Why Cael Sanderson’s Penn State wrestling dynasty rolls on — with no end in sight

It wasn’t always easy for Penn State.

Aaron Nagao and Tyler Kasak lost in the first round. An agitated Braeden Davis fell in the quarterfinals and showed frustration as his match wound down — eventually joining Nagao as the only two Nittany Lions not to earn All-American status. Bernie Truax got up in his quarterfinal before he took injury time and was outscored heavily from then on.

But there was still an inevitability to what happened in this weekend’s NCAA Wrestling Championships. Sure, the exact way it would happen was why everyone tuned in — but the result was always going to be the same for head coach Cael Sanderson’s program.

Penn State won the 2024 NCAA team title and with it continued what has become one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports.

And this time the Nittany Lions didn’t just win. They won by more points than anyone else in NCAA history (100) and scored more points than any team ever has at NCAAs (172.5). They crowned four individual champions — Levi Haines (157 pounds), Carter Starocci (174 pounds), Aaron Brooks (197 pounds) and Greg Kerkvliet (285 pounds). Their domination has been unmatched by any program in the history of the sport.

Yet, when nationals came to an end Saturday night, Sanderson still wasn’t ready to compare what he has to other dynasties in wrestling history.

“We’re doing our thing,” Sanderson told media members at the post-tournament press conference. “We don’t worry about and try to compare ourselves to others. And we’re just going to be the best we can be. As a staff, we’re here trying to figure out what we can do better and how we can have our guys better prepared because things continue to change. The game continues to change. And that’s what makes it fun. That’s how you stay motivated, and you don’t start thinking about next year tomorrow. We’re thinking about next year three, four years ago. That’s just the way it is.”

Sanderson’s focus on the future is part of the reason he and his staff have accomplished what they have. He’s led the Nittany Lions to 11 of the last 13 team national titles, and year after year pushes it forward with the way he recruits high schoolers and transfer portal wrestlers.

But it’s one thing to bring in highly talented wrestlers year after year — it’s another to continually help them grow on the mat. And even more than that, to have them peaking in March when it’s time for the postseason.

And time and time again Sanderson accomplishes both of those things. When it comes to wrestling coaches, he has separated himself from the rest of the pack by a mile. That belief isn’t just held by those on the outside either. Starocci — who became the first Penn State four-time national champion shortly before Brooks became the second — saw what separates Sanderson from other coaches last week.

“It really starts with the coaches,” Starocci said following his win Saturday. “They’re in their late 40s, and every Saturday morning they’re doing our workouts. This morning I was a little heavy and a little more than I wanted to be. And Coach Cael was right there riding the bike with me. Just looking around, like all the other guys warming up, their coaches are on their phones. I’m like, this dude is in the foxhole with us. I think that means more than anything.”

Of course, Sanderson can relate to wrestlers like Starocci because he’s achieved more than most ever have in the sport. He won his fourth individual title 20 years before Brooks and Starocci did. He won an Olympic gold medal in 2004 — something Starocci said is still his primary goal. And now he’s the greatest coach of all time.

While all of those accomplishes could give him the bravado to talk the talk, Sanderson rarely takes that route.

More often than not, he takes a broader view, and while you can easily point to what he did on the mat — like his patented ankle pick — to show what separates him, that’s missing the point.

Sanderson’s perspective is his superpower as a wrestler and a coach.

“It’s always been a game,” Sanderson said. “That’s just the way I was raised. You want to win every game we play. If it’s at home, you’re playing video games or you’re playing whatever you’re playing, you’re trying to win. And it is a game. I mean, all you have to do is look back 20 years and who can tell us ... but it doesn’t matter.

“Life moves forward and this is just all about preparation and getting ready for the next stage in life. And with that perspective, you can compete a little bit more freely. It’s just the truth. You don’t have to look hard to realize that sports aren’t that important. We love them and they give us purpose. We learn a lot of really valuable things out of them, but first and foremost is character. And you have kids that don’t reach their goals in wrestling and sometimes that can be the best thing for them in their life. You just never know. It’s up to them and what they decide to do with the next stage. Or you can have somebody that wins and they want to ride that wave. And that wave, it fades quickly and you’ve got to move on to the next thing. It’s just a game, but it’s fun to win when you play games.”

It’s hard to imagine Sanderson’s perspective will ever change, which makes it hard to fathom this dynasty — arguably the greatest in the history in sports — coming to an end as long as he’s in charge. And that thought isn’t one that’s only outside of the program’s wrestling room.

One of the Nittany Lions’ champions sees it that way too.

“There could always be an end to everything,” Haines said. “But I like to believe as long as Coach Cael is there it’s probably going to keep going on.”