RETURNING ALL-AMERICAN
The Nittany Lion wrestling team received a huge boost with the arrival of 2008 All-American Cyler Sanderson from Iowa State. Cyler, the younger brother of head coach Cael and associate head coach Cody, was a three-year starter at Iowa State and earned All-America honors in 2008 with a seventh place finish at 157. The talented veteran suffered an early upset last year and will look to return to the podium in 2010 as one of five returning All-Americans on the Nittany Lion roster.
Cyclone Career
2008-09:
Opened season with dual meet wins over Wade Eldridge of Utah Valley and Ben Jordan of Wisconsin...lost to Cornell[apos]s Jordan Leen in the NWCA All-Star Classic...majored Iowa[apos]s Matt Ballweg, Dickinson[apos]s Nick Zumwalt and North Dakota State[apos]s Vince Salminen...posted superb 5-1 mark at Midlands to take second place (lost tough tie-breaker to Chris Bono in finals)...tough 1-3 showing at National Duals...reeled off five straight wins in duals in January and February.
Big 12 Championships
(1-2, 4th place, National Qualifier): Posted 1-2 mark at Big 12s and took fourth place to earn third trip to nationals...dropped close 7-5 decision to Missouri[apos]s Michael Chandler...beat Oklahoma[apos]s Chad Terry 12-9 and fell to Oklahoma State[apos]s Neil Erisman 15-6.
NCAA Championships (2-2, DNP): Posted 2-2 mark in third trip to NCAAs, departed after upset loss to Bloomsburg[apos]s Matt Moley...opened with wins over Northern Illinois[apos] Bryan Deutsch (a fall at the 4:31 mark) and Adam Hall of Boise State (4-3) before losing to eventual national champion Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska and Moley.
2007-08:
Finished sophomore season with a 33-6 record and registered a team-leading eight major decisions, two technical falls, and three pins ... placed seventh at 157 pounds at NCAA Championships to garner All-America status ... earned first Big 12 championship by avenging a dual loss to Michael Chandler of Missouri with a last-second takedown to win 6-5 ... major decisioned Chris Oliver of Nebraska, 14-4 ... posted a 20-7 major decision over Arizona State[apos]s Alex Pavlenko ... pinned Oregon State[apos]s Dan Brascetta in 1:48 ... won four matches at NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, three of which were major decisions ... placed third at 157 pounds at Midlands Championship ... opened Midlands competition with a trifecta of bonus-point victories with a 6:48 fall of Air Force[apos]s Tony Dorward, followed by a 10-2 major decision over Clint Arlis of Illinois and a 21-4 (3:56) technical fall against Chris Stout of American ... named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week (Dec. 17) ... beat Ryan Morningstar of Iowa via 10-5 decision ... provided ISU with a key dual win by beating Minnesota All-American C.P. Schlatter, 3-2 ... suffered a broken nose at Binghamton Duals before going on to win eight-straight matches .. won five matches, including two major decisions and a technical fall, en route to claiming his first Harold Nichols/Cyclone Open title ... tallied first win of the season over Northern Illinois[apos] Aaron Owen, 12-5.
2006-07:
Closed out freshman season with a 29-11 record at 149 pounds ... posted a 3-2 mark at NCAA Championships ... Big 12 Championship 149-pound runner up ... upset Missouri[apos]s Josh Wagner, 5-2 ... tallied two victories over Oklahoma State[apos]s B. J. Jackson ... won first league bout with a 12-8 decision of Nebraska[apos]s Robert Sanders ... placed seventh at 149 pounds at Midlands Championships ... runner-up at Fullerton Open ... began ISU career with a 3:58 fall of Calvin Barber of Buena Vista.
2005-06:
Red-shirt season.
High School/Personal
National Junior Championship 140-pound champ ... career record of 163-8 ... three-time Utah high school state champion ... 2005 first-team Asics All-American ... Amateur Wrestling News second-team All-American ... ranked first at 140 pounds by NWCA and AWN ... 2005 National High School Coaches Association champion ... two-time champion at Reno Tournament of Champions ... 2005 USA Dream Team member ... West regional recipient of 2005 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award ... 2004 Junior Nationals Greco-Roman runner-up ... 2004 Asics Tiger High School All-American honorable mention ... coached by father, Steve Sanderson...born Nov. 19, 1986 ... son of Steve and Debbie Sanderson...brother of PSU head coach Cael and PSU associate head coach Cody.
| Career Statistics | |||||||
| YEAR | OVERALL | DUALS (B10) | TRN (B10/NCAA) | F | TF | M | Pts. |
| 2008-09 | 20-9 | 12-5 (0-0) | 8-4 (0-0/2-2) | 2-0 | 1-0 | 7-5 | 46 |
| 2007-08 | 33-6 | 16-3 (0-0) | 17-3 (0-0/5-2) | 3-1 | 2-0 | 8-0 | 65 |
| 2006-07 | 29-11 | 12-4 (0-0) | 17-7 (0-0/2-2) | 7-1 | 0-0 | 5-0 | 63 |
| 2005-06 | Red-Shirt Season | ||||||
| Career | 82-26 | 40-12 (0-0) | 42-14 (0-0/9-6) | 12-2 | 3-0 | 20-5 | 174 |