By: Dick Kelly
The Cael Sanderson era of Iowa State wrestling has officially begun.
Sanderson, who was named the Cyclones’ head coach last spring after Bobby Douglas stepped down, introduced his team Tuesday at wrestling media day and said the Cyclones have the potential to win the school’s first NCAA championship since 1987.
“This team is going to be real competitive with everybody, “Sanderson said. “We’ve got big plans, and we expect to win; we expect to win everything.”
Sanderson has reason to be optimistic. ISU returns three All-Americans in Trent Paulson at 157 pounds, Travis Paulson at 165 and Kurt Backes at 197. They could be joined in the starting lineup at 174 by either junior David Bertolino or senior Grant Turner and as many as six redshirt freshmen.”
“It’s going to be a good year, “Sanderson said. “The freshmen have been tested and are used to having pressure on them. The college season is different with tough competition week in and week out, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys and they’re ability and their excitement.
“They’re everything everyone has said they are. It’s going to be a great class.”
The freshmen Sanderson is so high on are Nick Fanthorpe at 125, Nick Gallick at 133, Mitch Mueller at 141, Cyler Sanderson at 149, Jake Varner at 184 and heavyweight David Zabriskie.
Of those six, Gallick, the brother of 2005 ISU national champion Nate Gallick, Mueller, Varner and Zabraskie appear to be all but assured of starting spots when the Cyclones open the season Nov. 10 against Buena Vista.
Sanderson said Fanthorpe is battling junior Ben Hanisch for a starting position, and that Cyler Sanderson, the coach’s brother, is going against Jason Knipp and Aron Scott.
Cyler Sanderson suffered a knee injury while competing in a junior national tournament in July 2005 and hasn’t seen any real competition for about 15 months after spending most of the 2005-06 season in rehab.
“He’s been wrestling live since February of last year, but hasn’t competed for aboutg15 months, “Sanderson said. “He’s making a lot of progress and is training hard every day.”
Cyler Sanderson said his knee is fine, and that he’s ready for the season to begin.
“The knee is doing real well, “he said. “It’s feeling really good, and I’m ready to go.”
A change this season will find Backes, a senior, moving to 197 to make room for Varner.
Sophomore Joe Curran, who wrestled at 197 last season as a true freshman, will redshirt this year.
“I feel real comfortable with Backes going to 197, and I think he feels good about it, “Cael Sanderson said. “He’s so powerful and strong and is going to be a lot to handle.
“I think it’s a great move for him and a great move for our team. With his speed, his athleticism, his ability to scramble, he’s going to be tough to compete with.”
Backes, who admitted that cutting weight has always been a problem, said he, too, is happy at 197.
“I was never a big weight cutter, and this year is going to be totally different, “said Backes, who earned All-American honors in 2003-04, but has failed to place in the last two national tournaments.
The Paulson twins, also seniors, are two-time All-Americans. Trent Paulson earned All-American honors with fourth-place finishes the past two seasons, and Travis Paulson was an All-American in 2003-04, when he finished sixth, and again last season with another sixth-place finish.
“I feel blessed because it’s a great opportunity to lead, “Trent Paulson said. “Having six freshmen on the team, I just want to do whatever I can to get them to that next level.”
Trent Paulson said that after Sanderson was named head coach, he asked each team member to commit four days a week to being in the wrestling room.
“We’ve built some team unity, we’re working together and it’s just been great having that many people in here training over the summer, “Paulson said.
Sanderson, a four-time national champion at ISU and an Olympic champion in 2004, said the kind of effort his team gives will dictate what kind of season it has.
“That was my philosophy, and that’s the same philosophy we have now with each and every individual, “Sanderson said. “If we can get a total effort out of each guy, and we have so far, it’s going to be a special team.
“I’m not real patient. I want to win right now. Coach Douglas left us with some great talent, and we are going to be able to compete right away. Everyone expects us to do well, and I like to have that pressure. It means you are in a place that cares about wrestling.”
Sanderson said he expects the Big 12 Conference to be as competitive as always, adding that perennial power Oklahoma State can’t be considered the league favorite this season.
“Oklahoma State isn’t the clear favorite this year, “Sanderson said. “We’re going to contend for that title. It will be fun to see how things turn out.
“This team is good enough to win (a national championship). The freshmen have to keep coming along and continue to improve throughout the season. We’ve got three seniors that are expecting to be national champions, and I know we’ve got some freshmen that are expecting to be national champions.
“With that attitude, if we come together as a team, the sky’s the limit. And things are only going to get better from here on out.”
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