All Hail Cael: Cael Sanderson makes Penn State wrestling history in win over Iowa

Penn State wrestling cruised past No. 3 Iowa 29-6 on Friday night to improve to 9-0 (6-0 Big Ten) on the season and extend the dual win streak to 53. But the win itself wasn’t the only significant moment for the Nittany Lions program. By downing the Hawkeyes in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Cael Sanderson became the first coach to win 200 duals in Penn State wrestling history.

Cael Sanderson gets historic 200th win at Iowa

Cael Sanderson picked up the 200th win of his Penn State wrestling head coaching career on Friday night with the victory over Iowa. Sanderson is now 200-16-2 since being hired as the Nittany Lions’ head man in the 2009-10 season. He also holds a 110-11-1 Big Ten dual record in his time at Penn State.

Including his time at Iowa State, Cael Sanderson’s career record is now 244-26-2. Entering the season, he was around 36th all-time for Division I wrestling wins. In the modern era, teams tend to wrestle in fewer duals. Even legendary Iowa coach Dan Gable’s 355 wins pales in comparison to the 616 won by Oregon State’s Dale Thomas.

The real achievement is the 92% winning percentage that Cael Sanderson has produced in his time as Penn State wrestling coach. Only 16 losses in 15 years is an absurd statistic, and he once again is approaching the 60-straight dual-win mark.

“My fondest memories are just the people,” Sanderson said this week when asked to reflect on his time at Penn State. “The coaches, the alumni, the kids on the team. And just those relationships. They’re by far what I’m most grateful for.”

Chasing Dan Gable

Former Iowa wrestling head coach Dan Gable is considered the greatest coach in NCAA wrestling history. He won a total of 15 team National Championships, including nine in a row from 1978-1986. He coached 45 individual national champions and 152 All-Americans in his time as the Hawkeyes head coach.

Cael Sanderson has won 10 National Championships in 12 years at Penn State and is on track to win No. 11 this season. That would tie him with former Oklahoma State head coach E.C. Gallagher for second-most all-time.

Winning four more championships is not a given in any sport, but with the way Sanderson has been rolling, it seems more of when, not if, he will catch Gable. Penn State wrestling is loaded with a balance of veterans and freshmen throughout its lineup and is set up quite well for future national title runs.

Sanderson has already coached 34 individual National Champions at Penn State and two more in his three seasons at Iowa State. With five wrestlers ranked No. 1 at this point in the season, it seems that 10 more champions may happen sooner rather than later.

Dan Gable is still the greatest college wrestling coach of all time, but Cael Sanderson is not far behind and will be entering the discussion if the success continues.

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