New W&J coach has Kiski Area grad Brayden Roscosky focused on PAC wrestling title, NCAAs

When an athlete sets goals, he or she often looks to the accomplishments of predecessors. A number of wins. A time. A statistic. Some benchmark to keep in the crosshairs as motivation.

Washington & Jefferson sophomore wrestler Brayden Roscosky doesn’t have to look far. The Kiski Area grad needs only to look across the wrestling room.

Sonnie Blanco was hired in September to guide the team. A 2017 W&J grad, Blanco is the Presidents’ all-time leader with 124 wins and is a two-time NCAA Division III All-American after fifth- and third-place finishes in the national tournament.

“It creates a great atmosphere for me to grow as a wrestler and an individual,” said Roscosky, who was 19-3 last season and took a 7-2 record into the holiday break. “He is constantly pushing me, not just me, but everybody in the room to be the greatest we can possibly be.

“Him being the all-time wins leader, he’s kind of driving me to try and beat that record. I don’t know if it’s in the cards for me, but I told him the other day I’m going to try and I’m going to push for that record.”

Besides providing inspiration, Blanco has helped Roscosky in a much more practical and tangible sense.

Roscosky wrestles at 184 pounds. In his heyday, Blanco wrestled at 174. Their similarity in size makes Blanco a perfect sparring partner for Roscosky.

The two have competed in practices from the first day, and Blanco quickly was able to identify an area of weakness in Roscosky’s repertoire.

“Definitely bottom is what we’ve been working on,” Blanco said. “Since I’ve got here, I’ve been drilling that with him and riding him on top to the point now where I can’t hold him.

“… A month or two in, I’m not riding him anymore, and I’m a little mad about that.”

Blanco laughed at the admission. His admiration of Roscosky’s progress is more likely to have elicited a smile and a chuckle than any hurt pride.

“I remember the first time I practiced with him,” Roscosky said. “So we’re just going, and he rode me and rode me and rode me, and I could not get out on bottom.

“He’s worked with me, coached me through it and gave me some tips, and now I get out on bottom. … If he can’t hold me down, there’s absolutely no reason anybody else should hold me down.”

Apart from that, Blanco said he doesn’t see too many areas where Roscosky needs dramatic improvement. He said he can see Roscosky has become a more mature wrestler, which has helped him to be more calm during matches.

Blanco said he also has been impressed by Roscosky’s offense and willingness to be aggressive with it in matches. They are fine-tuning his shots to make his offense more consistent.

“He’s still got to develop an offense, a shot,” Blanco said, “but he can take people down. But we want to have a shot that we know can work every time (he) can get it in.”

Roscosky’s improvement was evident in the W&J Invitational in November. After a first-round bye, he recorded a fall and major decision to advance to the 184-pound final, where he faced Thiel’s Bryce McCloskey in a rematch of their Presidents’ Athletic Conference title match from last season.

Roscosky scored a 3-2 decision to earn the championship.

He also secured a title at the season-opening Lycoming Invitational, winning his three matches via technical fall (22-5), fall (1 minute, 32 seconds) and decision (5-2).

Roscosky said some of the adjustments he and Blanco are working on haven’t been easy. But he can see how the work will pay off in the long term.

“It’s not an easy process to handle,” he said. “I wrestle a certain way, and (Blanco) wrestles a certain way that’s different. He’s given me information, and I’m just kind of taking the information from everybody that I talk to and kind of know how I want to be as a wrestler.

“He’s kind of trying to dial me in in that respect, and it’s working out really well. He just needs to be persistent with me and be patient, and I should really be able to get some things turned around.”

On that list of things to turn around is a PAC title. Roscosky will be looking to avenge his loss to McCloskey, who is ranked No. 19 in Division III by The Open Mat.

Also on the to-do list is a trip to nationals. Blanco, with a hearty laugh, said Roscosky “doesn’t have an option” but to make nationals.

“I think, definitely, he will win a conference title. I have no doubt with that,” Blanco said. “Our main focus should be regionals and nationals, but I definitely see him qualifying and see him on that podium, whether it’s one through eighth. He just has to decide when we get there where he wants to be.”

High praise from someone who knows a thing or two about competing on the national stage. Roscosky has taken Blanco’s message to heart and is confident he, indeed, will be competing at nationals.

“Freshman year in college, didn’t really know what to expect,” he said. “I did well, but I didn’t really finish the way I wanted to. That was mostly my fault. I didn’t push myself the way I needed to, and I knew that I needed to improve.

“There is no ceiling for me, I believe. … I’m still kind of young right now. I’ve still got a lot of time. It just depends on what I want to do. I believe just from the beginning of this season I’ve gotten better, so the only direction to go is up.”