COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Wrestler Jordan Burroughs (Sicklerville, N.J.) was selected as the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Athlete of the Month for September.

Burroughs won gold at 74 kg/163 lbs. in men’s freestyle wrestling at the 2011 World Wrestling Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sept. 18. Burroughs, competing in his first senior world championships, became the first U.S. world champion in men’s freestyle since Bill Zadick in 2006. Burroughs is the first U.S. wrestler since Stephen Neal in 1999 to win NCAA and world titles in the same year.

Burroughs won five matches on the way to the title. He claimed the gold medal by beating 2010 World silver medalist Sadegh Goudarzi of Iran 3-2, 4-1 in the championship finals. He outlasted Ashraf Aliyev of Azerbaijan 0-1, 5-4, 3-0 in a wild semifinal match. Burroughs defeated Ricardo Moreno of Venezuela, 2-1, 1-0 in the quarterfinals.

Burroughs pulled out a dramatic win over two-time World champion Denis Tsargush of Russia 1-3, 1-0, 2-1 in the second round. Burroughs scored two third-period takedowns to pull out the clutch victory over Tsargush. He defeated Dmytro Rochniak of Ukraine, 3-1, 4-2 in the opening round.

Burroughs, a native of Sicklerville, N.J., won his second NCAA title Nebraska in March. He won the Hodge Trophy as the college wrestler of the year and then jumped immediately into freestyle. He won back-to-back titles at the U.S. Open and the U.S. World Team Trials to earn a trip to Turkey.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, triathlete Lucas Verzbicas (Orland Hills, Ill.) was second and track & field athlete Galen Rupp (Portland, Ore.) took third. 

Track & field athlete Lashinda Demus (Palmdale, Calif.) was Female Athlete of the Month while the U.S. women’s track & field 4x100m relay team was awarded Team of the Month honors. 

Demus won her first individual world championship gold and set an American record in the process at the IAAF World Championships on Sept. 1 in Daegu, South Korea. Demus won the 400m hurdles in a time of 52.47, bettering Kim Batten’s previous mark of 52.61 set in 1995. Demus had control of the race from the start and beat defending Olympic and world champion Melaine Walker of Jamaica by nearly three tenths of a second.

At the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, on Sept. 4, Team USA won gold in the women’s 4x100m relay in a world-leading time of 41.56 to beat defending champion Jamaica. Bianca Knight (Austin, Texas), Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, Calif.), Marshevet Myers (Grand Prairie, Texas) and Carmelita Jeter (Gardena, Calif.) combined efforts to bring home the gold.

In the female category, bowler Shannon Pluhowsky (Kettering, Ohio) finished second in the voting, while cyclist Arielle Martin (Pleasant Grove, Utah) came in third. Finally, in the team selection, the U.S. women’s eight rowing team placed second, followed by the U.S. world women’s bowling championship team.

Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. A voting panel selects the winners from the pool of nominees, with online fan voting via Twitter accounts for 10 percent of the total vote.

MALE
1. Jordan Burroughs, Wrestling
2. Lucas Verzbicas, Triathlon
3. Galen Rupp, Track & Field 

FEMALE
1. Lashinda Demus, Track & Field
2. Shannon Pluhowsky, Bowling
3. Arielle Martin, Cycling

TEAM
1. U.S. Women’s Track & Field 4x100m Relay Team
2. U.S. Women’s Eight Rowing Team
3. U.S. World Women’s Bowling Championship Team