Penn State Wrestling is a big deal in Happy Valley, and the name Cael Sanderson is even bigger. Since 2009, Sanderson has taken the Penn State Wrestling program to a whole new level. The head coach will now be inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame as a part of the esteemed body’s Class of 2015.
The ceremony will be honored at the 2015 Utah Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet tonight, Sept. 17, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
With notably one of the greatest collegiate wrestling careers ever as a springboard, Sanderson went on to Olympic glory, winning a freestyle Gold Medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, amongst numerous upon numerous of outstanding individual awards. Shortly after that, Sanderson began his head-coaching career at his Alma Mater of Iowa State (ISU) after working his way up through the athletic department.
In his 2007 rookie campaign, he led ISU to a 13-3 dual meet record and the first of three straight Big 12 Championships. An NCAA Runner-Up finish in Detroit capped off a wildly successful year as the Cyclones crowned one national champion, Sanderson was honored as Big 12 Coach of the Year, National Rookie Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year. He then led ISU to a 16-4 dual meet mark, yet another Big 12 title and a fifth place finish at nationals.
In 2009, Sanderson’s team went 15-3 in duals, won its third straight Big 12 title, and took third place at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, just 12 points short of earning first place.
The Cyclones also crowned another national champion totaling a 44-10 record in just three years, as well as winning three conference crowns that qualified all 30 wrestlers for nationals, and earned 15 All-American awards and two individual national titles.
Later that year Cael Sanderson accepted the position as the 12th head wrestling coach at Penn State, a big move East.
His first season at Penn State was solid with a 13-6-1 dual meet record, a huge improvement comparing to the season prior that had an unpleasant record of 8-12-2. After a year outside the top ten, Sanderson led the Nittany Lions back to their place among the nation’s elite with a ninth place finish at the NCAA Championships and a No. 10 final dual meet ranking from the NWCA Coaches. Sanderson also managed to pick up three more All-Americans (including a national finalist) and a Big Ten Champion (in younger brother Cyler Sanderson).
Within his second year of coaching the Nittany Lions (2010-2011), Sanderson reached the pinnacle of the collegiate coaching mountain with Penn State.
Sanderson led the squad to the Big Ten Championship and the NCAA Championship, which was Penn State’s first Big Ten Wrestling championship in the school’s program history posting 139 points with 5 individual champions. The Nittany Lions also made it to their first-ever Southern Scuffle Co-Championship and first Virginia Duals Championship since 1991 with Sanderson. While guiding Penn State to a 6-1-1-conference mark, the head coach equaled the most Big Ten dual meet wins in Penn State history. He became the first coach in NCAA history to be named both the Big Ten and Big 12 Coach of the year leaving Penn State fans in Happy Valley with nothing but cherished memories, unity, and pride.
During the 2011-2012 season, Sanderson has led Penn State to their second straight Big Ten Title posting an impressive 149 points with 3 championships, while also claiming its second Division I NCAA Team title with an overall 13-1 dual mark and school record of 7-1 in Big Ten dual records to earn a share of the 2012 Big Ten dual meet championships. Sanderson was awarded the 2012 Big Ten Coach of the Year helping Penn State become just the fifth team in NCAA history to win back-to-back titles. He was then named NWCA National Coach of the Year (for the second time in his career) at the conclusion of the season.
In 2012-13, Penn State posted an identical 13-1 mark and 7-1 Big Ten dual record and won its third straight Big Ten Championship. Sanderson earned yet his third straight Big Ten Coach of the Year honor (co-) in the process. Two weeks after that, Sanderson guided Penn State to a thrilling third straight NCAA crown, helping Penn State to become just the third team in NCAA history to win three straight team titles. He was named NWCA National Coach of the Year at the tournament’s end, again.
Last season (2013-2014), Penn State went 15-1 overall and won a share of the Big Ten dual meet title with a 7-1 record. The Nittany Lions won their fourth straight Big Ten Championship helping Sanderson win his fourth straight Big Ten Coach of the Year honor. Two weekends later, the Nittany Lions won their fourth-straight NCAA title, becoming just the third team in NCAA history to win four-straight NCAA titles.
While with Penn State, Sanderson also has had 21 athletes that have earned first team national NWCA All-Academic laurels and 51 honored as Academic All-Big Ten. His team’s overall grade point average has been above 3.0 in each of his six seasons, including last year’s 3.19 mark, while also never having a wrestler not qualify for nationals, getting 30 of 30 grapplers to the end.
