A Majorly Impressive Hire
April 18, 2009 at 9:38 am Tina Hay Leave a comment
It didn’t take Penn State long—just under two weeks—to find a new wrestling coach to replace Troy Sunderland ’93. And the pick is causing some jaws to drop. The University announced yesterday that it had lured Cael Sanderson, one of the legends of the sport, away from Iowa State to be the Lions’ new coach.
Sanderson never lost a match as a wrestler at Iowa State (his career record was 159-0)—a feat that got his picture on a Wheaties box. 
He also won four NCAA titles, then won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics. Sanderson, who is 29, has been coaching at his alma mater the past three years, and it’s safe to say that not too many people pictured him leaving for Penn State. But here he comes. He’ll be introduced at a news conference Monday afternoon.
By all accounts, the hire signals that Penn State is committed to winning a national championship in wrestling—something that hasn’t happened since 1953.
You can read stories about the announcement at USA Today and the Centre Daily Times. The CDT also has a piece on how members of the current team reacted to the news that one of their heroes is about to become their coach.
Tina Hay, editor
Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: 2004 Olympics, Cael Sanderson, Iowa State, Penn State wrestling, Troy Sunderland, Wheaties.
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