Penn State wrestling eyes second historic milestone of the week in BJC dual

No. 1 Penn State wrestling dominated No. 3 Iowa 29-6 on Friday night. The Nittany Lions have a quick turnaround and will face Rutgers at the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday night. This year’s edition of the BJC Dual will have more on the line than normal, as Penn State and Cael Sanderson will have a chance to reach an NCAA historic milestone.

Penn State wrestling chasing 1,000 all-time wins

Penn State wrestling will be looking to pick up its 1,000th win on Monday night against Rutgers. This opportunity will come just 3 days after head coach Cael Sanderson picked up his 200th win as Penn State head coach against Iowa on Friday.

With a win against Rutgers on Monday, the Nittany Lions would join an elite list of programs to reach the milestone. Penn State would be the 6^th team to hit 1,000 wins, joining Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Iowa, and Minnesota. Division III Springfield College in Massachusetts has also reached the mark.

Cael Sanderson has helped establish Penn State wrestling as one of the top programs in NCAA history. The 77%-win percentage that the Nittany Lions have in duals largely can be attributed to the 200 wins that Sanderson has picked up in his time as head coach. That win percentage is currently third all-time, behind just Oklahoma State and Iowa.

Can the Nittany Lions catch Oklahoma State and Iowa?

The likelihood of Penn State catching Oklahoma State and Iowa for most of the NCAA records is low. It would be a safe assumption that the 70–80-win lead that the Cowboys and Hawkeyes have is safe. The only possible record that could be broken under Cael Sanderson is the all-time win percentage, which Penn State wrestling has been slowly climbing after the second 50+ dual win streak in his coaching tenure.

It appears Cael Sanderson is attempting to knock out multiple milestones this season. He will be looking for a third consecutive and 11th-team National Championship in 13 years this March. With where Penn State wrestlers are currently ranked, don’t be surprised if more records fall during the postseason.

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