Burroughs, Green Set for World Championships

Las Vegas, Nev. – Former Husker wrestlers Jordan Burroughs (74 kg/163 lbs.) and James Green (70 kg/154 lbs.) will represent the United States men’s freestyle team in the 2015 World Championships on Saturday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

Four men’s freestyle weight classes (57 kg, 70 kg, 74 kg, 125 kg) are set to wrestle on Saturday, starting with the preliminaries at noon (CT). The remainder of the first session, consisting of the Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and consolation matches, will continue until 6:30 p.m. The second session, which includes the bronze and gold medal matches, will commence at 8:30 p.m.

Burroughs enters the World Championships with a perfect 16-0 record this season and as the top-ranked wrestler at 74 kg in the United World Wrestling Rankings. The 2012 Olympic champion won the 2011 and 2013 World Championships before finishing third in 2014. He is 108-2 in his international career, which includes titles in the 2015 Pan American Games, World Cup and Alexander Medved International.

Burroughs capped his impressive career at Nebraska in 2011 by winning his second national title with a perfect 36-0 record at 165 pounds. He also claimed the Dan Hodge Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s best collegiate wrestler. The Sicklerville, N.J., native captured his first national title in 2009, when he went 35-0 at 157 pounds. Burroughs won 128 matches at Nebraska from 2006 to 2011, which ranks sixth in school history.

Green is ranked 16th by United World Wrestling after winning the 2015 Grand Prix of Spain and finishing third in the U.S. Open. He won a Special Wrestle-Off against 2014 World Team member Nick Marable, 4-0 and 2-1, on July 25 in Fargo, N.D., to earn the final spot on the U.S. team.

Green finished his career at Nebraska in 2015 by becoming the second four-time All-American in school history. The Willingboro, N.J., native finished third at the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Championships after taking seventh in 2012 and 2013. Green won 129 matches at Nebraska from 2011 to 2015, which ranks fifth in school history.

Nebraska Head Coach Mark Manning will serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. freestyle team. Manning, who enters his 16th season with the Huskers in 2015-16, has helped train Burroughs and Green leading up to the World Championships. In 2011, Manning was named Freestyle Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling.

Live high-definition video streaming for the World Championships is available on United World Wrestling’s event page and ESPN3. In addition to showing all four mats, the event page will include archived videos, up-to-the-minute results, team scores and interviews.

ESPN2 will show tape-delayed coverage of freestyle on Sunday, Sept. 13 from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. (CT). 2000 Olympic champion and former Husker Rulon Gardner will provide color commentary alongside play-by-play announcer Jason Knapp.

The World Championships, which started on Monday, are the first and most important qualifying event for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

2015 World Championships
Sept. 7-12, 2015
Orleans Arena
Las Vegas, Nev.

Saturday, Sept. 12: Men’s Freestyle (57 kg, 70 kg, 74 kg, 125 kg)

• Session 1 (Noon - 6:30 p.m. CT): Preliminaries, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolation Matches
• Session 2 (8:30 - 11:30 p.m. CT): Bronze and Gold Medal Matches