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Burroughs earns spot on U.S. world team for 8th time in freestyle

Jordan Burroughs, left,  earned a spot on Team USA for the world championships for the eighth time on Sunday. (Photo by Sam Janicki / SJanickiPhoto.com)

Courtesy USA Wrestling

Jordan Burroughs won a new weight class to qualify for the U.S. team in freestyle for the upcoming World Championship tournament at the U.S. World Team trials Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Burroughs, 33, earned a spot on his eighth Senior world championship teams. He previously wrestled on two U.S. Olympic Team berths. In his previous nine world or Olympic appearances, he has won eight medals, five gold and three bronze.

He defeated talented Alex Dieringer of the Titan Mercury WC/CKWC in the 79 kg finals series to the delight of his local fans. He secured a 10-5 victory in the first match, winning the key positions, then got an early lead and scored a 4-3 win over Dieringer in match two. Burroughs was a Hodge Trophy winner for the University of Nebraska, then trained there during his international career until recently moving back to his Jersey roots with the Pennsylvania RTC.

Two-time world champion J’den Cox of the Titan Mercury WC/NJRTC secured a spot on his fourth Senior world team with two-match sweep over Kollin Moore of the Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC at 97 kg. Cox shut out Moore in both matches, winning 5-0 in the first match and 4-0 in the second bout. Cox boasts two world titles, an Olympic bronze and a world championship bronze in his four world-level appearances, winning a medal every time.

James Green of the Titan Mercury WC/SERTC is making his sixth trip to the Senior world championships, after claiming the 70 kg weight class with a two-match sweep over Ryan Deakin of the Titan Mercury WC/Wildcat WC. Green scored late in the first match to secure a 6-6 criteria decision over Deakin in bout one. He took the lead and kept the edge for a 4-2 win in bout two. Like Burroughs, he was a star for Nebraska and trained here for years, before moving to his new location at Virginia Tech. Green has won a silver medal at the 2017 world championships and a bronze medal at the 2015 world championship meet.

Two-time world bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski of the Titan Mercury WC/Spartan Combat RTC qualified for his fourth Senior world championships, with a two-match sweep over 2019 Junior world champion Mason Parris of the Cliff Keen WC at 125 kg. Gwiazdowski had an edge on power and technique, winning the first match 6-0, then adding more offense in a 10-3 win in bout two.

Making a second career Senior world team was Daton Fix of the Titan Mercury WC/CWC, who secured a two-match sweep over Nathan Tomasello of the Titan Mercury WC/OKRTC at 61 kg. Fix was aggressive in both of his wins, taking bout one by an 8-3 margin and bout two with a 7-0 shutout.

The only new Senior world Team member is Yianni Diakomihalis of the Titan Mercury WC/Spartan Combat WC, who needed three matches to defeat tough Joey McKenna of the Titan Mercury WC/PRTC) at 65 kg. It was McKenna who had late heroics with a counter exposure for an 8-7 win in bout one. Diakomihalis rallied for a 5-2 victory in match two. In the deciding third bout, Diakomihalis opened up his scoring attack for a 12-2 technical fall and the team berth.

Four 2020 Olympic medalists chose to compete at the world championships in October in Norway and their weight classes are not being contested this weekend. Olympic champion David Taylor (86 kg), Olympic silver medalist Kyle Snyder (97 kg), Olympic bronze medalist Thomas Gilman (57 kg) and Olympic bronze medalist Kyle Dake (74 kg) all earned automatic berths on the U.S. team for medaling at the Olympics in August.

2021 U.S. World Team Trials
At Lincoln, Nebraska
Men’s freestyle championship series

61 kg
Daton Fix (Titan Mercury WC/CWC) vs. Nathan Tomasello (Titan Mercury WC/OKRTC), 2-0
Bout One –Fix dec. Tomasello, 8-3
Bout Two – Fix dec. Tomasello, 7-0
3rd – Carter Young (Cowboy WC) dec. Seth Gross (Sunkist Kids), 15-12

65 kg
Yianni Diakomihalis (Titan Mercury WC/Spartan Combat RTC) dec. Joey McKenna (Titan Mercury WC/PRTC) , 2-1
Bout One –McKenna dec. Diakomihalis, 8-7
Bout Two – Diakomihalis dec. McKenna, 5-2
Bout Three – Diakomihalis tech. fall McKenna, 12-2
3rd –Evan Henderson (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) tech. fall Luke Pletcher (Titan Mercury WC/Pitt RTC)

70 kg
James Green (Titan Mercury WC/SERTC) dec. Ryan Deakin (Titan Mercury WC/Wildcat WC), 2-0
Bout One – Green dec. Deakin, 6-6
Bout Two – Green dec. Deakin 4-2
3rd – Zain Retherford (Titan Mercury WC/NLWC) tech. fall Tyler Berger (Titan Mercury WC/California RTC), 11-0, 2:49

79 kg
Jordan Burroughs (Sunkist Kids) dec. Alex Dieringer (Titan Mercury WC/CKWC), 2-0
Bout One –Burroughs dec. Dieringer, 10-5
Bout Two – Burroughs dec. Dieringer, 4-3
3rd – Carter Starocci (Titan Mercury WC/NLWC) dec. Jason Nolf (Titan Mercury WC/NLWC), 4-3

92 kg
J’den Cox (Titan Mercury WC/NJRTC) dec. Kollin Moore (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC), 2-0
Bout One – Cox dec. Moore, 5-0
Bout Two – Cox dec. Moore, 4-0
3rd – Trent Hidlay (Titan Mercury WC) dec. Drew Foster (Panther WC RTC), 8-1

125 kg
Nick Gwiazdowski (TMWC/Spartan Combat RTC) dec. Mason Parris (Cliff Keen WC), 2-0
Bout One – Gwiazdowski dec. Parris, 6-0
Bout Two – Gwiazdowski dec. Parris, 10-3
3rd – Hayden Zillmer (Gopher WC RTC) dec. Dominique Bradley (Sunkist Kids), 4-2

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