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Istanbul, Turkey--- Former Husker and two-time NCAA champion Jordan Burroughs captured the 163 pound/74 kg gold medal at the Senior World Championships Sunday night in Istanbul, Turkey.
Burroughs becomes the first Husker since Bill Scherr in 1985 to win a freestyle World Championship title. The title qualifies Burroughs for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which take place from July 27 to Aug. 12.
Burroughs, who left Nebraska as one of the most decorated wrestlers in school history, defeated 2010 World silver medalist Sadegh Goudarzi of Iran in the finals, 3-2, 4-1, to give the United States its first freestyle World Champion since 2006.
Burroughs, the 2011 Hodge Trophy winner, was tested early in the bracket where he faced off against two-time World Champion Denis Tsargush of Russia in the second round. After dropping the first period, 1-3, Burroughs responded with two single-point victories in the final two periods to claim the win. After sweeping Ricardo Moreno (Venezuela) in the quarterfinals, Burroughs went on to beat Ashraf Aliyev (Azerbaijan) in a back-and-forth semifinals match, 0-1, 5-4, 3-0.
Burroughs is the first wrestler since Stephen Neal of Cal State Bakersfield to win an NCAA Championship and World Championship in the same year. Neal accomplished the feat in 1999.
Earlier in the week, former Husker Justin Ruiz went 1-2 in the 211.5 pounds/96 kg Greco-Roman bracket. Ruiz opened the tournament with a loss to Jimmy Lidberg (Sweden), but responded with a victory over Hassine Ayari (Tunisia), before falling out of the tournament with a loss to Timofej Dzeynichenkp (Belarus). Ruiz is a two-time medalist at the World Championships, finishing third in 2005 and fifth in 2010.
As a team, the US finished in third place with a total of 38 points. Russia took home the team title with 43 points while Iran was second with 41.
Jordan Burroughs-163 pounds/74 kg
First Round
Jordan Burroughs defeated Dmytro Rochniak (Ukraine), 3-1, 4-2
Second Round
Burroughs defeated Denis Tsargush (Russia), 1-3, 1-0, 2-1
Quarterfinals
Burroughs defeated Ricardo Moreno (Venezuela), 2-1, 1-0
Semifinals
Burroughs defeated Ashraf Aliyev (Azerbaijan), 0-1, 5-4, 3-0
Finals
Burroughs defeated Sadegh Goudarzi (Iran), 3-2, 4-1
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