Sunnyside High School alum Roman Bravo-Young always looks ahead and is so accustomed to doing well at the Big Ten level with Penn State that when he was asked what it means to achieve his third straight conference title Sunday, his answer was, “Not much.”
“I just come out here and do it,” the three-time conference champion said in an interview with the Big Ten Network. “I’m excited for nationals. It’s just another accomplishment (the Big Ten title at 133 pounds). It goes away tomorrow.”
Bravo-Young, the No. 1 seed at his weight class, defeated No. 6 Aaron Nagao of Minnesota 5-2.
Three-time B1G champion (133 pounds) Roman Bravo-Young. pic.twitter.com/wlM96CxO2t
— Elton Hayes (@EHDC12) March 5, 2023
With a 16-0 record, another Big Ten title and a 52-match win streak, Bravo-Young — the two-time defending NCAA champ at 133 pounds — will be the top seed in the NCAA Championships at Tulsa from March 16-18.
Bravo-Young reached the Big Ten title match by defeating No. 8 Brody Teske of Iowa by major decision (12-2) in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Dylan Ragusin of Michigan by an 8-2 decision in the semifinals.
In the victory over Nagao, Bravo-Young showed his calculating style with patience before striking at the right time.
He launched in for a double-leg takedown as the first period ended for a 2-0 lead.
After taking neutral to start the second, he ducked in for another double-leg takedown to lead 4-0 and started a strong ride. Nagao could not get out before the period ended, but he did get a point for locked hands to make it 4-1.
Nagao took top to start the third. He was hit with another stall late in the period, giving Bravo-Young another point. Nagao got a point in the end for riding time.
“I just kept trying to get the takedown and got it a couple of times,” Bravo-Young said. “The biggest thing is I’m focused on scoring at the end of the period — found one and just kept wrestling.”
Bravo-Young, who achieved four state titles and was 189-0 as a Blue Devil from 2014-18, is 96-19 in his Penn State career.
He is wrestling for a fifth year because of COVID-19 restrictions in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
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