Roman Bravo-Young Announces He's Joining Cowboy RTC

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State Regional Training Center got a lot better on Saturday night as two-time NCAA champion from Penn State, Roman Bravo-Young, announced he’s leaving the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and moving to Stillwater.

Bravo-Young and Cowboy assistant coach, Thomas Gilman, are quite familiar with one another as they trained together for years with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. RBY and Daton Fix are also familiar as both faced each other in the NCAA finals in 2021 and 2022. They’ll now be training together.

Cowboy head coach David Taylor was instrumental in the success of the NLWC, with assistant coach, Jimmy Kennedy, joining the Penn State coaching staff and helping RBY earn his second NCAA title.

While RBY is joining the Cowboy RTC and not Cowboy wrestling, this move directly impacts and benefits the wrestling team. A two-time NCAA champ, four-time All-American, and a qualifier at 57 kgs for the 2024 Olympic games in Paris for Mexico, Bravo-Young has immediately elevated Cowboy RTC, which will most likely spark additional moves into the program. 

“The RTC is a foundation,” Taylor said in his introductory press conference. “Our very first order of business is Daton Fix staying at the RTC. We’re excited about Daton. I’m extremely excited about helping him — our staff Jimmy [Kennedy] and Thomas [Gilman] — and his goals. We sat down and kind of talked about what does it look like for him and surrounding him with people who can help do that.

“As we continue to build out the RTC, it’s gonna be selected with the right group of people. As our athletes finish [college], and if they have the same aspirations to be world and Olympic champions, then they’re gonna have a path and place to do that.”

While it won’t be a main reason recruits could commit to Oklahoma State, it will certainly add to future recruit’s decisions as they’ll see some of the best wrestlers in America training in Stillwater.