Iconic coach responds to Penn State wrestling breaking his record

Penn State wrestling had a historic season on its way to an 11^th National Championship in 13 seasons under head coach Cael Sanderson. The Nittany Lions broke the total points record previously held by the 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes with a stunning 172.5 points over the three days at the NCAA Championships. In response, legendary Hawkeyes coach Dan Gable had a sarcastic quip for Sanderson and the Nittany Lions after breaking his long-held record.

Iowa coach responds to Penn State wrestling breaking points record

Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling pulled off an amazing run at the NCAA Championships in Kansas City last month, breaking both the NCAA points and margin of victory records en route to a third consecutive team National Championship. The former points record was held by the only dynasty that can match what Sanderson has created in Happy Valley, that of legendary coach Dan Gable of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Gable is regarded as the greatest college wrestling coach of all time. He won 15 team National Championships and 21 team Big Ten Championships at Iowa, including a string of nine consecutive national titles. He coached 152 All-Americans and 45 individual National Champions.

But when asked about Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling taking one accomplishment off his lengthy resume, Gable had a quippy response that has since gone viral.

“Are you kidding me?! How many years has it been since I set that record?…Twenty-seven years! Where the heck have people been? It took 27 years to break a record!” Gable said in his response, captured by FloWrestling.

“What took so long?” Dan Gable’s reaction to his 1997 NCAA tournament team point record being broken by Penn State pic.twitter.com/SdWPyhUMdH

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) April 9, 2024

Cael Sanderson closing in on Dan Gable

As the head coach of Penn State wrestling, Cael Sanderson has 11 team National Championships and eight team Big Ten Championships. He’s coached 38 individual National Champions and 91 All-Americans. The most team titles Sanderson has won in a row was four on two separate occasions: 2011-2014 and 2016-2019.

With this latest title, Cael Sanderson moves into second place all-time in NCAA history. While Sanderson has been the most dominant coach of the last two decades, he still has some work to do to break all of Gable’s records.

“I think I got a few more, though,” Gable said with a smirk to finish off his comments to FloWrestling, referencing the many records still in his name.

While Dan Gable is correct that he still holds quite a few records, Sanderson is closing in fast. The individual National Champion record seems to be within striking distance in the next two years. The success Penn State wrestling has had as a team suggests that 15 titles could happen before the year 2030. If the Nittany Lions keep adding seven-plus All-Americans per year, that record would also fall in less than a decade.

There is no doubt that Dan Gable is the greatest coach of all time in the sport of wrestling. But if Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling keep a stranglehold on the sport, we may have a different opinion next decade.

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