By USA Wrestling

2021 World champion and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Thomas Gilman (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC) has officially accepted his berth in Final X. He will battle for the 57 kg spot on the 2023 U.S. World Team in men’s freestyle wrestling in Final X, presented by Tezos, on Saturday, June 10 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Final X will determine the 2023 U.S. Senior World Teams in all three Olympic disciplines: men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. There will be 30 weight classes contested, 10 in each Olympic discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will compete in a best-of-three series in Final X to determine who will wrestle at the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

Gilman was a 2021 World champion at 57 kg in Oslo, Norway. He won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. He claimed World silver medals in 2017 and 2022. Gilman was a member of the 2017 U.S. team which won the team title at the Senior World Championships. He was also fifth at the 2018 World Championships. He was a 2022 Pan American champion. Gilman claimed a 2014 Junior World bronze medal and competed on two Junior World teams and a Cadet World Team. He was a three-time NCAA All-American and 2017 Big Ten champion for the University of Iowa. A native of Omaha, Neb., Gilman won four Nebraska state titles for Skutt Catholic High School. 

It is the second straight year Final X will serve as the Beat The Streets New York Annual Benefit. This year’s event will be the 13th BTSNY Annual Benefit. These unique and electrifying annual events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

This will be the first time Gilman has competed in a BTSNY Annual Benefit event.

There are a variety of options for Final X wrestling-only event tickets, with prices starting at $40 on Ticketmaster. 

Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (wrestling event plus exclusive after-party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at give.btsny.org/beatthestreetsbenefit2023. For more information on ticket packages, email Katrin Pokalyukhin at katrin@btsny.org.

Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY, which provides a safe, positive atmosphere for student-athletes to learn the essential life lessons of discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic through wrestling.

The team selection procedures for the U.S. World Teams in each style allows for 2022 Senior World medalists to advance directly to Final X at a specified weight class. Gilman has met this requirement and accepted his qualification. 

The Final X opponent for Gilman will be determined at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., April 26-30. The champion in men’s freestyle at 57 kg at the U.S. Open will qualify to face Gilman in Final X.

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcasting partner for Final X, presented by Tezos.

*Please note if Prudential Center's tenant, New Jersey Devils, hosts a Stanley Cup Final game on June 10 the contingency date for Final X would be Friday, June 9.

Final X, presented by Tezos

At Prudential Center, Newark, N.J., Saturday, June 10

Declared qualifiers to date

Men’s Freestyle 57 kg - Thomas Gilman (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Women’s Freestyle 65 kg – Mallory Velte (Corvallis, Ore./Titan Mercury WC/Beaver Dam RTC)

Women’s Freestyle 53 kg – Dominique Parrish (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids)

Men’s Freestyle 86 kg - David Taylor (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Women’s Freestyle 72 kg - Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./Titan Mercury WC/New York City RTC)

Men’s Freestyle 70 kg - Zain Retherford (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Women’s Freestyle 62 kg – Kayla Miracle (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids)

Men’s Freestyle 65 kg – Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC/Spartan Combat RTC)

Women’s Freestyle 50 kg – Sarah Hildebrandt (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC/USOPTC)

Men’s Freestyle 74 kg – Kyle Dake (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Men’s Freestyle 97 kg - Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Women’s Freestyle 57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids)

Men’s Freestyle 79 kg – Jordan Burroughs (Philadelphia, Pa./Sunkist Kids/Pennsylvania RTC)

THOMAS GILMAN

Residence: State College, Pa.

Club: Titan Mercury WC

Regional Training Center: Nittany Lion WC

College: Iowa

High School: Omaha, Neb. (Skutt Catholic)

Born: May 28, 1994

• 2021 World champion
• 2020 Olympic bronze medalist
• 2017 and 2022 World silver medalist
• Fifth in 2018 World Championships
• 2014 Junior World bronze medalist
• 2022 Pan American Senior champion
• Two-time Junior World Team member (2013-14)
• 2011 Cadet World Team member
• Three-time NCAA All-American for Iowa (2015-17)
• 2017 Big Ten champion
• Four-time Nebraska state high school champion