Chris Gilman's college football career is over. His athletic career is not.

It's just turned in a different direction.

Gilman, 22, of Hilliards and an A-C Valley graduate, is an Edinboro University senior out of football eligibility. He played special teams for the Fighting Scots the past two years while the team compiled back-to-back 9-3 records and NCAA Division II playoff appearances.

A member of the Butler YMCA since 1987, Gilman has lifted weights there for years.

"I was never serious about it," he said. "It was a way of keeping in shape for football."

He's very serious about it now.

Gilman began Olympic-style weightlifting, consisting of the snatch and clean and jerk, two years ago after being approached by Jim Pauli, a veteran weightlifter from Saxonburg.

"I met Chris at the Y a few years ago," Pauli said. "We were doing the same lifts and I gave him a few pointers on technique.

"He listened and improved right away. I tried talking him into entering a meet two years ago, but he was too busy with football then," he added.

Football is over now, so Gilman gave competitive weightlifting a try. He entered his first meet Jan. 8 at the Pittsburgh Barbell Club's Allegheny Mountain Association Winter Classic in Bridgeville.

Competing in the novice division, Gilman was named the best overall lifter in that class.

He returned to action March 5 at the third annual Arnold Weightlifting Championships in Columbus, Ohio, and placed third in the 77-kilogram (169.4 pounds) open class.

Gilman snatched 198 pounds and clean-and-jerked 275 for a total of 473 pounds - 38½ pounds more than his only previous meet.

"You get three lifts in both the snatch and clean-and-jerk, and Chris went six for six in his two meets," Pauli said. "He didn't miss a lift. For a beginner, that's impressive."

Still a novice in terms of competition, Gilman's totals rank him with more experienced weightlifters. His totals at the Arnold qualify him for USA Weightlifting's National Collegiate Championships and the age 23-and-under national competition.

"This is kind of like my new sport now," Gilman said. "I'm really surprised I'm off to this type of start. I figured it would take a while."

In Olympic weightlifting, the snatch involves lifting the barbell from the floor to overhead in one motion. The clean and jerk is lifting the bar from the floor to the shoulders (clean), then from the shoulders to overhead (jerk).

"I had never done the clean and jerk before entering these competitions," Gilman said.

Pauli said he worked with Gilman on holding the weight directly overhead instead of out in front of himself during the snatch.

He worked with Gilman on using his hips and legs when lifting the weight from the floor.

"Everybody tends to primarily use their back and arms when first lifting the weight from the floor," Pauli said. "You have to get your entire body behind the lift. Chris picked up on that quickly."

Former United States Olympic weightlifting coach and Butler County Sports Hall of Famer Marty Cypher served as Pauli's coach in the 1960s and 70s. Cypher died last November.

"Marty would have been proud of this kid," Pauli said.

Gilman, a health and physical education major at Edinboro, plans to participate in a weightlifting competition April 9 in Morristown, N.J.

He is doing off-season film work for the football team and hopes to stay with the program as a graduate assistant in some capacity next fall.

"I still want to help out," Gilman said. "Football's not out of my blood yet."

He attended a recent tryout with the Erie Freeze, a new indoor football franchise, and ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, second-fastest among the 63 players trying out.

"Their season starts in April and since I haven't graduated yet, I can't dedicate my time to playing," Gilman said. "It may be an option down the road.

"Competing in weight-lifting keeps me in condition for football, should it happen."

And weightlifting may be his best option yet.

"He can go pretty far if he stays with this," Pauli said.