Tolly Thompson was a three-time state qualifier and two-time state finalist for Janesville High School in Janesville, Iowa. He had a career record of 118-6 at Janesville while also reaching the finals at the national championships twice and at the USA Junior Nationals.

Thompson was a national champion and three-time All-American at heavyweight for the University of Nebraska. He had a career record of 157-21, including 54 falls, and was a three-time Big Eight Conference champion. He was 38-13 as a redshirt freshman, setting a record for wins by a freshman, and finished one win shy of being an All-American.

He won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships in freestyle while also placing second at the Cerrod Pelado International and winning the Dave Schultz Memorial International tournament.

Thompson lost to longtime nemesis Kerry McCoy, a Distinguished Member inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2014, in a best-of-three series to determine who would represent the United States in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

He lost in the 2000 Olympic Trials to two-time NCAA champion and World champion Stephen Neal, a Distinguished Member inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.