Penn State wrestling at the Olympics: How did Aaron Brooks, Roman Bravo-Young, do in session 1?
UPDATE: Will Penn State star Aaron Brooks wrestle for Olympic gold? His semifinal result is in
Original story:
Former Penn State wrestlers Aaron Brooks and Roman Bravo-Young are through their first session at the 2024 Olympic games. The Nittany Lions started competition in the men’s freestyle 86- and 57-kilogram brackets, respectively, on Thursday afternoon in Paris. It was, of course, bright and early back in the U.S., as both completed their first round matchups before 6:30 a.m. ET. One former PSU star is still alive for gold, while the other will need help to gain the right to compete for bronze.
Brooks is into the semifinals, meaning he is one win away from the gold medal match. Tied 1-1 at the break of an 86-kilogram quarterfinal bout with Hayato Ishiguro, he went on to catch the Japanese wrestler with multiple clean and converted shots in the second half to build a 7-1 lead with a minute to go before ultimately winning by technical superiority, 11-1. It avenges a 2018 World Juniors loss Brooks took against Ishiguro.
In his opener, Brooks beat No. 1 seed Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan in his first round match, 4-3. The bout was not as close as the final score indicated. After giving up a step-out point to trail 1-0 early, the Penn State alum went on to convert a pair of single-leg shots into takedowns for a 4-1 lead. He was penalized two points for fleeing late in the match but was never in danger of losing as Dauletbekov rarely shot and struggled to get his offense going.
Brooks will wrestle in the semifinals at 12:15 p.m. ET today. His opponent is Magomed Ramazanov of Bulgaria. Peacock will carry the action live.
Bravo-Young drops into repechage
Team Mexico’s Bravo-Young’s tournament started with a thud. He lost his opener to Arsen Harutyunyan of Armenia 13-3. Now, he can only win bronze at best. And he will only get to compete for a chance to do so if Harutyunyan makes the gold medal match. That would pull Bravo-Young back into the tournament via what is known as repechage. In other words, it’s the consolation bracket, but unlike in college wrestling, ‘RBY’ doesn’t automatically get to compete again. Instead, as noted, the Armenian must make the finals for him to do so.
Who else is competing for Penn State, NLWC, and the U.S?
This post will be updated with other relevant results, both for the Penn State wrestlers and Team USA, as they happen. Iowa product and Team USA 57-kilogram representative Spencer Lee won his opening round match 3-2 and sailed through to the semis with a quick quarterfinal win. On the women’s side, Helen Maroulis of Team USA won her two bouts at 57 kilograms to make the semis, as well.
Bravo-Young and Brooks are the first of five NLWC members who compete this week. Penn State alum Zain Retherford starts his tournament on Aug. 10 alongside Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member Kyle Snyder. They compete at 65 kilograms and 97 kilograms, respectively. On Friday, NLWC member Kyle Dake starts the 74-kilogram tournament. You can learn more about their medal outlooks via the Penn State wrestling show from Blue-White Illustrated. You can watch this week’s Penn State wrestling show in the video player above and also on YouTube. Or, you can listen at your favorite destinations for audio like SPOTIFY and APPLE.
