The NCAA Wrestling Championships are being held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia this season, the same site that Cael Sanderson won his first national championship at Penn State in 2011.
Sanderson said Monday what he remembers the most of that tournament was when current Tyrone coach Quentin Wright clinched the championship with a fall in the semifinals.
โQuentin Wright does things in dramatic fashion,โ Sanderson said. โThat was the moment where we were winning it, and it was pretty darn special. I was in college wrestling a long time before I was on a championship team.โ
Although 14 years have come and gone since that day, the one constant that remains is PSUโs dominance. Penn State has won 10 more team titles since and is a heavy favorite to win another one this weekend.
โI wouldnโt want to re-do it all. Itโs a lot of work and itโs every day,โ Sanderson said. โWeโve had some great moments, a lot of great relationships. Every day is a battle and a grind, and thatโs the way life is designed. Thereโs a lot to be grateful for.โ
Ever since that day, PSUโs had at least one national champion every year, and many have been multiple-time champ. But the individual glory isnโt what gets Sanderson up in the morning.
โYou grow up knowing that the team is always first and foremost,โ Sanderson said. โThe individual stuff is great, but weโre a team. Thatโs the most important thing.โ
Andy why does he continue to churn out success in every team?
โHeโs never really satisfied with a situation,โ PSU 157-pounder Tyler Kasak said. โHonestly, I think until we have 10 national champions, it will never be good enough.โ
ONE FOR THE THUMB?
Carter Starocci will have the opportunity to grab an unprecedented fifth national championship this weekend due to the free COVID-19 season in 2021. But if you ask Starocci, the decision to return for a chance to be the first five-timer wasnโt about achieving the feat.
โFor me, itโs never about winning a national title,โ Starocci said. โI really just enjoy competition.โ
โHeโs going to be at his best in the big moments,โ Sanderson said. โHe always has been.โ
Itโs not a long list of four-time national champions. Thereโs just seven of them โ Starocci, his current coach Sanderson, former teammate Aaron Brooks, Cornellโs Yianni Diakomihalis and Kyle Dake, Ohio Stateโs Logan Stieber and Oklahoma Stateโs Pat Smith.
โItโs an unusual situation,โ Sanderson said. โHe is four out of four and thatโs kind of the ultimate goal in NCAA wrestling. He has a pretty good mindset about it. I think last year he said a lot of the four-time guys could have won a fifth if they had a chance. Maybe, but maybe not. Itโs a different challenge. Nobody has been in this position like he is.โ
BARR GOOD TO GO
For those wondering about the status of 197-pounder Josh Barr, Sanderson gave the news everyone wanted to hear.
โJosh will be ready to scrap on Thursday,โ Sanderson said.
Injury Update: What Did The Penn State Wrestling Boss Say About Josh Barr?
Barr needed help getting off the mat from assistant coach Casey Cunninghamย after suffering a leg injury at the Big Ten Tournament March 9.
