Iowa's Thomas Gilman awaits tough test at Big Ten championships

IOWA CITY — Thomas Gilman has conquered every challenge he has faced on the mat.

His record is impressive. The results are dominant.

University of Iowa's bold 125-pound junior takes on his toughest test of the season, attempting to capture a title that he didn't a year ago. Gilman is the No. 2 seed at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships this weekend at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Action begins Saturday at 10 a.m.

In the quirky, and somewhat ridiculous, schedule created by the conference, Iowa did not see Penn State and Ohio State in the regular season. Gilman has not wrestled the Buckeyes' top-ranked and defending national champion Nathan Tomasello or Penn State's two-time NCAA finalist Nico Megaludis this year.

'I'm excited to be in the same bracket as those guys,' said Gilman, one of seven Hawkeyes seeded third or better. 'They haven't seen me and I haven't seen them. I don't know if it matters who has wrestled. We've all wrestled before in the past.

'There are no surprises. Just because we haven't wrestled in the last three months doesn't make a difference.'

Gilman has anticipated this opportunity, but has focused on the steps to get to this point. Work remains for him to meet either.

'It's been circled but at the same time you can't look too far forward,' said Gilman, who opens with a bye and has the winner between Michigan's Conor Youtsey and Northwestern's Garrison White in the quarterfinals. 'You're doing one thing at a time, one competition at a time and look at the one that's next. I'm ready for it.'

The goal is to be tested against the best, but he will approach any opponent the same. The proof is in his 21-0 record, including eight pins, five technical falls and five major decisions.

'He's one of those guys who takes it one match at a time,' Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. 'Being the two seed and on the same side as Megaludis and then wherever the bracket falls in the quarters and semis, we'll take those appropriate steps to get to the finals where the other side of the bracket has the 1, 4 and 5 seeds, among others.'

The top-seeded trio aren't strangers. Gilman and Tomasello battled for U.S. Junior World team spots, splitting two college matches last season. Actually, Tomasello's 3-2 win in the Big Ten final was his only in the series. Megaludis beat Gilman, 4-1, in a 2013 dual. Regular season meetings, or lack thereof, can be an advantage or disadvantage.

'I don't think it's either,' Brands said. 'It is what the schedule is and what your match resume or portfolio is. I know that he has wrestled well. I know that he is confident and he's one of the guys we look to for big performances.'

Last year's runner-up finish was a learning experience for Gilman, who placed fourth at the 2015 NCAA tournament. He worked on being more offensive and increased the tempo of his matches.

'He scored the only offensive point in that match, so you can't take anything away from him,' Gilman said of Tomasello. 'I didn't capitalize on some opportunities that I had and this year is a good example of I'm best when I'm getting to my offense. I didn't get to my offense in that match, so I obviously wasn't at my best. It's not an excuse. It's just an analysis and I'm a different wrestler this year.'

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