Jordan Burroughs - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Born in 1988 in Camden, New Jersey

Camden, New Jersey

The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...

, Jordan Burroughs is an American world champion in freestyle wrestling

Freestyle wrestling

Freestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. It is, along with track and field, one of the oldest organized sports in history...

Early Career

Burroughs began to gain attention for his wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

in his senior year at Winslow Township High School

Winslow Township High School

Winslow Township High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school that serves students Winslow Township, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Winslow Township School District. Until 2000, Winslow Township High School was a member of the Lower...

after winning a Senior National Championship under Head Coach Rick Koss. During his high school career he won three district championships and two regional championships, but in 2006, he captured a state title at 135 pounds. He committed to the University of Nebraska as the seventh ranked 135 pounder in the country.

Freshman Year (2006–2007)

Burroughs earned his starting spot midway through the season and placed third at the Big 12 Championships, thus earning a place at the NCAA Championships at 149 pounds. He went 1-2 at this tournament. He lost his first match to the #1 seed Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota 3-1. Burroughs stayed alive with an 8-2 win, but lost the next match to the #2 seed Matt Storniolo of Oklahoma in an overtime thriller and was eliminated from the tournament.

Sophomore Year (2007–2008)

This is the year that Burroughs began to show signs of dominance. He won his first Big 12 Title with a technical fall over Will Rowe of Oklahoma and major decision over Mitch Mueller of Iowa State, also winning Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet. At the NCAA Championships Burroughs posted a 5-1 record earning a 3rd place All-American finish at 149 pounds and finishing the season 34-6.

Junior Year (2008–2009)

Burroughs was now figuring out where he was best, neutral. He broke his school's record for takedowns with 117 takedowns in only 19 dual meets. Burroughs showed total domination throughout the whole year with 15 major decisions, five technical falls, two pins, and 17 wins over ranked opponents. He won his second Big 12 title. During the Las Vegas tournament, he beat returning NCAA champion Jordan Leen in the finals, also winning outstanding wrestler of the tournament. At the NCAA tournament, he continued to show dominance at the highest level, tech falling his first opponent, pinning the second, and majoring the final two (Cyler Sanderson and Gregor Gillespie) on his way to the finals where he faced the undefeated Mike Poeta of Illinois. Burroughs won the match with a 5-1 decision and captured his first NCAA title at 157 pounds.

2009-2010

Burroughs was 7-0 going into a dual meet against Steve Brown of Central Michigan where he was injured, ending his season and forcing Burrroughs to take a medical redshirt year due to his tearing of his left PCL and LCL.

Senior (2010–2011)

Burroughs returned from his surgery, growing bigger and stronger, bumping up to wrestle 165 pounds and finishing a perfect regular season. He had a streak of 17 matches where he earned bonus points that was only broken by a match against the returning national champion, Andrew Howe of Wisconsin, that he won by a 10-7 decision in the Midlands finals. Burroughs won his third Big 12 title against Oklahoma's Tyler Caldwell. Burroughs entered the NCAA tournament as the number one seed and showed why with a tech fall win in his first match followed by an injury default over Justin Lister of Binghamton in a match that Burroughs was already winning 15-4. He majored his last three opponents en route to his second national championship and second undefeated season. He also won the Hodge Trophy for his season, wrestling's equivalent of the Heisman trophy, awarded each year to the nation's most dominant wrestler.

International (2011-?)

Jordan Burroughs took no breaks after winning his NCAA title and graduating. He jumped right into the freestyle scene winning the U.S. Open at 74 kilograms just three weeks after his last college match. Burroughs then made the United States world team, and won the title at 74 kilograms at the 2011 World Wrestling Championships

2011 World Wrestling Championships

The 2011 FILA Wrestling World Championships was held at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey. The event took place between September 12 to September 18, 2011.-Medal table:-Team ranking:-Men's freestyle:-Men's Greco-Roman:-Women's freestyle:...

in Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, becoming only the 4th wrestler ever to win a NCAA championship and World Championship in the same year. He then followed up by winning the 74 kg title at the 2011 Pan American Games

2011 Pan American Games

The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, Puerto Vallarta, Lagos de Moreno and Tapalpa...

in Guadalajara

Guadalajara

Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...

. Burroughs's Twitter name is very appropriate, @alliseeisgold, being as though he has won every tournament he entered since the beginning of the 2009 season.

Awards & Honors

International:

2011 Pan American Champion
2011 World Champion
2011 US World Team Trials Champion
2011 US Open Champion (74 kg/163 pound)

Collegiate:

Two-Time National Champion (2009,157; 2011, 165)
2011 Hodge Trophy winner
2011 InterMat Wrestler of the Year
Three-Time All-American (3rd, 2008; 1st, 2009; 1st, 2011)
Four-Time NCAA Qualifier (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)
Three-Time Big 12 Champion (2008, 149; 2009, 157; 2011, 165)
Outstanding Wrestler of 2008 Big 12 Championships
Midlands Champion (2011, 165)
2011 Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler Award (Midlands Championship)
Nebraska Most Outstanding Wrestler (2008, 2009, 2011)
128-20 career record
Fourth-most wins in school history
Tied for fifth-most dual wins in school history (62)
Sixth-best career winning percentage in school history (.865)
Tied for fifth-most falls in a single season in school history (20, 2011)
Four-time Big 12 Wrestler of the Week
2011 Nebraska "Heart and Soul Award" winner