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Roman Bravo-Young trains with his session partner Hector Salazar (yellow). (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)
Asics FloRankings “Who’s No. 1” Challenge
Oct. 17: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Flowrestling.org will be holding its annual “Who’s No. 1” challenge on October 17 and Sunnyside standout Roman Bravo-Young will be competing for the top spot in the 113-pound division.
No. 2 Bravo-Young will be matched up against No. 1 Gavin Teasdale. Teasdale is the Pennsylvania state champion and is also a three-time Cadet World Team Member.
Bravo-Young is the Arizona state champion and he is a four-time Fargo champion.
The match will be held in the Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on the Lehigh University campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The arena is otherwise known as “The Snake Pit.”
We caught up with Bravo-Young during one of his training sessions Tuesday at Sunnyside with his high school coach Anthony Leon.
“The logistics of training for one event rather than preparing a whole team for a championship is obviously easier but it can also be intense,” Leon explained. “Roman is an intelligent wrestler so he makes a lot of in-match adjustments on his own.”
Roman-Bravo and his training team have studied video of Teasdale but the key, according to Leon, is to let Bravo-Young do what he does best rather than totally key on the opponent. It’s a formula that has made Bravo-Young a national champion.
He has several training partners and each has a different style and they are all well-versed on what Bravo-Young needs to succeed.
He also has 6 a.m. workouts, regulated meals, conditioning and running besides time training on the mat.
“It’s going to be an epic one!” Bravo-Young said. “I’ve always wanted this shot.
“I feel ready, just gotta make the weight and leave it all out there. So many emotions and anxiousness feelings leading up to this one match”
The are no overtime rules for the match so Bravo-Young is preparing for the full-distance.
“It can break a dream or make a dream come true! I’m pumped,” he added. “We have been working every key situation and doing all the extra stuff.”
Bravo-Young won both Greco-Roman and Freestyle last year to go along with his Greco-Roman and Freestyle titles from this year he also won the National Freshman Championship in the 106-pound division at the NHSCA High School National Wrestling Championships held in March.
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here, on AZPreps365.com and on the pages of the Vail Voice and the Tanque Verde Voice. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com
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