Sunnyside alum Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State has advanced to the championship match of the 133-pound NCAA tournament following a 5-3 decision over Virginia Tech’s Korbin Myers on Friday night at St. Louis.
Bravo-Young’s win sets up a much-anticipated matchup with top seed Daton Fix of Oklahoma State. Fix redshirted last season to train with the U.S. Olympic team.
“It feels good. It’s the national finals; it’s pretty cool, you know,” Bravo-Young told reporters. “It’s something you dream of, but you have to go out there and make it happen. I’m just gonna go out there and let it fly and it’s gonna be a fun match.”
Bravo-Young, the No. 2 seed with a 13-0 record, got a takedown of Myers (who was 11-0 entering the match) in the third period and was in control thereafter. He had a couple of quick takedowns and a strong ride for a point.
Fix, also 13-0, reached the final by beating Iowa’s Austin DeSanto by a 4-3 decision.
“I could wrestle for about seven, 14 or 21 more minutes. I’m in the best shape of my life right now,” Fix said.
Bravo-Young earlier in the day achieved his third consecutive All-American status by reaching the semifinals with a 4-1 decision over No. 10 Louie Hayes of Virginia in the quarterfinals. He made a first-period takedown stand against Hayes.
Bravo-Young is 57-9 in his Penn State career and has won 32 of his last 34 matches.
In his storied Sunnyside career, Bravo-Young won four consecutive state titles and was 182-0.
Ironwood Ridge grad Danny Vega Jr. of South Dakota State lost by an 8-6 decision in the 125-pound consolation bracket on Friday against Northwestern’s Michael DeAugustino. Vega concludes the season with a 15-8 record.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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