Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson's press conference before Ohio State

On3 imageby:Thomas Frank Carr02/02/23

ThomasFrankCarr

Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson met with the media on Tuesday before his team’s road trip of the midwest this weekend. The Nittany Lions travel to fifth-ranked Ohio State on Friday night, before heading out to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers Sunday. Check out Sandersons’ full comments from his weekly press conference below. 

The Nittany Lions defeated Iowa in a battle of the top two teams in the nation Friday night, but it was an event that didn’t have the same fireworks as it typically does. Is that bad for the sport? Sanderson was asked about the lack of points last weekend to start the session on Tuesday. 

Penn State wrestling notes: Some clarity at 125, Cael Sanderson on pulling Levi Haines’ redshirt, and more

“I think you have two good teams that are just competing,” Sanderson said. “Everyone wants to score more points and be more offensive. But, it’s easier said than done. It was just a great match and two good teams. They’re very well-coached, obviously, and have a lot of great guys.

Penn State healthy heading into weekend

Are there changes on the way at 125 for Penn State? In the dual against Iowa, Marco Vespa represented the Nittany Lions instead of starter Gary Steen. However, the issue was injury-related, Sanderson said. That injury is also behind him.

 “If you saw [Steen’s] last match, to Michigan State, he kind of hobbled off a little bit there. But he’s fine. He’s in there [at practice on Tuesday]. He’s rolling right now.”

Press conference rundown

  • 00:00 Press conference start
  • 00:30 Not Enough scoring, need more points? 
  • 00:59 Did you come out of last weekend healthy? 
  • 2:30 How is Gary Steen doing?
  • 3:00 What do you need to see from guys to know they’re ready to burn the redshirt? 
  • 3:00 What do you attribute the progress for redshirts to? 
  • 4:05 Is this meet a value for your young players in the middle weights?
  • 4:50 only one more double dual remaining. Is that more time for you to prepare for the tournament? 
  • 5:40 Are there any more challenges to the scheduling for double duals 
  • 7:20 What is it about the Penn State and Iowa dual that draws so much interest? 

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