Cael Norman Sanderson (/ˈkeɪl/ KAYL; born June 20, 1979) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Penn State's wrestling team.
As a wrestler, he won an Olympic gold medal and was undefeated in four years of college wrestling at Iowa State (159–0), becoming a four-time NCAA Division I champion (1999–2002).
After redshirting the 1997-98 college wrestling season, Sanderson won all 39 of his matches to win his first NCAA and Big 12 Conference titles at 184 pounds.
[3] His next three seasons were virtually identical, compiling 40 wins and no losses in each and finishing with the only perfect record in NCAA Division I history at 159-0.
[2] He did lose 1 match in his career while redshirting and wrestling unattached at the UNI open to Paul Glynn of Iowa.
[23] [24][25][26][27] Sanderson began his wrestling coaching career with the season ending in 2004 as a special assistant at Iowa State.
In three seasons, Sanderson led Iowa State to three Big 12 conference championships and NCAA Division I finishes of second, fifth, and third overall.