CAEL

SANDERSON
The 30-year old Sanderson comes to Penn State after three extremely successful years as
the head coach at his alma mater (Iowa State). While coaching at Iowa State Sanderson's
teams did not finish any lower than fifth at the NCAA Championships and never had a
wrestler not qualify for nationals, getting 30 of 30 grapplers through to the championship
tournament. As a wrestler, Sanderson established himself as the most dominant collegiate
competitor in NCAA history. In four years, Sanderson never lost. From 1999-2002, Sanderson
posted a 159-0 career record (going 39-0, 40-0, 40-0 and 40-0); won four individual National
Championships; won four Most Outstanding Wrestler awards at the NCAA Championships
(the only wrestler in NCAA history to do so); became the first freshman in NCAA history to
win the O.W. honor and won three Dan Hodge Trophies as the nation's best collegiate
wrestler (also a collegiate first). He wrestled his first three years at 184 and then moved to
197 as a senior. The four-time All-American's four-year streak of perfection was called the
No. 2 most outstanding achievement in collegiate sports history by Sports Illustrated and the
NCAA called his final win (in the 2002 NCAA 197-pound championship) one of the NCAA's "25
Defining Moments" for its Centennial celebration. His wrestling career culminated in 2004
when the Heber City, Utah, native won the 84 kg Olympic Gold Medal in Athens, Greece.
After graduating in 2002, he spent 2003 and 2004 as a special assistant in the athletic
department at Iowa State before joining the ISU coaching staff as an assistant coach in
2004-05. He was promoted to the assistant head coach position the next year and then
became the Cyclones' head coach for the 2006-07 season.
 Casey
Cunningham
Cunningham served as Cael Sanderson's head assistant coach last season at Penn State and
before that, Iowa State. Prior to his one year stint in Ames, he was an assistant coach at
Central Michigan for seven years (2001-2008). During his tenure at CMU, he helped lead 18
Chippewas to All-American honors and 35 Mid-American titles. During Cunningham's last
season as an assistant, Central Michigan finished seventh at the 2008 NCAA Championships.
CMU dominated the MAC during Cunningham's time with the Chippewas, winning the last 10
regular season championships (including all seven during his run as an assistant). As a
wrestler, Cunningham is among Central Michigan's all-time greats. He capped off his
collegiate career in 1999 by winning the 157-pound title in the Bryce Jordan Center, earning
the school's first Division I national title and only the second individual title in school history
in any sport. The two-time All-American (he was national runner-up in 1998) won three MAC
championships (1996, 1997 and 1999) and was twice named MAC Wrestler of the Year (1998
and 1999). Cunningham finished his Chippewa career with a 134-19 record. An
accomplished international competitor, Cunningham won the 2008 Pan American Games
silver medal and retired from international competition in 2008.