Valdez Making a Quick Impression in Happy Valley

By Tom Shively, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa - From a young age, Penn State freshman gymnast Favian Valdez was a natural gymnast. Going all the way back to his playground days, Valdez referred to himself as a wild kid, racing around the monkey bars and swinging all over the place.

He chose gymnastics as a way to harness all the pent up energy inside him, and his original inspiration came from an unlikely source.

"When I was young, I was very hyper," Valdez said. "My dad would take me to the park and there was this one stranger that went up to my dad and asked if I was in gymnastics. He [Valdez's father] said no and he said, 'You should consider it.' So one day, my…