Philadelphia– Is it possible that Penn State wrestling went 20-0 over two sessions on the first day of this year’s NCAA wrestling championships Thursday without being at its best?
Coach Cael Sanderson thinks so.
“I don’t know if we wrestled our absolute best,” he told reporters after the second session, “but our guys wrestled well enough to kind of advance, and that’s the most important thing.”
So how did Penn State go 20-0– which quite possibly no team in history has done– without being at its best?
Well, Sanderson didn’t have an answer for that, which suggests that maybe one doesn’t exist.
WHAT CAEL SAID
Photo by Penn State Athletics: Cael Sanderson
Here’s exactly what Sanderson said when asked how things could have been better.
“I don’t know,” he said. “You just know the guys really well. You just want to be loose and free. You worked so hard, it’s not just an opportunity that you go for. So that’s kind of what we like to do is don’t try to sneak a win or be afraid to lose. Just go for it. That’s kind of what we try to do. And I think our guys are doing that.”
HISTORY IN PHILLY
Carter Starocci improves Penn State’s winning margin 26-5 with his convincing win over Iowa’s Angelo Ferrari.
Penn State wrestling fans expected to see history this week– a 12th national title in 14 years, Carter Starocci becoming the first to win five individual titles, breaking the overall points record– but probably didn’t expect it to come so soon.
I mean, we just got here, right?
If Sanderson– one of, if not the most successful figure in college wrestling history– can’t remember a time when a team went 20-0 over the first night, there’s a good chance it never happened.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Probably not.”
But Sanderson’s a guy who always thinks about the present.
What happened Thursday doesn’t matter come Friday.
“We’re feeling good, he said. “I mean, you’re always onto the next thing. So you kind of think you guys are going to do well and win and expect that but obviously it doesn’t always happen. But big day tomorrow, big rounds. You’re in the quarterfinals of the nationals, so you have to go compete.”
