Olympic gold. Four NCAA titles. Undefeated in college competition. Now Cael Sanderson adds to his list of accomplishment s by being named Rev Coach of the Year in his very first year as head wrestling coach of the Iowa State Cyclones.
On Wednesday, Sanderson was named Rev Coach of the Year by RevWrestling.com. The award is given annually to the nation’s top collegiate coach across all divisions of wrestling as voted on by the writers and executives of RevWrestling.com.
“Cael Sanderson has a burning desire to be the best, whether it’s as a wrestler or as a coach, “said RevWrestling.com senior writer Andrew Hipps. “He has already established his legacy as one of the all-time greatest wrestlers. Now he’s in the process of establishing his legacy as a coach. Based on what he accomplished in his first season, the sky is the limit.”
When Sanderson was hired to replace Bobby Douglas as Iowa State’s sixth head coach just over a year ago (March 31, 2006), many wrestling fans around the country questioned whether his on-the-mat success would translate into coaching success. After all, he spent only two seasons as a special assistant in the athletics department before joining the ISU coaching staff as an assistant coach for the 2004-05 season.
But after Iowa State compiled a 13-3 dual meet record, won the Big 12 Championships, and finished second at the NCAA Division I Championships, nobody is questioning whether Cael Sanderson can succeed as a Division I collegiate head wrestling coach.
Sanderson, who is the only Division I collegiate wrestler ever to finish his career undefeated (159-0) and win four NCAA titles, received seven of the eight first-place votes and accumulated a total of 68 votes. Missouri’s Brian Smith, who led the Tigers to a third-place finish at the NCAA Division I Championships (that program’s highest team finish ever), came in a distant second in the voting with 35 votes. Minnesota’s J Robinson, who led the Gophers to their third national title in program history, came in third with 32 votes. Augsburg’s Jeff Swenson, who led the Auggies to their record-10th NCAA Division III national championship in the last 17 seasons, was fourth with 17 votes. Hofstra’s Tom Shifflet rounded out the top five with 13 votes.
Other coaches who received votes included Northwestern’s Tim Cysewski (10), Tennessee-Chattanooga’s Chris Bono (7), Iowa Central’s Luke Moffitt (7), Wartburg’s Jim Miller (5), Oregon State’s Jim Zalesky (3), Ohio State’s Tom Ryan (2), and Central Oklahoma’s David James (1).
Launched in October 2005, RevWrestling.com covers all aspects of amateur wrestling, including high school, all divisions of college wrestling, freestyle and Greco-Roman competition, and Real Pro Wrestling. The Web site, located at www.RevWrestling.com, provides wrestling fans with timely wrestling news coverage along with unique content features such as Rev Rankings, exclusive athlete profiles, Q &A’s, and hard-hitting analysis of major issues affecting amateur wrestling.
2007 Rev Coach of the Year Voting
1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1
1. Cael Sanderson, Iowa St.: 68 (7)
2. Brian Smith, Missouri: 35 (1)
3. J Robinson, Minnesota: 32
4. Jeff Swenson, Augsburg: 17
5. Tom Shifflet, Hofstra: 13
6. Tim Cysewski, Northwestern: 10
7. Chris Bono, UTC: 7
7. Luke Moffitt, Iowa Central: 7
9. Jim Miller, Wartburg: 5
10. Jim Zalesky, Oregon State: 3
11. Tom Ryan, Ohio State: 2
12. David James, C. Oklahoma: 1
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