By: Allen Smith
As the Penn State wrestling program continues its run as a national power, it is inevitable that past Penn State records will be broken and new records set. Or in the case of the past 15 years – the time Head Coach Cael Sanderson has led the program – smashed may be a better word. But if one follows Sanderson’s lead, the numbers aren’t the goal, the journey to the next National Championship is, and if everyone involved; coaches, trainers, administrators, the student-athletes, and others, buy into what has become known as “the process”, success will follow. Sure, take pause and enjoy moments of success, even endure the moments of defeat, learn from them and move on. It’s amazingly simple, yet remarkably difficult.
When it comes to college sports dynasties, John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins basketball team comes to my mind first. Lesser known are John McDonnell’s Arkansas Razorback’s Men’s Track & Field team, Anson Dorrance’s North Carolina Tarheel’s Women’s Soccer team and Geno Auriemma’s Connecticut Women’s Basketball teams, whose amazing success also come to mind as they happened during my lifetime. Even college wrestling has a history of dynasties, with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, coached by E.C. Gallagher, Art Griffith, and Myron Roderick, winning 27 of the first 44 National Championships starting in 1928, the first year of an official NCAA Wrestling Championship. John Smith had success with the Cowboys too, winning four of his five National Championships in consecutive years in the mid-2000’s. Then there is the single most successful coaching run in college wrestling history, as Dan Gable’s Iowa Hawkeyes won 15 National Championships from 1978 through 1997. Add Gary Kurdelmeier’s two (1976 & 1977), Jim Zalesky’s three (1998 – 2000) and Tom Brands’ four (2008 – 2010, 2021) and the Iowa Hawkeyes have been the most prolific NCAA wrestling dynasty in modern times. Enter Penn State. The king of the hill since 2011, under the guidance of Cael Sanderson, the Lions have won 10 of the last 12 National Championships, much to the delight of Penn State wrestling fans. This dynasty shows no sign of slowing.
So back to the topic expressed in the title of this article; What’s in a Number? The record that inspired this article is the All-time Dual Meet Wins record among Penn State coaches. Starting the 2023-2024 season, Coach Sanderson was tied with former Penn State Coach Charlie Speidel for all-time dual meet wins at Penn State with 191. After a win against Lehigh on Sunday, December 3, 2023, Sanderson stood alone at 192 wins, which now is 193 after a win against Hofstra on December 10. Not much has been said about the record, and frankly I didn’t expect much to be said. Be that as it may, the number IS significant in so many ways. But then one could look at the 10 National Championships, the 78 All-American honors earned by 33 different wrestlers, the 34 individual National Championships earned by 17 different wrestlers, or as importantly the graduation rates and academic honors earned, and more by the Penn State team under Sanderson, and the same conclusions can be made.
192 dual meet wins, for me and surely others, is a tangible way to measure success. Wins and losses have always been a favorite metric of the sports community, but rooted beneath the surface are facts, somewhat less tangible, that are the reasons for tangible successes. Recruiting wrestlers that “fit” the program, providing support for the academic side of being a “student”-athlete, the “sweat” that goes into training to be the best wrestling version of oneself, all these things RESULT in wins or losses. Don’t practice, don’t train, don’t keep up with your studies, and the RESULTS will be disastrous. Do those things well, in fact better than anyone else and the RESULTS will be quite the opposite. Penn State has done it better than anyone else over the past decade and a half.
So the “numbers” above do have meaning. They are a not-so-subtle hint that something special is happening regarding Penn State wrestling at the most basic of levels. The records set are a RESULT of the many things that fans never see, and these mostly unseen aspects are the fuel that makes the engine run, and do so at a very high level. Wins and losses, indeed all success, including success in the classroom never happen without preparation and planning. I would say to all fans; enjoy the dual meets and tournaments where we get to see our favorite team compete and win a lot, but in the back of our minds remember the behind-the-scenes sacrifices and hard work that creates that success. Therein lies the key to continued success. WE ARE!!
