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

The countdown to Paris is on. Penn State wrestling is sending three former Nittany Lions to France to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, with two more representatives from the NLWC making return trips to the Games. With the NLWC having a qualified wrestler in five of the six freestyle weight classes, there’s already plenty of Olympic competition taking place in Happy Valley. We caught 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 on Wednesday as he trains for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. A post on Twitter/X by Spladle City showed Bravo-Young training inside the Penn State wrestling room with newly hired assistant coach Nick Lee.

Thanks, Spladle City
For Sharing the Pictures from the Best Room in the Country
They look Really Nice, Especially the One of
Olympian, Roman Bravo-Young & Coach Nick Lee@pennstateWREST @NittanyLionWC @RomanBravoYoung @NickLee141 @AlexFacundo20 https://t.co/0WhA2txivv

— Penn State/NLWC Fan (@NlwcFan) May 21, 2024

Roman Bravo-Young qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier in March. Despite being an Arizona native, the former Nittany Lion star will represent Team Mexico because of his ties to the nation through his grandparents.

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

RBY is built for freestyle wrestling

Roman Bravo-Young was a top-level recruit coming out of high school, finishing with a 182-0 record and four Arizona state titles. At Penn State, Bravo-Young finished as 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 always had the style for freestyle wrestling. He went viral on social media during his time at Penn State by pulling off the flying squirrel. While his style is fast and free-flowing, that sets him up to have success at the international level.

Representing Mexico may have come as a shock to many, considering Bravo-Young is an American citizen, but it does make sense from a competition standpoint. Look at how many world-class wrestlers didn’t make the limited six spots that the U.S. can send for freestyle wrestling. Making the limited Olympic field can sometimes be the most difficult part. Once you get in, as we know with the sport in general, anything can happen.

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