Why Penn State wrestling’s atmosphere at the BJC even gave Cael Sanderson ‘butterflies’
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2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships
Penn State wrestling has claimed another Big Ten Championship, and this time Cael Sanderson’s squad did so at home. Below is a look at all of our coverage from the March 7-8 Big Ten Wrestling Championships at the Bryce Jordan Center.
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It happened time and time again Saturday in the Bryce Jordan Center — a big win, a deafening roar from a blue-and-white clad crowd and an immediate standing ovation.
The Nittany Lions, continuing their run of dominance, showed out in front of a packed crowd at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships by putting eight wrestlers through to the finals.
And even head coach Cael Sanderson, who has seen it all when it comes to wrestling, felt the impact of the environment — and he felt it early on Saturday thanks to heavyweight Cole Mirasola.
“It’s fun. It's cool. We appreciate all the fans coming and the support,” Sanderson said after his team was done competing for the day. “And I think the second match out there, when Cole went out there this morning and got a quick pin, it was — I don’t know. I don't usually get butterflies anymore, you know, getting too old for that. But I had butterflies. It was cool. People were fired up.”
The program hosted this year’s championships, making up for 2021 when it hosted the event but without fans because of COVID-19. That allowed Penn State to get back into the hosting rotation sooner than it usually would, giving fans an opportunity to have an impact on what took place on the mat.
And did they ever.
Shayne Van Ness (149 pounds) advanced to the semifinals thanks to stalling calls from the referee against Ryder Block from Iowa — largely after the crowd loudly booed the lack of activity from the Hawkeye wrestler. Then more boos rained down as another Hawkeye, Angelo Ferrari, kept dropping to one knee to prevent PSU 184-pounder Rocco Welsh from shooting in for takedowns.
Each time his knee dropped, the booing started. And each time the boos started, Ferrari picked his knee up off the mat.
Maybe the crowd didn’t have any impact on those situations, and the reactions were more coincidence than anything. But it sure seemed as if their voices were heard.
But Saturday wasn’t just about the Penn State fans in attendance. There were sections of Ohio State, Nebraska, Rutgers and Michigan fans, among others in the Bryce Jordan Center — an indication of what an event like this weekend’s means about the sport.
“Look at our fans,” athletic director Pat Kraft told the Centre Daily Times. “Came in right away, had a great energy, and it’s been good for our guys. You can feel them feeding off the energy of the crowd. But I think it’s great for wrestling too. So if we can keep the attention on wrestling, it’s great. It’s good for the community; it’s good for everybody.”
That impact, though, isn’t much of a surprise to Kraft. He’s as active of a spectator as any, rooting on his athletes in all sports, and that was on display Saturday as he watched each Penn State wrestler mat-side.
And because of his viewpoint from the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center, he could see the impact the crowd was able to have.
“I know our guys feel it, and I know our athletes at all of these venues that we host these events totally can feel the energy that comes with it,” Kraft said. “And our fans do an amazing job, not only traveling on the road, but when we host events they come in droves. I didn’t have control over tickets, but they went out and found their way to do it. It’s great.”
Penn State supporters in attendance were able to show why this program has become so special. There is, of course, the unmatched on-mat dominance. But there’s also a loyal and passionate fan base that will travel anywhere and everywhere to support the team. It just so happened that this team didn’t have to go very far to do it.
And that made it even easier for the best program in the country to show off its dominance.
This story was originally published March 7, 2026 at 10:38 PM.
