newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JERRY MILANI

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

He is a two-time NCAA Champion and winner of the Hodge Trophy, wrestling’s equivalent of the Heisman. And on Thursday, Camden’s Jordan Burroughs took center stage on what was arguably one of collegiate wrestling’s biggest stages ever, the bright lights of New York Times Square, and again proved that the Olympic hopeful is ready for prime time.

Burroughs, who just wrapped up his junior year at the University of Nebraska, won his first match ever facing a Russian opponent, stopping Aniuar Geduev of Russia, 1-0, 2-1 to help team USA defeat Russia 5-2 in a freestyle wrestling meet dubbed “The Battle on Broadway.”

The event was carried out in front of thousands watching in Duffy Square, just off 46th street and amidst the hustle and bustle of a cool and electrifying May evening. The win was another step for Burroughs, who won the NCAA title slightly closer to home in Philly last month, and the US Open title in Cleveland a few weeks ago, to representing the U.S. in London next summer.

“This was a great honor for me, to be able to be part of this team against a very strong Russian opponent and to do it with my family here, in Times Square, made it even more special,” he said. Burroughs has his own cheering session of friends and family amongst the crowd of casual passers-by chanting USA and die-hard wrestling fans, who came to see the match as part of a benefit evening for “Beat The Streets,” the grassroots organization which raises close to a million dollars to fund inner city wrestling programs in New York’s five boroughs and in other communities like Camden.

Burroughs is a product of Beat the Streets, starting out in a program as a six-year-old and using those skills to propel him through Winslow Township High School, where he starred for coach Rich Koss, and then on to Nebraska, where he went undefeated this year before defeating Oklahoma’s Tyler Caldwell in the NCAA Finals at the Wells Fargo Center.

Burroughs' success as an African American, in a sport that has not traditionally drawn support from the inner cities, is a sign that times have been changing, largely with help from programs like “Beat The Streets. “Wrestling has taught me a great many things about life,” he said. “To be able to have nights like this and to win an NCAA title is a dream come true no matter what your sport, and I hope that many others will see how and what wrestling can do and join us.”

The team that took to the mat in Times Square had a lineup that could signal the continued successful mix for wrestling in the United States. In addition to Burroughs, Shawn Bunch an African American and Henry Cejudo, a Mexican American also competed. Cejudo, the defending Gold Medalist and the only Hispanic American to take a gold medal in Beijing, returned to competition with a 2-0, 4-3 win over Rasul Meshezov, while Bunch lost to Rasul Murtazaliev 3-0, 3-0.

Regardless of skin color, the night was all about red, white and blue pride on a Cinco de Mayo when president Obama visited Ground Zero and a rising star athlete from New Jersey stepped up and delivered with his team on the grandest stage of all. At least that is, until the Olympics next summer in London.