Penn State’s wrestling team might be the greatest dynasty in sports

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — On a damp night in late January, one of college wrestling’s storied dynasties, a feared team that won two dozen national championships under legendary coaches, rolled into the Bryce Jordan Center to prove a point.

By night’s end, however, the No. 2 Iowa suffered one of its worst losses in decades and only proved how unstoppable the Penn State wrestling juggernaut is. There’s no “any given day” for No. 1 Penn State, no chance for luck, mental mistakes, or officiating errors to throw a wrench in its matches, even against archrival Iowa.

No team stands a chance.

Coach Cael Sanderson and his wrestlers should easily lock up their fourth consecutive national title this weekend at the NCAA championships at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly. Sanderson, an Olympic gold medalist who went 159-0 wrestling for Iowa State, won his first team title with Penn State in Philadelphia in 2011. This year‘s title would be his 12th since taking over the program in April 2009.

In State College, after his team’s 30-8 demolition of Iowa on Jan. 31, the square-jawed Utah native was asked if he ever reflects on the dominance.

“Nope,” he said. “We don’t think about that stuff. We think about our next match and getting better.”

» READ MORE: Step inside as the Wells Fargo Center prepares for the ‘demand’ of the NCAA wrestling championships

The Nittany Lions won their next match, against then-No. 12 Michigan, 39-0. The team hasn’t lost a dual meet in five years and outscored opponents, 599-62, on its way to a 15-0 record and a third consecutive Big Ten championship this year.

“They’re not just winning national championships year after year, they are also putting athletes from their university on Olympic teams and world teams,” said Gary Abbott, director of communications and special projects for USA Wrestling. “Penn State is putting its stamp on the world.”

Wrestling arguably is the world’s oldest sport and one of its toughest, but it remains a niche sport in the United States, with fewer than 100 Division I programs nationwide. In men’s basketball, there are over 350. Former wrestlers and fans say the dynasty unfolding in State College rivals any other sport, including Alabama’s football team, UCLA basketball from the John Wooden era, and the Connecticut women’s basketball program.

In the last five years, Penn State has pulled away from the program it has been compared to most, Iowa, which won nine wrestling titles in a row under former coach Dan Gable.

“We’re talking unprecedented winning,” said former Penn State All-American Ken Chertow, who attended the Iowa match.

Some wonder if Penn State, which qualified all 10 wrestlers for the NCAA championships this weekend, is the greatest team in sports.

“I don’t know of any team ever, on all levels, that’s ever been more dominant. Penn State, without a doubt in my mind, could walk away with the NCAA title with their backups,” said Chael Sonnen, an All-American at Oregon and a retired UFC fighter.

Four of Penn State’s 10 wrestlers earned the No. 1 seed in Philadelphia, and several others have second and third seeds. Penn State’s 184-pounder, Carter Starocci of Erie, is looking to win a record-breaking fifth individual national championship.

If January’s win over Iowa was a statement, it also brought up an intriguing question: Is Penn State too good for the sport?

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy we’re the top dog and nobody else is, but at the same time, it would be more fun if there was a little more parity,” said Andy Matter, a South Jersey resident who won two individual NCAA titles for Penn State in the 1970s. “It’s a foregone conclusion who’s going to win.”

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Sonnen, who discusses MMA and wrestling on his popular podcast, said the race for runner-up, likely between Iowa and Oklahoma State, is the drama to focus on at the Wells Fargo Center. Oklahoma State coach David Taylor was a two-time national champion under Sanderson at Penn State, and both teams are competing for recruits to dethrone Sanderson’s squad. Last month, the nation’s top recruit, junior Bo Bassett of Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown, Pa., committed to Iowa, causing Facebook groups and YouTube commentators to ponder whether the Penn State dynasty was in jeopardy.

Penn State has always had a competitive wrestling program, winning a national championship in 1953 and finishing second at least twice at the tournament. When the school lured Sanderson away from his alma mater in 2009, Penn State wrestling changed forever. Known as a stoic leader who remains cool and collected in the corner, Sanderson recruits athletes who’d rather let their wrestling talk than give interviews. His wrestlers barely celebrate when they win, let alone get in trouble.

“I don’t think so,” heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet said when asked if the win over Iowa was a “statement.”

» READ MORE: From the archives: Penn State goes for its fifth straight national wrestling title

Sanderson’s wrestlers say he is not a taskmaster and is much more fun than he looks. He doesn’t demand that his wrestlers adhere to a certain “style.”

“I think he does a great job of making sure our guys are thinking the right way and lets them be free to compete and be themselves,” said Zain Retherford, a Columbia County native who won three individual NCAA titles for Penn State (2016, 2017, and 2018). “He helped me get out of my own way.”

Retherford, who wrestled to a 131-3 record in high school, was heavily recruited by top-ranked schools. He said most coaches tried to push their programs and their facilities, but Sanderson tried to sell Retherford on his potential.

“Coach Cael was the first coach, the only coach, to ask me what my goals were and he told me whatever they were, he’d help me get there,” he said.

Chertow, who runs a popular wrestling camp, said Penn State’s recruiting is top-tier, and the program rarely takes risks on wrestlers.

“They recruit athletes who love wrestling and are clean living, and they help them perfect their individual styles,” he said. “When you think of style, they get wrestlers who are relentless and aggressive but not reckless.”

» READ MORE: From the archives: Cael Sanderson and rise of Penn State as a wrestling powerhouse

Sonnen marvels that Penn State successfully recruits wrestlers who may never start a match. Many of Sanderson’s wrestlers, he said, aspire to wrestle on an international level for world championships and Olympic medals.

“He recruits wrestlers who want to win at the highest level and believe they can win at the highest level, and I think that’s the difference,” he said. “He is also a solid human being, and if you’re a parent, you’d love to have your kids around him. ”

After the Iowa match, Sanderson conceded he might ponder Penn State’s greatness “at some point.”

“This team’s not worrying about anything that happened in previous years. They’re just doing what they do and competing hard,” he said. “They wrestled pretty dang good.”