Penn State wrestling will have plenty of representatives in the U.S. Open later this month, but the event extends to wrestlers who haven’t picked a college yet.
That includes State College High School’s Teag Sanderson.
Sanderson, who just finished his true freshman season by taking third at the PIAA Championships at 172 pounds, has registered for the U.S. Open.
The son of Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson and nephew of Penn State associate head coach Cody Sanderson finished his freshman year 42-10 with 32 of his wins being via bonus point. He was also a district and regional champion.
Before the State Tournament, Sanderson wrestled at the PIAA West Regionals Saturday, Feb. 28, and went 4-0 with two bonus point wins.
In the first round, Sanderson, seeded first, took on Armstrong’s Kaleb Kinsey (No. 16) and tech-falled him, 21-5. Next up was No. 9 Carter Morvay of North Hills, who Sanderson dispatched, 15-1. The next two matches were a tougher for Sanderson.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.He had his biggest scare of the weekend against Franklin Regional’s Ethan Cartwright. In the third period, Cartwright, seeded No. 13, took a 5-3 lead with a near-fall. Sanderson then got a reversal to tie the bout at five, but a technical violation on Sanderson with 54 seconds left gave Cartwright a 6-5 lead. Sanderson then got a near fall at the buzzer to win, 8-6.
The next match was less stressful for Sanderson.
Facing No. 2 Zach Labryer (Thomas Jefferson), Sanderson got out to a 12-2 lead and ended up bringing it home, 13-6. Overall, this was the continuation of what’s been a successful freshman season. He’s 38-9 with 29 of his wins being via bonus point(s), and has wrestled up to 189 pounds.
As an eight grader last year, Sanderson became the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling junior high state champ at 157 pounds.
The U.S. Open is scheduled for April 22-26 in Las Vegas.
