Franklin was even in attendance. Say what you will about the difference between wrestling and football, but Cael Sanderson recruits, coaches, and wins at the elite level.
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Penn State finally achieves "elite" status last night against Michigan....!
- Thread starter BrucePa
- Start date
The dominant performance was fantastic. I was following along best I could from Pegula and the tough hockey loss to ND. Thanks to BWI for the bout-by-bout updates.
I'm headed to the Iowa meet next Friday. Should be a great one, more of a challenge than Michigan, I imagine. We all know Iowa wrestlers will be at the top of their game for it.
I remain baffled as to why we, of all schools, cannot find a winning formula at 125.
I'm headed to the Iowa meet next Friday. Should be a great one, more of a challenge than Michigan, I imagine. We all know Iowa wrestlers will be at the top of their game for it.
I remain baffled as to why we, of all schools, cannot find a winning formula at 125.
not only is Penn State elite but an elite player in the most dominant conference in this sport. also done within the rules of the sport. there may be no other sport where a conference is so dominant over every other conference. SEC FB is certainly not dominant to the level of BIG wrestling. the bottom of the BIG wrestling programs could dominate in many other conferences. this is a major point of pride for Penn State - almost unbelievable it is so good.
If only our fans were elite enough to spell our coach's name or know that they are wrestlers, not players. 
Cale is elite, however you cannot even begin to compare football and wrestling in terms of recruiting. Night and day differences, needs, requirements, demeanor of recruits, etc.
Probably should start Allar. At that weight class.
It truly is a mystery. You would think that somewhere in the World there’s a really good 125lb guy to fill this slot, and you know damn well that coach is trying to find him.
Probably should start Allar. At that weight class.
Nah…… Sanderson doesn’t like his wrestlers cutting a lot of weight. Rumor has it that he reached out to Allar after last night’s presser to take over for Kerk, now that he was upset by the #2 ranked dUMmy. Like many other PSU fans, Sanderson is enamored with Allan’s guns.
Not a mystery. Suriano was to be our 125 for four years. He got hurt near the end of the 2016-2017 season, his first season, and couldn't wrestle in the Championships. He transferred out late that summer leaving us stuck in the 2017-2018 season for a 125lber.
Cael brought in Gavin Teasdale, who was a 4-time PA State Champ, for the 2018-2019 season. Gavin had trouble understanding the concept of random drug testing (marijuana was his downfall) and dropped out of school during his first semester. He transferred to Iowa were he ran into the same problem and subsequently dropped out of Iowa.
Cael then brought in Robby Howard, a nationally ranked hammer, for the 2020-2021 season. Howard got hurt late his Senior HS year and had a rough time recovering. Since then he's suffered two more major injuries keeping him off the mat.
Cael brought in Gary Steen for the 2021-2022 season. Gary was a 2-time PA State Champ and placed 3rd twice and was considered a blue-chip recruit. He redshirted last year and has obviously been struggling this year.
Hope this helps.
Sure does but in all fairness it’s a little bit different recruiting 10 outstanding wrestlers than 22 football players.
Yeah he is very supportive of the other programs.
I believe this is the root of angst Iowa has against PSU....we have stolen their position of top dog in wrestling. For years prior to Cael's arrival Iowa was the dominate and king of the wrestling world...nationally. PSU has relegated them to an also ran position...and Iowa can't live with being less than number 1.
We've won 9 out of the last 11 national championships and have won individual NC's at 10 of 10 weight classes during the Sanderson era, yet some "fans" manage to find something to nit-pick (*****) about.
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The Big Ten is the only conference in which all permanent members field a wrestling team. The next closest is the ACC with six. The Big 12 and Pac 12 have 3-4 permanent members, with the remainder of slots filled by affiliates. SEC doesn't even bother with the sport (except for Missouri which wrestls in the Big 12).
Everyone should know by now his name is spelled with a “K”.If only our fans were elite enough to spell our coach's name or know that they are wrestlers, not players.
Very interesting post...i didn't realize B1G was the only power 5 conference with full member participation....so does Missouri claim a SEC Championship in wrestling every year?
Plus Cael has PSU as king of the hill...we are in wrestling same as tOSU, Ala, Ga are in football...if PSU offers we get extra
cred because of our success annually...9 of last 11 years PSU has been National Champions!
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Yeah thanks for this summary. Cael did his job recruiting, sounds like we are a touch snake bitten at that weight class
Yes, but contrary to popular internet lore, it is not a requirement. This happenstance will end in 2024.
For the record, Mizzou wrestling still competes in the Big 12.
We'll lose that distinction when UCLA/USC come aboard but it certainly won't change the B1G dominance in wrestling. It's good that members schools with a wrestling program have the safety of a solid conference. Six teams are required for a conference to sponsor a sport which leads to some strange bedfellows. The PAC sponsors wrestling but only three full time members participate - ASU, Stanford, and OrSU. The other three are Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, and ....... Arkansas - Little Rock?? A couple Big 12 schools would be a better geographic fit for the PAC but the overall level of competition in the Big 12 is certainly better.
Well, maybe, but the football program can play with 85 scholarships while the wrestling program must portion out 9.9 scholarships for the 30+ wrestlers in the room.
Suriano's dad might have been the problem. I believe they thought the injury that kept him out of nationals was treated too severely by the Penn State coaches, so he dragged his son to Rutgers.
Also, Spencer Lee and about half of the Iowa lineup are from Pennsylvania. Cael gets his fair share from Pennsylvania -- Jason Nolf, Zain Retherford, Cenzo Joseph -- but he can't get them all, and he recruits nationally as well as anyone.
Suriano's family didn't believe that at all. They needed something to get the NCAA to waive the requirement to sit out a year after transfer.
Cael was after approximately one PA wrestler who went to Iowa and that was Spencer Lee. All the others were either not recruited or were only offered as preferred walk on's.
Sunday 1/22: Steen with the SV upset of #24 ranked Lujan of Mich. State. Congrats Gary Steen!
