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NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

March 18, 2016

Thomas Gilman

New York, New York

Q. You're a finalist at 125. Can you make a brief opening statement? When it's 1-1 late in the third period did you ever think about this match ending the way it did? A little bit interesting.
THOMAS GILMAN: I mean, anyone that's seen our matches in the past kind of figures it would be 1-1 in the first period or 2-1 or very similar to that. You know, me and Tom talked about, if it's 1-1, going into that third period, you don't have to rush anything. You don't have to worry about it necessarily. Just keep doing what I was doing, and I kind of went against what he was saying there at the end if you guys saw that. I started -- I was feeling that shot. I got in on there once. I felt I could get back to it, and I rushed it to his left side, and he got that corner on me, in on my leg, short time. That's what he wanted. He wanted right there. He wanted to end the match there, but he didn't. The ref made the call in my favor and went into overtime. I saw him go a little bit slow to the center of the mat, so that's where I knew I had him.

Q. Thomas, the first time you're in on him, he passed the leg and was able to force a stalemate. Did you learn something from that, and did you kind of expect that in overtime which led to you catching him there?
THOMAS GILMAN: Yeah. For sure. I wasn't necessarily ready for it the first time. I guess I wrestled him more times in freestyle than folkstyle. I didn't necessarily know his folkstyle scrambling ability was necessarily right there. He showed me something there. And when I got into overtime, I hooked his head with my foot. I made an adjustment there. And that's something -- if you look at my career, that something I've really done well is making adjustments, not only day-to-day or year-to-year but within the match itself. And that's what good wrestlers do. They make adjustments within the match. I thank my ability there.

Q. Thomas, I don't need to remind you what happened in last year's semifinals --
THOMAS GILMAN: Go ahead and remind me. What happened? I'm serious.

Q. Was that in your mind at all?
THOMAS GILMAN: No. Not at all. It's never really in my mind unless you guys bring it up, to be honest. Some people asked me if something like that motivates me, and I'm a positive, motivated guy. I let positive things motivate me, not negative things. I probably would be more motivated in my life if I let the negative things motivate me, but we're not going to go there right now.

But, now, I didn't think about that. It's just another match. You can't think about semis or finals or what happened the last time I wrestled him. Just another match, an opponent that's set in front of me, and he's an obstacle, and I've got to move that obstacle. Very simple. Very simple mindset.

Q. Thomas, thinking about your thoughts to the final against Megaludis, obviously an opponent you know about, how do you see that one playing out?
THOMAS GILMAN: Probably pretty similar to the way it did this match and the last time I wrestled Megaludis. He's a tough competitor. He's proven that. He's been in this situation before. I've been with him in these type matches before, but I've got to stay cool, calm, and composed. My semifinal match, I stayed calm, cool, and composed, and I got the win. If I stay calm, cool, and composed in the final against Megaludis when I wrestle him again, I'm going to come out on top with a win. But I can't be doing stupid things like I did in the semifinals in Iowa City.

Q. You and I talked after the semifinals, and you really dominated the center of the mat like you said you were going to do. You pushed him to the edge. Did you execute the game plan to a tee like you said you were going to?
THOMAS GILMAN: I don't have a game plan, first of all. There's no game plan right here as far as strategy, holding the center of the mat. It's not necessarily a game plan, it's a way of wrestling, and every match is that way. I'm not going to change just because I wrestle a high-level opponent. But if I want to simplify it and put it in you guys' terms, the game plan was to go out there and just fight him. That's what it came down to, just making him uncomfortable, making myself uncomfortable. Because I know when I'm feeling uncomfortable that my opponent is going to feel just as, if not more. And I know I can push through that adversity and wrestle when I'm tired. So my game plan was going out, just wrestle hard, and that's exciting for the fans and exciting for me because I win.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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