Sanderson named InterMat Coach of the Year

Cael Sanderson, who led his Penn State wrestlers to a perfect 16-0 season and the 2016 Big Ten and NCAA Division I team titles, has been named InterMat Coach of the Year for 2016, the amateur wrestling website announced on Monday.

Cael Sanderson coaching at the NCAAs in New York City (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

This is the third time Sanderson has been selected for this award since it was created in 2006, having been named Coach of the Year in 2012 (as Penn State head coach) and in 2007 (heading up the Iowa State Cyclones), making him only the second three-time winner (joining Ohio State's Tom Ryan).

Presented each year to the best college coach in all divisions, the award is based solely on the balloting of writers and executives at InterMat prior to the announcement of any other national wrestling media awards. Each staff member is asked to select five coaches and rank them from first to fifth. Point values are assigned to each placement, ranging from one point for a coach listed fifth on a voter's ballot, up to nine points for a first-place choice.

Sanderson's name was listed at the top of six of the ten InterMat staffer ballots, for a total of 78 votes. In second place was Virginia Tech head coach Kevin Dresser, No. 1 choice of three on the InterMat staff, with 61 votes. The other coach featured at the top of one InterMat voter ballot was Nick Mitchell of Grand View University of Des Moines. The head coach of the 2016 NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) team champions received a total of 15 votes.

Since Sanderson took the helm at Penn State in April 2009, his Nittany Lions have claimed a total of five NCAA team titles in the past six years (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016). That puts the Heber City, Utah native in some very elite company with two other legendary Division I head coaches whose programs have accumulated exactly five team crowns: current Oklahoma State head coach John Smith, and the late Harold Nichols of Iowa State. (There are a number of coaches who earned more than five NCAA team titles. Three coached at Oklahoma State: Myron Roderick (seven, 1950s-60s), Art Griffith (eight, 1940s-50s), and Ed Gallagher (11, 1928-1940). Dan Gable's teams at University of Iowa earned 15 team titles.)

The just-concluded season was golden for the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and his wrestlers. Penn State compiled a perfect 16-0 overall record (9-0 in Big Ten dual meets) for 2015-16, then capped that with team titles at the 2016 Big Ten conference championships and 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. At this year's Nationals, Sanderson's Nittany Lions clinched the team title during Saturday morning's action. By the time the finals had been completed that night, Penn State could claim 123 team points -- a considerable distance ahead of second-place Oklahoma State's 97.5 -- along with two individual champs in Nico Megaludis at 125 pounds, and Zain Retherford at 149.

"At the beginning of the season it seemed like there would be a battle for the team title at the NCAA tournament. When the event actually came about, there was still a battle, but it was for second place. Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions not only won every competition they entered this year, but distanced themselves from the field in a surprising fashion," said InterMat's Tom Franck.

Cael Sanderson with Nico Megaludis before the NCAA semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

"What is remarkable is the extent to which Cael Sanderson gets his wrestlers to compete as he did -- creating angles, seeing not-obvious scoring opportunities and seizing them -- sometimes in creative ways. It is rare to see a Penn State wrestler get out-scrambled. They are always in shape, offensive-minded and compete in a way that is always more about wrestling than it is about brawling. In short, Cael Sanderson has developed a style that is not only successful, but is fun to watch and helps promote the sport of wrestling."

Sanderson winning the InterMat 2016 Coach of the Year honors completes a sweep of all three national collegiate awards presented by InterMat this year. Late last week, the website announced Zain Retherford as InterMat 2016 Wrestler of the Year, and Jason Nolf as InterMat 2016 Freshman of the Year.

2016 InterMat Coach of the Year Voting Results
1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1
Total Votes/(First-Place Votes)

1. Cael Sanderson (Penn State) 78 (6)
2. Kevin Dresser (Virginia Tech) 61 (3)
3. Pat Popolizio (N.C. State) 30
4. John Smith (Oklahoma State) 28
5. Tom Ryan (Ohio State) 22
6. Nick Mitchell (Grand View) 15 (1)
7. Rob Koll (Cornell) 6
8. Eric Keller (Wartburg) 5
9. Steve Costanzo (St. Cloud State) 4
10. Brian Smith (Missouri) 1

Past Winners -- InterMat Coach of the Year

2015: Tom Ryan, Ohio State
2014: Tim Flynn, Edinboro and J Robinson, Minnesota
2013: John Smith, Oklahoma State
2012: Cael Sanderson, Penn State
2011: Mike Denney, Nebraska-Omaha
2010: Rob Koll, Cornell
2009: Tom Ryan, Ohio State
2008: Tom Ryan, Ohio State
2007: Cael Sanderson, Iowa State
2006: John Smith, Oklahoma State

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Sanderson named InterMat Coach of the Year

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