Senior Ben Roman makes second state tournament appearance

Teagan Ellefson, Reporter|February 21, 2023

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Sevastopol Senior Ben Roman punched his ticket to the UW Field House for the 2023 Individual State Wrestling Tournament for the second year in a row.

Roman has been part of the SBS Wrestling program throughout high school and is beyond excited to end his career with a bang.

“My coaches kept saying, ‘Keep going! Be smart! Thirty seconds, 20 seconds,’ down to the final second of the match,” Roman said. “When the timer went off, and I won, I was so happy that I came to my coach and hugged him, saying thank you repeatedly. I am beyond excited to make it to state for the second time.”

Roman and each other wrestler on the SBS team put in a lot of work this season to make it memorable.

“I always ensured I got back up no matter how hard the practices were, and I never gave up,” Roman explained. “At the beginning of the season, my coach told me that around the middle to the end of the wrestling season, your mental state will beg you to stop, quit, or tell you that you can’t take it anymore. But, if you can pass the wall, you will feel much better. That quote always hits me because it is true with everything. It taught me that I can get past that wall and be mentally tough.”

Ben will start the individual tournament on Feb. 23 in Madison, along with Sturgeon Bay wrestlers Zak Wrobel and Tiani Lemieux. In the first round, he will compete in the 285 weight category against Waupun’s Owen Kooima.