Gold medalist Jordan Burroughs returns to Winslow Twp.

By Phil Anastasia

Inquirer Staff Writer

Jordan Burroughs looked high on the wall of the Winslow Township High School gymnasium.

"I thought," Burroughs said with a smile, "I had more wins than that."

The green-and-white banner hanging in the place where Burroughs first burst on the scene in his chosen sport noted that the future Olympic gold medalist won 115 bouts as an Eagles' wrestler. He also lost 20 times.

"I wrestled on that 'W,'" Burroughs told a crowd of several hundred people during an informal meet-and-greet on Wednesday night. "This was my gym. That was my wrestling room."

Burroughs won a state title in his senior season of 2006 at Winslow Township.

But he's become an international star in the sport since developing into a two-time national champion at the University of Nebraska.

Burroughs, 27,  has won three gold medals at the World Championships as well as the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.

He will seek his second Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer after qualifying for the USA team in the 163-pound weight class at the trials on Sunday in Iowa City, Ia.

"That's all I'm focused on," Burroughs told the crowd. "That's all I'm thinking about: Winning another gold medal."

Burroughs spoke casually to the crowd for around 20 minutes, declining to use a microphone.

"I'll yell loud," he said, walking away from a podium. "I don't like to be stationary."

Burroughs was accompanied by his one-year-old son, Beacon, as well as his wife Lauren, who is expecting the couple's second child in June.

Many young wrestling fans brought shoes and headgear for Burroughs to sign.

Burroughs told the crowd about his career, including his remarkable 124-2 record at the senior level of national/international competition since graduating from Nebraska with a degree in Sociology in 2011.

He said he started wrestling as five-year-old.

"I remember my first weight class was 45 pounds," Burroughs said. "I was a little guy, the runt of the family. It was a sport I didn't need to be big to be good at."

During a question-and-answer session, one young spectator wondered about the "secret" of Burroughs' success.

"The secret is, there is no secret," Burroughs said. "It's hard work. It's effort. It's discipline. It's consistency."

In an interview before signing autographs and posing for pictures, Burroughs said it was "awesome" to be back at his old high school.

"Sometimes when I wrestled here, all we had was parents in the stands," Burroughs said. "Now look at all these people."

Burroughs said a second gold medal would "cement my legacy" as one of the country's greatest wrestlers.

Earlier, another young fan asked Burroughs about his plans after wrestling.

He noted that he hopes to compete through the 2020 Olympics, then said, "Who knows? Maybe I'll come back here and coach Winslow wrestling."

-- Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com

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