Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1495456
3 8 A P R I L 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M WRESTLING C ael Sanderson's major at Iowa State University was art and design, and the way he has designed his Penn State wrestling program to win NCAA titles year after year has been, well, a piece of art. He did it again this year, leading the Nittany Lions to their 11th national championship since 1953 but, more im- pressive and important, the 10th since 2011, which was a mere two years after his arrival in State College in April 2009. Penn State rang up 137.5 points, nine short of a school record but 55 more than runner-up Iowa's 82.5. That margin is a school record, eclips- ing a 41-point bulge in 2019, and was the fifth-largest in the tournament's history. Under Sanderson in NCAA tournaments, Penn State is a mind-boggling 50-8 in the semifinal rounds, and the Lions have won 34 individual titles since 2011, some 21 more than second-place Cornell. Eight times during the Sanderson era, the Lions have had five finalists. This season, nine Lion wrestlers compiled a 37-9 record March 16-18 STATE OF THE ART PSU's dynastic reign over collegiate wrestling continued in Tulsa, with two individual championships and the 10th NCAA team title of the Cael Sanderson era J I M CA R L S O N | B L U E W H I T E C O N T R I BU TO R Although he was the two-time defending champ at 184 pounds, senior Aaron Brooks was seeded third heading into the NCAA Tournament. He defeated No. 2 Trent Hidlay of NC State in the semifinals and No. 1 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa in the championship match. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS