A family reunion of sorts will conclude with a busy Sunday at PBA for ex-Huskers Green, Burroughs | Wrestling

James Green came back to Lincoln to wrestle at the Team USA Senior World Wrestling Trials, but he ended up at a family reunion.

Green, an ex-Husker along with Jordan Burroughs, advanced to Sunday’s championship matches after semifinal victories at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Green advanced in the 70-kilogram weight class with Burroughs advancing at 79 kg.

Friday afternoon, Green was finishing his workout. Then a familiar face popped in.

“It was crazy,” Green said. “Right after me JB (Burroughs) came in and after that (Tyler) Berger came in. We all just kind of departed this past year, and for us to be back in the (Devaney Center wrestling) room, amongst our old coaches and some old Huskers or current Huskers was great.

“I try not to get excited. I was not excited to wrestle, I was just excited to be here. And it’s a (Husker football) gameday, oh, my gosh. I just had to go by the Haymarket and the Railyard, because it’s been a while. With COVID, I haven’t seen a ‘Sea of Red’ in a while, and I had to show my camera guy Rich from New Jersey what it’s like to be a Husker.”

Green now lives in Blacksburg, Virginia, while Burroughs recently moved to the Philadelphia area.

“My first match … I ended up getting a pin, and I don’t know how to pin people,” Green said. “I hear (Nebraska coach Mark) Manning ‘chest-to-chest. Get to your knees.’ He was fired up and when it was announced that (Senior World Trials) was going to be in Lincoln. He called me, Chandell, my wife, if she wanted to come; she’s pregnant, (Manning) said that she could stay here. They are just genuine guys and you can’t replace that.”