Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson hasn't competed in a tournament since winning the Gold Medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Cael is wrestling in the Northeast Senior Regional at SUNY Brockport (near Rochester, New York) this weekend. Is he waging a campaign for the 2012 Olympics?
Not exactly.
"It's just for fun," said Cael. "Some guys on the team told me if we win Big Ten's, I had to wrestle here. So here I am."
We wonder what kind of promise they could have extracted for winning the National Championship!
Cael will be wrestling at 211.5 pounds (96kg). He earned Gold at 185 (84kg).
Cael has a first-round bye and will face the winner of former Northern Illinois wrestler De'Andre Nunn vs. current Bloomsburg 197-pounder Richard Perry.
Cael doesn't wrestle in tournaments, but he still dons the singlet. The Wall Street Journal asked whether any members of his team ever beat him in practice...
"I don't know how to answer that. I'm an old man. These are kids."Does this mean that some members of the Nittany Lion squad can actually take him now? When pressed, Sanderson finally reveals the answer...
"If I'm getting beat by a college kid, it's not going to happen any time soon."Other Nittany Lion Wrestling Club entries in the Senior Freestyle tournament are Mark McKnight (55kg/121 pounds), Nick Fanthorpe (60kg/132 pounds), Doug Umbehauer (84kg/185 pounds), and Jake Varner (120kg/264.5 pounds).
Penn State fans can follow the action on TrackWrestling.
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