UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions put together a furious comeback to down No. 19 Wisconsin 24-13 on Sunday afternoon. For the first time all season, Penn State (6-0, 2-0 B1G) trailed at the halfway point but were able to turn the tide in the second half to win their 51st straight dual meet.
"I don't think we wrestled great," head coach Cael Sanderson said. "I don't think that's a secret. We didn't wrestle with a lot of fire, but usually, that comes from feeling great which is my job to make sure these guys feel good on match day but also I think Wisconsin did a great job."
Down 4-0 after Devin Schnupp lost 18-9 to Wisconsin's Connor Brown, freshman Roman Bravo-Young took to the mat facing senior Jens Lantz. Bravo-Young came out firing with a quick takedown at the edge of the mat. After a lengthy ride and Lantz escape, Bravo-Young continued to push the pace against Lantz.
The freshman forced a stall warning and late in the first took Lantz down again to take a 4-1 lead into the second. Lantz began the second down and escaped, but Bravo-Young continued the pressure tacking on two more takedowns and a stall point in the second and another takedown in the third.
Bravo-Young improves to 14-1 after the 12-4 major decision that included 2:19 of riding time and is getting back on track after a tough loss at the Southern Scuffle to start the new year.
"It feels good," Bravo-Young said. I learned from the loss and keep moving forward and don't dwell on that stuff. I just keep getting better and learning as I go on."
Bravo-Young's win knotted the dual up at 4-4, and while Penn State still went on to trail at the midway break 10-9, the win kept the Nittany Lions on par with the Badgers. It wasn't until 174 pounds when Mark Hall beat Pat Spray via technical fall 24-5 at 6:13 that Penn State took the lead.
After Penn State handled the competition with ease to begin the season, Sunday's battle could prove helpful for the Nittany Lions down the stretch.
"It's just a reality check," Sanderson said. "Nothing's a given you've got to earn it today. It doesn't matter what happened yesterday or last year and it is what it is."
The Nittany Lions are back in action at 1 p.m. next Sunday, Jan. 20 when they host No. 7 Nebraska.
