16U men's freestyle update through 4 rounds

Burroughs bounces back creatively to reach the final day

By AJ Traub

Preston Burroughs flipped himself over Kevin Kilpatrick to score big points in his first match of the day

On the heels of a tough loss, Preston Burroughs seized his very next opportunity.

The 165-pounder saw an opening and pounced, pinning Arizona’s Ryland Moss in 49 seconds. It was a bright spot to end the day where the rest of the 16U men on Team Massachusetts bowed out.

It’s also the first time Burroughs will wrestle on the third day of the tournament at Fargo.

“It was really important for him to get refocused,” said Nate Burroughs, Preston’s father and a Team Mass coach. “There are some things he needs to work on… defending his legs, but mentally he got it together and that was really what was important.”

Through two days, 10 Bay State grapplers combined for 16 wins. Everett Bluman (94 pounds), Johnny Woodall (106), Charles Holt (144), and Bryant Mason (175) joined Burroughs in recording multiple triumphs.

Everett Bluman picked up two wins on the back side

“Overall, I thought the 16 group did pretty well,” said coach Matt Dehney. “We had a lot of inexperienced kids, so hopefully it was eye-opening for them and see where they need to be.”

After Burroughs had a bye in the first round, he has recorded three wins on the mat. His funky style was on display in his first match where he earned a 13-5 win over Georgia’s Kevin Kilpatrick, and then the pin of Moss where he escaped a tricky position.

“I always have faith that Preston can pull something out of the bag because he’s a very unorthodox wrestler and he’s pretty fearless, Nate Burroughs said, “So it was great to see him pull off one of his signature bunny-out-of-the-hat [moves].”

Johnny Woodall made the round of 32 with a tech fall and a decision