Congratulations to Cael Sanderson
Cael Sanderson was inducted into the US Wresting Hall of Fame this week.
Cael Sanderson 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Stages successful comeback
Sanderson swept top seed and 2009 World Silver Medalist Jake Herbert in the finals of the US World Team Trials to earn a spot on the US world team for the first
time since winning Olympic Gold in Athens in 2004. In 2003 Sanderson won the Silver
Medal in the World Championships.
Good Luck Cael.
Sanderson to represent USA in freestyle world championships
By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY
Cael Sanderson scratched a seven-year wrestling itch Saturday night in Oklahoma
City. That earned him a trip to represent the USA in the 2011 freestyle world
championships in September in Istanbul,Turkey. And he's on the road toward the
2012 Olympics. Sanderson, who left the mats as a competitor after winning Olympic
gold in 2004 and last March coached Penn State to the NCAA team title, made his
triumphant return at the U.S. world team trials.
He competed in the same 185-pound class in which he won Olympic gold. It was another
perfect day match wise (5-0) for the wrestler who went 159-0 with four national titles during his NCAA career at Iowa State.
In the trials finals Saturday night, Sanderson defeated 2009 world silver medalist Jake Herbert two matches to none in their best-of-three-matches showdown.
Each match in international freestyle is broken down into a best-of-three periods
format. The result of each period stands alone. A wrestler must win two periods to
win the match.
Against Herbert, who had a bye into the finals, the 31-year-old Sanderson won the
first match 4-1, 2-0. He won the second match 5-2, 2-0.
Sanderson's shaved head is a different look from when he competed at the 2004
Olympics, but his high-low attacks, his uncanny ability to scramble out of trouble and his end results looked the same. He got a standing ovation from the crowd at the
finish.
To get to the final, while the 26-year-old Herbert rested, Sanderson had to win three matches earlier Saturday in a preliminary Challenge Tournament.
In the semifinals of the Challenge Tournament, he pinned Chris Pendleton,
who was a two-time NCAA champion at Oklahoma State.
In the Challenge Tournament final, Sanderson defeated 2011 NCAA champion
Jon Reader of Iowa State, 4-1, 1-0. Sanderson formerly coached Reader at Iowa
State before taking over as Penn State coach in 2009.
In March, a weekend after coaching Penn State to the NCAA title, Sanderson entered
the USA Wrestling Northeast Senior Freestyle Regionals in Brockport, N.Y. He won all three of his matches in the 211-pound class without giving up a point.
That was his first competition since the 2004 Olympics. He said at the time it was "just for fun." But Saturday's matches in Oklahoma City were for keeps -- and a spot on the U.S. world team.
Sanderson also was a world silver medalist as a member of the U.S. world team in 2003
Sanderson represented Penn State' Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at the trials. Two other members of the club made the world freestyle team: Teyon Ware at 145.5 pounds
and Jake Varner at 211.5 pounds.
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