Cael Sanderson again using championship-winning tactics for Penn State wrestling

Penn State wrestling picked up a dominant 30-10 win over Lehigh in the opening dual of the season on Sunday. Keeping starters rested throughout the regular season is one of the reasons why the Nittany Lions have won 10 national championships under Cael Sanderson. Against Lehigh, Sanderson once again implemented a similar strategy with two of his top wrestlers, sitting both Aaron Brooks and Shayne Van Ness.

Shayne Van Ness and Aaron Brooks rest versus Lehigh

Cael Sanderson does a terrific job of rotating wrestlers to keep Penn State in good positions to win duals, while also maintaining the health of his top guys for the postseason.

On Sunday, true freshman Tyler Kasak moved up to 149 in place of No. 2 Shayne Van Ness, and sophomore Lucas Cochran filled in for No. 1 Aaron Brooks at 197. Kasak won 7-5 over Lehigh’s Drew Much to give the Nittany Lions the lead in the match. Cochran didn’t have as successful of a debut, falling to No. 10 Michael Beard 20-6 for a major decision.

Resting stars for the postseason has been successful for Penn State wrestling

Sanderson has made a habit of picking and choosing when he wants his top-level wrestlers to compete. He made it clear in previous seasons that the dual meets and, to some extent, the Big Ten Tournament don’t matter as much to Sanderson as winning the team and individual titles in the NCAA Tournament.

It is part of the reason why Penn State wrestling was upset in 2019 against Arizona State in a dual. It’s also why the Nittany Lions haven’t won the Big Ten title in all the years they have claimed national championships. It is hard to doubt Sanderson’s strategy, as Penn State has won 10 of the last 12 team national championships, as well as producing an incredible 34 individual champions and 83 All-Americans.

Looking ahead

Expect Cael Sanderson to continue to rotate young wrestlers into the lineups to give them opportunities against good competition. It also gives some uncertainty and an underdog for Penn State wrestling fans to root for, something that doesn’t often happen in a dual for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State wrestling has a potential national champion at almost every weight class, so keeping all those guys healthy while still giving them chances to compete with top wrestlers in the Big Ten will be a balancing act moving forward. Currently, the Nittany Lions opened the season with four wrestlers ranked No. 1 and four others ranked in the top three nationally.

Penn State wrestling takes on Hofstra on Sunday at Rec Hall for its second dual of the season. Since the Nittany Lions won’t have a ton of ranked wrestlers, expect some younger guys to get the opportunity to perform in front of the home crowd.

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