkey on May 9-12 by placing among the top three at the World Olympic Games Qualifier.

After winning the first two of his best-of-three series against Gilman, Lee reminded reporters, “I’ve got work to do.” And he acknowledged the road to this day has been “long and hard.”

Gilman, four years Lee’s senior at age 29, represented team USA three years ago in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, bringing home a bronze medal.

When asked after his win about Gilman, Lee said, “We were teammates. People get the wrong picture of us.”

In hugging Gilman after the match, Lee said he told him, “I’ve always looked up to you.”

Nodding to the goal of getting a Hawkeye on the Olympic team, Lee said Gilman told him, “Put on a show.”

Although Lee took the series in two matches, nixing the need for a third and final bout in the evening, both matches were close. In the first, fans booed a pair of referee calls — including one scoring decision that, if reversed, would have tied the match 5-5 and given Gilman the criteria advantage.

In the second, Lee and Gilman were tied 2-2 near the end of the match — with Gilman ahead based on criteria — when Lee got off an attack and finished the match to loud applause, including from fellow former Hawkeye teammate Pat Lugo, taking video from the sidelines.

For the Hawkeye women, sophomore Kylie Welker battled back from a hard loss in the semifinals to place fourth — earning her a spot on the U.S. national team. Teammate Felicity Taylor earned the same result, while Hawkeye sophomore Reese Larramendy fell just short, placing fifth.

Former Hawkeye Alex Marinelli lost his bid for a national team Saturday — dropping the first of two matches he needed to get into the third-place bout.

And University of Iowa resident doctor Brandon Marshall — after losing Friday to the one-seed in his challenge bracket — came back with two wins Saturday before dropping his final match, putting him 5th in the bracket and just shy of the national team.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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