Roman Bravo-Young wanted his final match on Penn State’s campus to be a memorable one.

Add it to a list of them — fistfuls of matches that would fill multiple highlight reels that RBY himself sometimes has trouble recalling in specific detail.

Not this last one.

About an hour after he affixed Clarion’s Mason Prinkey to the mat inside the Nittany Lions’ Rec Hall, Bravo-Young took a moment to think about his rise at Penn State.

Happy Valley offered a stable, new home thousands of miles away from his chaotic upbringing in South Tuscon, Ariz. Rec Hall provided a loving sanctuary.

“I’ll always remember it,” Bravo-Young said. “I think it’s more than I imagined. I’m lucky, blessed. Grown a lot here. I loved every bit of it and am definitely grateful. Enjoyed it all.” 

His coaches, teammates and fans have enjoyed having him back for an extra year. His opponents trying to ascend at 133 pounds? Not so much.

Bravo-Young will lead the unbeaten Nittany Lions into the postseason where he’ll likely be the favorite to three-peat as Big Ten and NCAA champion.

After pledging to wrestle a partial schedule in this final season, Bravo-Young has looked spry and powerful in every match and has been the point man on Penn State’s bonus-point safari the last few weeks.

Bravo-Young sat out matches against Indiana and Rutgers, but went 6-0 in Big Ten bouts with three falls, a tech and a major decision.

“The job’s really not done, and I’m excited for nationals,” Bravo-Young said.

Picking Up The Pace 

Earlier this season, Penn State coach Cael Sanderson pondered whether or not his team would be able to put up the bonus points necessary to pace the field at a tournament like the NCAAs.

He wasn’t happy with his team’s pace and missed opportunities to score were popping up throughout the lineup. Winning masked some of those deficiencies.

It’s also seemed to fuel improvement.

The Nittany Lions have gone to work in the room looking for ways to apply pressure early and often and keep going late. They’ve found a bit of extra purpose on the mat too, where a number of Nittany Lions have upped their fall totals in the last three weeks.

In five duals from Jan. 6 to Feb. 3, the Nittany Lions had 19 bonus-point wins with nine combined coming via fall or tech. In four duals since, Penn State has racked up 25 bonus-point wins with 15 coming via fall or tech.

Those numbers would likely be even better had Bravo-Young not missed two of those duals while defending 184-pound champ Aaron Brooks missed three.

Sanderson isn’t questioning his team’s bonus-point ability anymore.

“We’re going to wrestle the best we wrestle all year, we’re going to do that in March,” Sanderson said. “We always do and I think these guys know that and so their confidence is going to be a little higher. They’re going to be pushing for those extra takedowns and bonus points. It’s just going to happen.” 

Prime Example 

Penn State has gotten a ton of grinding from freshmen Shayne Van Ness and Alex Facundo all season. 

In the most recent four-match span, the 149- and 165-pounders have combined to outscore their opponents 150-55. 

Van Ness opened up last week about battling through some frustration when he wasn’t able to finish certain shots earlier this season.

A few weeks drilling hard in the wrestling room have paid off. 

“My mindset is the same throughout the match. Just score the next point. You get taken down, score the next point. You get a takedown, score the next point,” Van Ness said. “Just keep looking to score.” 

It’s exactly what he did in arguably his most impressive match down the stretch. Van Ness drew Rutgers’ Tony White last weekend and the two meandered to a 4-4 tie midway through the first period before Van Ness turned on the jets.

After giving up a tying takedown, Van Ness reversed White to take the lead for good. Van Ness wasn’t done, though. He added two more takedowns in the second before polishing White off with a six-point takedown and turn, looking for the fall as the final seconds ticked away.

“I think it will just give us more confidence to pin more people,” freshman Levi Haines said.

No Worries 

With two weeks before the Big Ten tournament, Penn State opted to rest Brooks down the stretch.

His lone match in the last four opportunities came against Rutgers’ Brian Soldano. Brooks teched the Top 15 opponent 18-3.

Sanderson said after the Clarion match on Sunday that Brooks “is fine.”