Thomas Gilman punched his ticket to Lincoln, NE, with a win over Daniel DeShazer in the 2017 Last Chance Qualifier in Rochester, MN, this past weekend. Here's a minute-by-minute breakdown of Gilman and DeShazer's intriguing final bout of the tournament. The match is posted at the bottom of the page, or you can visit here to watch on a different tab.

Minute 1

(0:45) Deshazer wastes zero time getting it on Gilman and who can blame him? Anyone who watches NCAA wrestling knows that Gilman has a gas tank, and that the longer this goes the worse things are going to get. That considered, the technique that DeShazer employs here is simple, direct, and effective. His left arm posted the elbow up and across Gilman's body. That puts all of the weight on Gilman's left leg. What starts as a single turns into a double quickly, and DeShazer stands Gilman up and definitely brings his hips with him. He runs him down for the first score of the match.

Minute 2

(1:52) Gilman changed his tie up from the first minute and started throwing an underhook with his left hand. DeShazer missed an opportunity with a far-side duck under. His position was great, but his lock slid up too much and allowed Gilman to get his hips back.

Minute 3

(2:44) DeShazer was the one making the adjustments in the third minute. Gilman went back to the lefty undertook, but DeShazer felt him pushing in and sent him flying. I'd also like to point out that it's OK to push in with an underhook as long as either you're down in a good stance OR if you have your foot in the middle of his feet while standing more upright. The technique on this head lock was pretty darn good as well. He hits a perfect pivot to score four points on this sag headlock.

Take a look at Matthew Ciampa teaching a pivot to a headlock here:

Minute 4

(4:52) Gilman goes back to the hook, but this time he buries his head (so as not to get it taken off). It pays off, because DeShazer fires off the same leg attack that he scored with in the first minute. However, Gilman is there with hook to pull him up. 

Minute 4

(5:07) Gilman finally gets through on his lefty single leg. In finishing, he lets the lock slide all the way up to the crotch allowing him to go from his knees to his feet while still keeping his hips into DeShazer. 

Minute 5

(7:38) This is my favorite part of the match. While everyone thinks of Gilman as a bruiser, he definitely shows his slick side here with a lefty single, seat belt, and a snap-down (while moving his entire body to the right) righty single. Gorgeous sequence. 

Minute 6

(9:16) A caution and two is probably always going to have a bit of controversy surrounding it. And if this call was made at the trials (or a bigger event), the backlash would have been much heavier. That said, I don't necessarily disagree with the call. I do, however, think that the ref should have held the whistle until the action fully stopped on the edge, giving Gilman a chance to score a takedown on continuation.