What a week it'll be for Cael Sanderson.
The past two days, the head coach of the Penn State team that captured the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships title has been welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member. Then, as a sign that he's no museum relic, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist will step onto the mat at the 2011 World Team Trials this weekend to earn a place on the U.S. freestyle team that will compete in Istanbul in September.
The entire wrestling community has known that Sanderson would be honored by the Stillwater, Okla.-based Hall since early December 2010. However, it is only Thursday that the former Iowa State wrestler/coach confirmed rumors that he would be pulling on the singlet at the Trials down the road in Oklahoma City.
Early this week, in independent articles, Flowrestling and InterMat both reported that the 31-year-old Sanderson would be wrestling in the 84 kg weight class on Saturday. True to form, Cael and his compatriots were silent... until today, when the Utah native revealed his intentions first to Sports Illustrated (the magazine that failed to put him on the cover after concluding a perfect collegiate career at Iowa State)... then in an interview with Jason Bryant at USA Wrestling.
Cael Norman Sanderson first attracted the attention of the amateur wrestling world wrestling for his father Steve at Wasatch High School. The Heber City, Utah native compiled a nearly perfect 127-3 prep record, winning four state championships.
Perfection came for Cael at Iowa State. Wrestling for legendary Hall of Fame coach Bobby Douglas, Sanderson built a flawless 159-0 record as a Cyclone, grabbing four Big 12 conference crowns (1999-2002), four NCAA Division I individual titles (the first three at 184 pounds, the last at 197), and, perhaps even more incredibly, being named Outstanding Wrestler of the national championships all four years he competed.
With those collegiate accomplishments, Sanderson became only the second four-time Division I mat champ (the other being Pat Smith of Oklahoma State)... but only Cael can claim to be the one and only undefeated four-time titlewinner in the more than 80-year history of NCAA wrestling.
Sanderson further burnished his mat credentials on the world stage. He qualified for the 2001 and 2002 World Championships, but did not compete. At the 2003 World Championships in New York City, Sanderson earned a silver medal in the 185-pound class. One year later, he won the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Looking for new worlds to conquer, Sanderson was named head coach at Iowa State in 2006, leading his team to three Big 12 titles and three top-five NCAA finishes. In 2009, Sanderson stunned the world by leaving his alma mater for Penn State. In just two short years, he took the Nittany Lions to their first NCAA team title since 1953.
Cael Sanderson has certainly been on an upward trajectory his entire career as wrestler and coach. Will that continue in Oklahoma City? We'll see soon enough.
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Resources
Cael Sanderson: Official website... unofficial Fans of Cael Sanderson Yahoo group with photos and info
College Wrestling 101: Links to College Wrestling Examiner articles answering basic questions about wrestling, including rules, scoring, uniforms, more
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