NCAA Wrestling: Dan Gable vs. Cael Sanderson
By Chris Snyder
Cael Sanderson Coaching Career
College Coaching Career
College: Iowa State University (2007-2009)
Dual Meet Record: 44-10-0
NCAA Team Championships: 0
NCAA Individual Champions: 2
College: Penn State University (2010-present)
Dual Meet Record: 158-16-2
NCAA Team Championships: 8
NCAA Individual Champions: 27
Total College Career
Dual Meet Record: 202-16-2
NCAA Team Championships: 8
NCAA Individual Champions: 29
After retiring from competitive wrestling, Cael Sanderson went on to start his coaching career at his alma mater of Iowa State serving as a special assistant in 2004.
He changed titles several more times and was ultimately named the head coach at Iowa State following their poor showing in the 2006 NCAA’s. The once storied wrestling program finished a disappointing 13th in 2006.
Was Cael the right man for the job?
You’re g****** right he was!
The Cyclones finished the year going 13-3-0 in the regular season duals, earned four All-Americans, and claimed one NCAA Champion. ISU ended up finishing in 2nd place in the 2007 NCAA’s with 88.5 points, while Minnesota took home the 2007 NCAA team title with a total of 98 points.
Things were headed in the right direction.
The following year, ISU went 16-4-0 in the regular season duals and had seven wrestlers named All-Americans. However they weren’t able to win any individual titles and ended up finishing in 5th place in the 2008 NCAA’s.
The 2009 season was a sort of bounce-back year as the Cyclones went 15-3, earned four All-Americans, and snagged one NCAA Champion. Sanderson’s squad finished a respectable 3rd in the 2009 NCAA’s.
Things were certainly going well, but nothing had really clicked yet.
That is, until Penn State Wrestling came calling.
Surely the former Iowa State legend would stay put and not spurn his own college, right? I mean, you obviously have to entertain your options but that doesn’t mean leave home, does it?
Well, for someone who wants to be the best at everything, yes, this does mean you leave your own school to take a lucrative offer in the most wrestling-rich state in the nation.
And in 2010, Cael Sanderson became the head coach at Penn State.
But everything wasn’t all roses and rainbows the first season. While Cael did inherit an experienced squad, they were still lacking in several areas. In his first season at the helm, Penn State went 13-6-1, earned three All-Americans, and finished 9th in the NCAA’s.
But Cael Sanderson and everyone in Happy Valley knew they were building something special in Rec Hall. And this certainly became evident in the 2011 season as Penn State claimed its first ever B1G title and went 17-1-1 on the season.
The momentum continued as the Nittany Lion squad took home its first NCAA team title since 1953, while earning five All-American honors, and one NCAA Champion.
From 2011-2014, the Cael Sanderson led Nittany Lions went a combined 58-4-1, earned 23 All-Americans, 8 NCAA Champions, and won each of the 4 NCAA team titles.
Going into the 2015 season, most Penn State fans realized it was going to be a bit of a rebuilding/reloading year. And this turned out to be the case as they went 11-4 and finished a distant sixth in the 2015 NCAA’s. But, the squad was still able to earn some hardware as five grapplers earned All-American honors and they claimed one NCAA Champion.
If the first six years of the Cael Sanderson era at Penn State weren’t special enough, then the next four season (2016-2019) certainly were. From 2016 to 2019, the Penn State Nittany Lions put on one of the most dominant stretches of any collegiate wrestling program, or sport, ever.
Sanderson racked up a perfect record of 58-0, had 27 wrestlers earn All-American honors, crowned 14 NCAA Champions, and won each of the 4 NCAA team titles. During that period, Penn State averaged more than 137 points in the NCAA’s and set a school record in 2017 for the most points scored in the NCAA Wrestling Championships (146.5).
The dynasty was just beginning for Cael Sanderson as he won 8 NCAA team titles in the first 10 years as head coach.
The 2020 Nittany Lion squad had promise as it was returning a mixture of experience and talent, however it had lost a couple of legends to graduation. This coupled with a resurgence at Iowa, an early season injury to Anthony Cassar, and a global pandemic, meant the 2020 season was not going to be a championship one for Penn State.
Shortly after the conclusion of the 2020 B1G Championships, the NCAA announced the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships would be canceled. Which meant Sanderson wouldn’t be able to build on his 8 NCAA team titles.
Much like the 2020 team, the 2021 team returned experience and talent, as well as losing several all time greats. But this is where the similarities end because the 2020 didn’t have to deal with a global pandemic for the entire season.
The 2021 Penn State wrestling season defined the term “tough sledding”. A very young team (6 starting freshman), a late start to the season, a limited schedule, several stoppages due to Covid outbreaks, injuries, postponed meets, rescheduled meets, and canceled meets. If we were playing “Head Coach’s Worst Nightmare” Bingo, then the 2021 season would have won before the first ball was dropped.
But somehow, someway, Cael Sanderson was able to lead his young team to a 6-0 record in the regular season. Going into the 2021 B1G Wrestling Championships, Iowa once again asserted its dominance and claimed the team title.
And the same can really be said for the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships too. Iowa did what it had to do and won the 2021 NCAA team title. However Penn State and Cael Sanderson had the last say as they went a perfect 4-0 in the finals to crown 4 individual NCAA Champions and have 6 grapplers earn All-American.
In one of the finest coaching jobs I have ever witnessed, Cael Sanderson took the turd-sandwich that was the 2021 season and turned it into one of the most amazing NCAA Wrestling Championships in Penn State history. Thus proving he’s the best at what he does and proving he belongs in the conversation with some of the best coaches in college history.