UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A rowdy crowd of wrestling fans gathered around the mat that a young Cyler Sanderson was moments from stepping foot on. He was only 7 at the time, yet his last name drew hordes of wrestling fanatics to the small gymnasium – anxious eyes locked on his every move.
"Everyone expects you to win because of who you are," Sanderson said. "But everyone always cheers when you lose because of who you are."
The constant attention is justified however, as the Sanderson name holds a rich history of success, glory and victory.
Twenty-two Sandersons have won individual Utah high school state titles, while reaching NCAA Division I All-American status eight times. With a family legacy of that magnitude, it comes as little surprise that Cyler would grow up to be a wrestling icon.
"I remember getting beat as a young kid and the crowd would cheer and go crazy. I never really understood what the heck was going on. I just thought they didn't like me, but that wasn't the case," Sanderson said. "And after a while, I actually started to enjoy the challenge of those expectations."
And despite the pressures to perform, Sanderson was determined to make a name for himself – rather than relying on the success of his family name. The former Nittany Lion now owns and operates the Sanderson Wrestling Academy, serving as head coach for roughly 100-120 young Utah wrestlers.
"Growing up, my dad did a very good job of telling me to focus on myself as a wrestler. He helped me understand that I'm not Cael, I'm not Cody, I'm not Cole – I'm Cyler," Sanderson said. "Cyler is his own person and Cyler has his own career. My mom and my dad both helped me to stay grounded in that idea that I was wrestling for me and for nobody else. "
Luckily, Cyler had quite the array of role models to look up to in the meantime.
Cyler's two older brothers, Cody and Cael Sanderson, paved a path of success through their nationwide impact on the wrestling community. Cody was a two-time NCAA runner-up at Iowa State, while Cael was a four-time undefeated NCAA champion and won an Olympic gold medal in 2004.
While the brothers boast a vast array of individual accomplishments, it is their work as a duo – leading the Nittany Lions to eight NCAA Division I national titles since their arrival in Happy Valley – that makes the Sanderson name a force to be reckoned with.
Following in his brother's footsteps, Cyler spent four years wrestling collegiately at Iowa State. Under the coaching of his two brothers, he secured his first All-American status in 2008 with a seventh-place finish at 157 lbs, but when Cody and Cael moved to Penn State to pursue a head coach and associate head coach position, Cyler saw it as a chance to flourish as a Nittany Lion as well.
"It was an interesting process because it was my senior year. I had been with my team at Iowa State for four years already. So, it wasn't easy," the former Cyclone said. "It was a tough decision, but ultimately, I wanted to be with my brothers the most. I wanted them in my corner as my coaches, so that was the deciding factor."
For some, having brothers as coaches would sound like a nightmare, but for Cyler it sounded more like an opportunity.
"It wasn't that difficult to have them as my coaches even though they were also my brothers," Sanderson said. "It was actually really great to be coached by family because I had grown up with the same mentality. I just always found it important to maintain a different level of respect when my brothers were my coaches, as opposed to when we were home and just playing board games."
The Sanderson family dynamic was established long before Cyler had the chance to step on his first mat, however. It was his grandfather, Norman Sanderson, who laid the foundation for growth and success in the sport of wrestling for all of Utah.
Norman never wrestled himself – but he did manage to start the very first youth wrestling club in the state. He then went on to officiate and coach wrestling for several years after. In the last eight months of his grandfather's life, Cyler had the opportunity to live with and learn from the famous Norman Sanderson.
"He really helped set the tone for the mentality my family carries, which is to focus on getting better and winning will ultimately take care of itself," Sanderson said. "That mentality has trickled down many generations and has affected the kids I coach and the kids Cael and Cody coach, as well."
With his work at the Sanderson Wrestling Academy, Cyler's upbeat personality and reputable background translates to the children he teaches each day – even helping redshirt freshman Terrell Barraclough move from the training academy to the Nittany Lions' 2020-21 roster.
"It's a lot of work but it's very rewarding. It's a job, but it's also an opportunity to teach kids and help them get to the highest level," Sanderson said. "It's not a job where you're going to be a millionaire, but it's very worth it because you have the opportunity to affect so many lives."
It isn't just his two-time All-American status that attracts young wrestlers from all over the nation. When he isn't wrestling or coaching, Sanderson finds refuge in his lifelong passion for all things arachnid – specifically, tarantulas.
"From the time that I was little, I was always into bugs and snakes and frogs and anything that crawled. So, about a year ago, I got into collecting tarantulas," Sanderson said. "There are blue ones, red ones, purple ones and just about every color that are from all over the world. That's been fun because it completely takes my mind off wrestling and everything else going on in the world."
Sanderson said the kids take a lot of interest in his unusual pet collection – often helping to release a lot of tension that can develop from the stress of wrestling. But when he isn't with his tarantulas, Cyler says that staying connected with his brothers is of utmost importance in his life.
Wrestling has always been a way to connect and unite the Sanderson family. Whether they were on long road trips to tournaments or spent hours together in the practice room, Cyler said he values his family's lifelong commitment to the sport.
"Looking back, I could've wrestled at a lot of different schools and I could've had a lot of different coaches – but I don't think that I would trade anything for the time that I got to spend with my brothers, being their athlete," Sanderson said. "That's one of the things I really treasure about my wrestling career."
