Burroughs Selected to Wrestle in Times Square Against Russians

New York City, N.Y.-Former two-time national champion Jordan Burroughs was one of seven United States wrestlers selected to participate in the 2011 Beat the Streets Gala in New York City, N.Y., on Thursday, May 5. Burroughs will join forces with his American teammates as they take on Russia in Duffy Square, which is set in historic Time Square at 46th street. The dual between the two international powerhouses will begin at 5 p.m. CT.

The freestyle dual between the United States and Russia is part of the Beat the Streets Gala, which helps raise funds for Beat the Streets Wrestling, Inc., a program in place to provide wrestling opportunities for middle school and high school students in New York City.
Burroughs will take on Aniuar Geduev at the 74 kg/163 pound weight class. Geduev is one of several rising stars wrestling for the Russians, which has a roster that includes a European champion and four Junior World champions. The United States team consists of three past Hodge Trophy winners, including Burroughs and an Olympic champion in Henry Cejudo (55 kg/ 121 pounds) .Past NCAA champions Jake Herbert (Northwestern), Tervel Dlagnev (Nebraska-Kearney), Brent Metcalf (Iowa) and Jake Varner (Iowa State) will also compete for the U.S.

Burroughs is coming off his first U.S. Open title which he won earlier this month, and is now preparing for the World Team Trials on June 9 in Oklahoma City, Okla. With his title at the U.S. Open, Burroughs automatically earned a spot in the finals of the World Team Trials.

Last year was the first time Olympic-style competition was featured in the Beat the Streets Gala, as top U.S. wrestlers competed on the USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier docked on the west side of Manhattan. The event is free to the public and will also be streamed on TheMat.com. The dual will also be shown on the largest LED screen in Times Square. A complete schedule of matches is below.

USA vs. Russia Freestyle Dual Meet matches
55 kg/121 lbs. - Henry Cejudo (USA) vs. Nariman Israpilov (Russia)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Shawn Bunch (USA) vs. Rasul Murtazaliev (Russia)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Brent Metcalf (USA) vs. Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (Russia)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs (USA) vs. Aniuar Geduev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Jake Herbert (USA) vs. Andrey Valiev (Russia)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Jake Varner (USA) vs. Shamil Akhmedov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Tervel Dlagnev (USA) vs. Barsag Kesaev (Russia)