UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Recently, the NCAA canceled all winter and spring sports in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, and whether it was for a mid-major basketball team looking to make a run in March, or a Big Ten men's gymnastics team heading into the meat of its season, the ending was abrupt and hurt without warning.
The devastating news struck head coach Randy Jepson's group during a training session in preparation for a meet at William & Mary the following morning.
"I had gotten word with about a half hour left in the workout that the meet was canceled, and I didn't say anything," Jepson said. "But eventually I had to pull the guys over and tell them that it was worse than that, and that I also got word that the season was canceled."
For team captain Brayden Borromeo, it meant not just the end of the season, but the end of his decorated playing career.
"I broke down in tears to be quite honest. It was hard...it was difficult," Borromeo said. "But it was ultimately the right call. Sports are big, but something like this is way bigger."
"Our seniors were crushed," Jepson said. "It was a really tough way to end the season."
"We were on the path to competing as one of the best teams I've seen at Penn State," Borromeo said. "It hurt because I didn't get to see the team reach what we had been working so hard for."
Borromeo, like his older brother Joshua, came into his freshman season at Penn State as a walk-on with big aspirations to contribute to a team that could succeed at the highest level.
"The great thing about Brayden is that he comes from a tremendous family," Jepson said. "I wasn't surprised when the team chose him as their captain."
It was during Borromeo's time as an underclassman in which he first entertained the prospect of taking on the challenging task of leading a group of men. The character and leadership qualities of all the team captains that came before him resonated with Borromeo as well.
"My brother was a team captain during his senior year, so I thought about it early on," Borromeo said. "At first, the idea was very selfish, but then the guys that I learned under turned it into something for the team and just not my personal goal."
In particular, Borromeo's former teammate Benjamin Cooperman made a perpetual impact by setting a great example as the team's sole figurehead.
"We had a lot of rough patches but he [Cooperman] really helped change the culture of Penn State gymnastics," Borromeo said. "Seeing the way that he put the team before himself is one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed."
Over the course of his Penn State career, Borromeo's gradual embodiment of core values such as accountability and fortitude, along with his glaring positive demeanor, propelled his teammates to elect the two-time Academic All-Big Ten award winner as team captain for his senior year.
"I didn't want to be captain just to be captain, I wanted what to be what the team needed," Borromeo said. "But It wasn't just me. A lot of the leadership came from the other seniors as well."
"Brayden was a great choice and has been a great leader for us," Jepson said. "So much of what we do is not just gymnastics, but it's about character and manhood, and he's been an example of that all the way through."
Borromeo's growth as not just a gymnast, but a person, did not stop after he was elected. If anything, Borromeo's personal development and desire to leave his mark on the program only grew as his senior season went on.
"It challenged me to really listen to other ideas that my family had," Borromeo said. "It was about understanding what the team needs at this moment and not what I need."
The major goals that were set out by the team at the beginning of the season weren't particularly different from those of the past: Big Ten and NCAA Championships. It was the team's commitment to daily improvement, according to Borromeo, that separated it from past groups and is ultimately what made the cancellation of the season sting so much more.
"I think what this team showed this year was the ability to grow from meet to meet," Borromeo said. "We started piecing together meets and it really felt like we were about to turn the corner and give everyone a shock."
Regardless of what could have been, Borromeo has the utmost confidence in the coaching staff and underclassmen to build off a season in which there was unfinished business.
"After seeing the younger guys' reaction after the season was cut short, I can't wait to see what they do," Borromeo said. "This is something that can bring them together and I think the sky's the limit."
Borromeo will now turn his full attention to earning a master's degree in mechanical engineering and a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering.
However, the brotherhood will live on and the bonds that were made throughout Borromeo's last four years will not be broken.
"Reflecting over all of my time at Penn State, I've realized that the family that I've built here is my greatest accomplishment," Borromeo said. "Gymnastics is over for me, but the family that I have is forever. It's better than any championship I could've won."
