OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club has added a high profile wrestler to its entry list for this weekend’s World Team Trials in Oklahoma City.
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson has decided to enter the freestyle tournament at 185 pounds, the weight he won during the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The weight class, which also includes Penn State junior NCAA champion Quentin Wright, will be contested Saturday.
Sanderson’s status as an Olympic champion makes him eligible to compete in any USA Wrestling event. The team trials are the biggest domestic freestyle event this year, with the winner in each weight class qualifying for September’s World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.
The tournament continues a busy week for Sanderson, who was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Wednesday and Thursday. Sanderson arrived in Oklahoma on Thursday. His parents, Steve and Debbie Sanderson, traveled from the family’s Heber City, Utah, home to attend the festivities.
Sanderson, who turns 32 in 10 days, competed and won the 211.5-pound weight class during the Northeast Regional at SUNY-Brockport in March. Sanderson entered the regional qualifier to fulfill a promise he made to Penn State wrestlers. He said his competitive fire was sparked while coaching the Nittany Lions to the NCAA title in late March.
He’s not sure how far he’ll make it, but he wants to find out.
Sanderson dropped from 211.5 to 185 because of Jake Varner’s presence at the higher weight. Varner joined the NLWC last year after wrestling for Sanderson at Iowa State.
Sanderson’s decision to compete this weekend could be the start of his quest to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London. The Olympic Trials are next April at the University of Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Olympics are next August in London.
Weigh-ins for Saturday’s tournament are today. Former Northwestern star Jake Herbert won April’s U.S. Open in Cleveland and receives a bye into the 185-pound finals. Sanderson will be randomly placed into the bracket, meaning he could face Wright on Saturday. Other highly-touted 185-pounders are former NCAA champions Keith Gavin and Chris Pendleton, 2008 Olympian Andy Hrovat and former Penn State All-American James Yonushonis.
The NLWC finished second in the team standings at the U.S. Open. Varner and Aaron Anspach are title contenders at 211.5 pounds while Teyon Ware won the U.S. Open at 145.5. Varner and Ware receive byes into finals at their respective weights for winning the U.S. Open.
