Sanderson

UNIVERSITY PARK — The NCAA Wrestling Championships are being held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia this season, the same site that Cael Sanderson won his first national championship at Penn State in 2011.

Sanderson said Monday what he remembers the most of that tournament was when current Tyrone coach Quentin Wright clinched the championship with a fall in the semifinals.

“Quentin Wright does things in dramatic fashion,” Sanderson said. “That was the moment where we were winning it, and it was pretty darn special. I was in college wrestling a long time before I was on a championship team.”

Although 14 years have come and gone since that day, the one constant that remains is the Nittany Lions’ dominance. They’ve won 10 more team titles since that day, and Penn State is a heavy favorite to win another one this weekend.

“I wouldn’t want to re-do it all. It’s a lot of work and it’s every day,” Sanderson said. “We’ve had some great moments, a lot of great relationships. Every day is a battle and a grind, and that’s the way life is designed. There’s a lot to be grateful for.”

Ever since that day, the Nittany Lions have had at least one national champion every year, and many have been multiple-time champions. But the individual glory isn’t what gets Sanderson up in the morning.

“You grow up knowing that the team is always first and foremost,” Sanderson said. “The individual stuff is great, but we’re a team. That’s the most important thing.”

And why does he continue to churn out success in every team?

“He’s never really satisfied with a situation,” PSU 157-pounder Tyler Kasak said. “Honestly, I think until we have 10 national champions, it will never be good enough.”

One for the thumb?

Carter Starocci will have the opportunity to grab an unprecedented fifth national championship this weekend due to the free COVID-19 season in 2021. But if you ask Starocci, the decision to return for a chance to be the first five-timer wasn’t about achieving the feat.

“For me, it’s never about winning a national title,” Starocci said. “I really just enjoy competition.”

“He’s going to be at his best in the big moments,” Sanderson said. “He always has been.”

It’s not a very long list of four-time national champions. There’s just seven of them — Starocci, his current coach Sanderson, former teammate Aaron Brooks, Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis and Kyle Dake, Ohio State’s Logan Stieber, and Oklahoma State’s Pat Smith.

“It’s an unusual situation,” Sanderson said. “He is four out of four and that’s kind of the ultimate goal in NCAA wrestling. He has a pretty good mindset about it. I think last year he said a lot of the four-time guys could have won a fifth if they had a chance. Maybe, but maybe not. It’s a different challenge. Nobody has been in this position like he is.”

Barr good to go

For those wondering about the status of 197-pounder Josh Barr, Sanderson gave the news everyone wanted to hear on Monday.

“Josh will be ready to scrap on Thursday,” Sanderson said.

Barr needed help getting off the mat from assistant coach Casey Cunningham after suffering a leg injury at the Big Ten Tournament on March 9.