All eyes in the college wrestling world turned to Happy Valley this week with the surprising hiring of Cael Sanderson to replace former coach Troy Sunderland, who resigned on April 4th.  The news came as a welcome surprise to Penn State, who has not won a team wrestling title since 1953.

Over 500 enthusiastic fans crammed into Rec Hall today to meet the former four-time national champion and Olympic gold medalist from Iowa State.  As a collegiate wrestler, Sanderson went 159-0 at Iowa State.  Under his wing, Sanderson brought his alma mater back into national prominence, leading the Cyclones to three-straight Top 5 finishes at the NCAA Championships.  Last year, on a team ripe with talented junior leadership, the Cyclones finished third at the NCAA championships, making his jump to PSU even more miraculous.

Next year’s Penn State team could be somewhat of a hybrid, as supposedly some of Sanderson’s wrestlers at Iowa State are planning to follow their coach to the Valley (a la John Calipari at Kentucky).  Indeed, next year’s “Nittany Cyclone” team could include several Iowa State freshman Matt Brown, who is considering a possible transfer to Penn State.

Indeed, next winter could be extremely exciting for the Nitts…

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