Penn State wrestling is surely good enough to compete in this weekend’s national duals invitational.
But Cael Sanderson and company chose not to participate, and at least one of his competitors isn’t too happy about it.
Tom Ryan is one of the most prominent coaches in the country.
The Ohio State boss has coached seven teams to top three finishes at the NCAA Championships, highlighted by the 2015 national title. He’s also coached some of the best to ever do it, including four-time individual national champ Logan Stieber and Olympic Gold Medalist Kyle Snyder.
Ryan has been going against Cael Sanderson for a long time, and didn’t seem too thrilled with Penn State not competing in Tulsa this weekend.
WHAT RYAN SAID
“This makes enough sense for us all to be here. I think it’s a shame that Penn State’s not here. I’m going to stick to the positives, but the fact that they’re not here is a bit of a sign of how they see things and do things. They should be here. They’re not, so we’ll focus on all the great coaches that chose to grow the sport, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Ohio State is competing at the duals along with Arizona State, Cornell, Illinois, Iowa, Lehigh, Little Rock, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, NC State, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech and Wyoming.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.WHY ISN’T PENN STATE THERE?
So, why isn’t Penn State wrestling competing in the National Duals?
Well, a big reason is that Sanderson doesn’t find them necessary to grow the sport.
“I don’t feel really any differently about it than I did 10 years ago,” Sanderson said last January. “I think you can create a big event without including every team in the country. It’s sad that we think we have to have the national duals to create a big event. We have a lot of exciting teams, a lot of up-and-coming programs.
“There’s obviously some merit to the idea, but it’s just kind of a broken record, I think.”
Penn State opens its 2025-26 season Friday night against Oklahoma. The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 6 at Rec Hall.
