Sam Gilman

Photo by: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

Photo by: Chris Floyd

Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos

Photo by: Austin Hutchings

Photo by: Austin Hutchings

Photo by: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

Photo by: Isaiah Vasquez, NCAA Photos

Photo by: Kirby Lee, Associated Press

Photo by: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos

Photo by: Chris Floyd

Photo by: Kirby Lee, Image of Sport

Photo by: John P. Lozano, ISIphotos.com

Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos

Class:
Junior
Events:
1500m / 800m
Hometown:
Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Height:
6-0
High School:
Hilton Head Island
Squadron:
31 Grim Reapers

AIR FORCE HIGHLIGHTS

Three-Time All-American (2021 XC, 2022 Indoor, 2022 Outdoor)

Two-Time Mountain West Track & Field Athlete of the Year

Mountain West Champion, Mile Run (2022)

Mountain West Champion, Distance Medley Relay (2022)

Mountain West Champion, 1500-Meter Run (2021)

Three-Time NCAA Individual Qualifier

Holds Five Academy Records (Mile, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m - I/O)

Mountain West Record Holder (Indoor 5000-Meter Run)

SENIOR YEAR | 2022-23: Team captain.

JUNIOR YEAR | 2021-22: Two-time All-American…named Mountain West Track and Field Athlete of the Year during both the indoor and outdoor seasons…MVP…Mountain West Record Holder in the indoor 5000-meter run…MW champion in the mile and as the anchor of the distance medley relay……three-time all-conference honoree…named MW Track Athlete of the Week three times…broke four individual Academy records and ran on the record-setting DMR…set Air Force Junior Class Records in three events…earned first-team All-America honors after finishing fifth in the 5000-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships…clocked an Academy Record time of 13:30.82 during the national final…that time is also the third-fastest mark in Mountain West history…won the Elite section of the Mt SAC Relays with a (then-best) time of 13:33.26…only conference athlete to qualify to the NCAA Indoor Championships on the men’s side…collected second-team All-America status in the 5000-meter run (14th) at the national meet…set Academy and Conference records in that event during season opener at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Opener…posted a personal-best time of 13:25.17 to finish seventh out of more than 130 runners…broke the Academy Record in the mile with a winning time of 3:57.52 (adjusted for altitude) at the Air Force Invitational…raw time of 4:06.84 broke the Cadet Field House Record and set a new Meet Record…continued record-setting indoor campaign with a program-best 3000-meter time of 7:47.93 at the Iowa State Classic…finished first out of 52 runners at that meet and accounted for the second-fastest time in conference history…anchored the distance medley relay that combined for an Academy-best time of 9:31.62a during a winning performance at the MW Indoor Championships…also won the mile at the conference meet (3:57.99a) and scored for the Falcons in the 1500-meter and 5000-meter finals at the MW Outdoor Championships, placing second in both…finished first or second in seven of 12 individual races during the year.

SOPHOMORE YEAR | 2020-21: Mountain West champion in the 1500-meter run…NCAA Qualifier and Academy Record Holder in that event…clocked a personal-best time of 3:40.39 at the Drake Relays to break the program’s five-year-old record by nearly a second…reset the Mountain West Championship Meet Record with a winning time of 3:40.44 at the MW Outdoor Championships…also picked up first-place finishes at the Stanford Invitational (3:45.53) and West Coast Classic (3:41.86) …all-conference selection…also scored for the Falcons in the 5000-meter run at the conference meet (outdoor-best 14:10.66, fifth)…anchored the distance medley relay that clocked the second-fastest time in Academy history (9:42.70) at the Drake Relays…registered the second-fastest 5000-meter time in Academy history (13:48.36) during a runner-up performance at the Iowa State Classic…won the mile at the Air Force Invitational after posting a time of 4:12.54 (adjusted for altitude) in only appearance at that distance…set Sophomore Class Records in the 1500-meter and 5000-meter events…received the team’s Track Athlete of the Week award three times…named Air Force Athlete of the Week following the Drake Relays…selected as the Mountain West Track Athlete of the Week in back-to-back weeks (April 20, April 27)…earned the program’s Most Outstanding Competitor Award.

FRESHMAN YEAR | 2019-20: Debuted in 10th on the program’s all-time standings in the mile...ran a time of 4:04.96 to finish 14th out of 61 runners at the Iowa State Classic...that time is also a new Air Force Freshman Class Record...initially broke the six-year-old Class Record with a 4:08.02 (adjusted for altitude) performance to win the Air Force Team Challenge...named Mountain West Track Athlete of the Week following that meet...scored for Air Force at the Mountain West Indoor Championships after finishing fifth with a time of 4:08.87a...earned the team’s Track Athlete of the Week award once.

MAJOR CROSS COUNTRY HIGHLIGHTS: All-American…clocked the fastest 10K in program history (29:25.4) to finish 26th out of 253 runners at the 2021 NCAA Championships…all-region honoree in 2022…first Falcon to earn first-team all-conference honors in three straight years…placed second at the Mountain West Championships as a sophomore and junior…helped Air Force to three-straight MW team titles…earned the team’s MVP award in 2022.

HIGH SCHOOL: Hilton Head Island High School...accounted for two state titles in the 1600-meter run...also claimed one at 800 meters and one at 3200 meters...clocked a South Carolina state record in the mile at the Music City Distance Carnival (4:06.50)...that was the 10th-fastest mile by a high school senior in 2019...indoor All-American.

PERSONAL: Full name is Samuel Joseph Gilman...goes by Sam...nickname is “Hollywood”…son of Douglas and Annette Gilman...has one older brother, Ben, who ran cross country and track at Lee University...also has two younger siblings...majoring in management…future plans include becoming an acquisitions officer...serving as Athletics Officer for squadron…hobbies include playing video games such as competitive ranked Fortnite, walking up to strangers and acting as if he knows them, and engaging in extremely awkward conversations with people he just met...avid softball fan...worked Falcon Sports Camps over the summer…also worked in the Cadet Operations Center during Basic Cadet Training…member of Cadet Squadron 04.