COLLEGE WRESTLING

Another Sanderson joins PSU

Incoming class ranked in Top 10

Guy Cipriano

The number of Sandersons involved with the Penn State wrestling team has officially increased from two to three.

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New Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson announced Tuesday that his younger brother, Cyler, has enrolled in summer classes at Penn State and will finish his career with the Nittany Lions.

Cyler, whose older brother, Cody, works as Cael’s associate head coach, spent the past four years at Iowa State, earning All-American honors at 157 in 2008. New Iowa State coach Kevin Jackson granted Cyler his release after Cael took the Penn State position this past spring.

“He was in a really tough position and I hated to put him into that position,” Cael said Tuesday afternoon from Sonoma, Calif., where he’s working a camp.

“He was with a group of guys for four years and it was a tough decision by him. It definitely wasn’t a done deal. I even tried playing devil’s advocate with him. When it came down to it, he wanted to be with us. He’s a big part of our family.”

Cyler, who advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals as a junior this past March, has one year of eligibility remaining. He will occupy 157 pounds as a fifth-year senior this upcoming season.

“He consistently goes out there and wrestles hard,” Cael said. “He’ll be a great leader as we make our transition.”

Cyler isn’t the only new addition to Penn State’s practice room.

The program also announced its seven-member recruiting class, which includes four-time Ohio state champion David Taylor and former Blair Academy star Ed Ruth. Taylor and Ruth were considered the nation’s No. 1 and 5 recruits, respectively, by InterMat.

Taylor announced his intention to attend Penn State last month. Ruth, who started his high school career at District 3 Susquehanna Township, committed to Penn State during last fall’s early signing period. Taylor and three-time Arizona state champion Luke Macchiaroli joined Penn State’s recruiting class after receiving releases from their Iowa State letters of intents.

PIAA Class AAA placewinners Hunter Smith and Jim Vollrath are the only members of the class who competed in this year’s state tournament.

Smith went 34-4 and advanced to the PIAA Class AAA semifinals at 171 pounds at District 1 West Chester Henderson. Smith, a two-time PIAA placewinner, compiled a 91-18 career record.

Vollrath went 41-4 and placed eighth at 152 pounds wrestling for Council Rock South. Vollrath, who projects to wrestle either 141 or 149, compiled a 132-45 career record.

The class also includes two-time New Jersey state placewinner Lucas Fedechko and two-time New Jersey state placewinner Tom Reynolds. Both wrestlers are lightweights.

Sanderson said Ruth, Smith, Vollrath, Fedechko and Reynolds were planning on attending Penn State before his arrival.

InterMat ranked the class at No. 6 behind Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa.

“We were pretty limited with the time that we had,” said Sanderson, who was hired in April. “I’m happy with the potential of this class. I read somewhere that we were ranked sixth. Rankings are just an opinion. I think we’re getting kids that can win at the next level.”

Sanderson, who’s returning to Pennsylvania later this week, said the staff has started working on its 2010-11 recruiting class. Penn State already has received oral commitments from Central Mountain stars Andrew and Dylan Alton. NCAA rules permit Sanderson from discussing recruits until they sign letters of intents.

“A lot of good things are happening,” Sanderson said. “We need to put two and three classes together to win a national championship. We expect to have a real strong class next year, and we’ll be adding them to the class we have starting this fall. That’s key for us.”

Note:Lock Haven has hired Robbie Waller has its associate head coach. Waller, who attended District 7 Mount Pleasant High School, won a NCAA title at Oklahoma in 2003 and spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the Sooners. Waller replaces Mike Rogers on head coach Rocky Bonomo’s staff.