2013 U.S. WORLD TEAM TRIALS
Burroughs tops Dake, 18 wrestlers win titles
Greco-Roman star Justin Lester makes his sixth U.S. World Team; World champs Elena Pirozhkova, Adeline Gray earn trips to Budapest
By Craig Sesker STILLWATER, Okla. – Eighteen wrestlers won championships
in men’s and womens freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling at the U.S. World Team Trials. Champions in each weight class advance to September’s
World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The two-day event was contested at historic Gallagher-Iba
Arena at Oklahoma State University. The final three women’s spots will be determined in a special wrestle-off in August. Here is a recap of the event: Friday, June 21
Jordan Burroughs made it look easy in rolling to a first-match, first-period technical fall over Kyle Dake. But the four-time NCAA champion from Cornell made Burroughs earn his World Team spot during an epic battle in the second match of the best-of-3 finals. Burroughs delivered by driving Dake to his back in a scram-
ble to pull out a dramatic 9-6 overtime win over Dake in a wild U.S. World Team Trials match. Burroughs, the 2011 World and 2012 Olympic champion at 74
kg/163 lbs., swept the series to advance to the Worlds. “It’s been an amazing run,” Burroughs said. “Kyle Dake’s an awesome opponent, but I didn’t get rattled at all out there. I stayed calm and collected, and just kept wrestling hard.” Burroughs rolled to a 7-0 win in the first match. He trailed 6-4
in the second match, but kept his composure before scoring a late takedown to send the match into overtime. Burroughs is now 56-0 on the Senior level. Dake battled Burroughs after winning a loaded Challenge
Tournament by beating NCAA champions Trent Paulson, David Taylor and Andrew Howe in succession to reach the finals. Burroughs clinched a spot in the best-of-3 Trials finals after win- ning April’s U.S. Open. Two-time World bronze medalist and 2012 Olympian Justin
Lester took two straight matches from Olympian Ellis Coleman in the Greco-Roman finals at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. Lester made his sixth World Team. "I got healthy - I was really sick at the U.S. Open and wres-
tled up a weight class," Lester said. "I maintained my weight a lot better for the Trials. I'm feeling good and having fun again." 2012 World champion Adeline Gray swept U.S. Open champi-
8 USA Wrestler
Justin Lester defeated Ellis Coleman in a battle of Olympians at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. Tony Rotundo photo.
on Brittney Roberts to win the women’s freestyle finals at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. World silver medalist Helen Maroulis swept past World Team member Whitney Conder in women’s freestyle at 55 kg/121 lbs. "I'm super happy and very thankful," Maroulis said. "I had a
rough few weeks since Nationals with a lot of injuries. It was a battle, but I got through it.” J.D. Bergman threw Chris Pendleton to his back to record an 18-second pin to clinch his series sweep over Pendleton in the Continued on page 9
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