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Olympian Roman Bravo-Young returns to the Penn State wrestling room

Posted on by angelo
Olympian Roman Bravo-Young returns to the Penn State wrestling room

The countdown to Paris is on. Penn State Wrestling sends three alumni Nittany Lions in France to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, with two other NLWC representatives making return trips to the Games. With the NLWC having a qualified wrestler in five of the six free weight classes, many Olympic competitions are already taking place in Happy Valley. We got a glimpse of that this week, when two-time national champion and first-time Olympian Roman Bravo-Young returned to the Penn State wrestling room to train alongside new Nittany Lions assistant coach Nick Lee.

Roman Bravo-Young returns to Penn State wrestling room, trains with new Nittany Lions assistant

Former Penn State wrestling star Roman Bravo-Young was back in Happy Valley Wednesday as he trains for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. An article on Twitter/X by Spadle City showed Bravo-Young training in the Penn State wrestling room with newly hired assistant coach Nick Lee.

Roman Bravo-Young qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics during the Pan American Olympic Qualifiers in March. Although he is from Arizona, the former Nittany Lion star will represent Team Mexico due to his ties to the nation through his grandparents.

On Monday, Nick Lee was officially hired by Cael Sanderson to replace former Penn State assistant wrestling coach Jimmy Kennedy, who followed David Taylor to Oklahoma State. Despite falling to Zain Retherford at the Olympic Selection Championship, the five-time All-American earned a spot on the U.S. national team. There is currently no indication that Lee is retiring from international competition.

RBY is designed for freestyle wrestling

Roman Bravo-Young was a high-profile recruit coming out of high school, finishing with a 182-0 record and four Arizona state titles. At Penn State, Bravo-Young was a four-time All-American and won two national championships in 2021 and 2022 at 133 pounds. He finished with a 100-10 record and a 50% bonus percentage.

Bravo-Young has always had the style of freestyle wrestling. He went viral on social media during his time at Penn State by removing the flying squirrel. Although his style is fast and fluid, this allows him to succeed at the international level.

Representing Mexico may have come as a shock to many, given that Bravo-Young is a U.S. citizen, but it makes sense from a competition standpoint. Look at how many world-class wrestlers have failed to reach the limited six spots the United States can send for freestyle wrestling. Making the Olympic field limited can sometimes be the hardest part. Once you get in, as we know in sports in general, anything can happen.

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