For the most part, Penn State wrestling star Mitchell Mesenbrink’s match semifinal bout against Jordan Burroughs at the US Olympic Trials Friday night was straightforward.
Burroughs, a six-time world champion and Olympic Gold Medalist was heavily favored to beat Mesenbrink, who has two seasons of college wrestling under his belt.
The wrestler who was supposed to win did, jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first period and cruising to an 8-3 win.
But what people will be talking about is what happened at the end of the bout.
When the whistle blew at the end, Mesenbrink, perhaps not hearing it, continued to wrestle. Burroughs took exception and pushed Mesenbrink’s head to the ground. Mesenbrink got up and appeared to apologize to Burroughs. If Burroughs accepted the apology, it wasn’t obvious from the video captured by a fan.
Considering Messenbrink was wrestling at his home school and Burroughs has had beef with two Penn State wrestling legends over the past month, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Penn State fans booed him immediately after the incident and then as he was walking out of the main gym.
Here’s a video of the altercation and subsequent fan reaction. Burroughs also had a few words for Mesenbrink while leaving.
Here’s what it looked like as the BJC rained Boos upon Jordan Burroughs, following an 8-3 win over the Nittany Lions’ freshman, Mesenbrink ⤵️
Burroughs stopped to chirp at Mesenbrink after walking around the mats 👀 pic.twitter.com/cN6PJlQr9h
— Zavier Gussett (@CallTheHuddle) April 19, 2024
