Sanderson returns to mat for World Team Trials

Cael Sanderson returned to the mat as response to a bet with his Penn State wrestlers. The Nittany Lions second-year head coach said he would compete in a freestyle U.S. World Team Trials qualifier if they won the 2011 Big Ten title. Penn State squeaked out a one-point win over Iowa in the closest team race in conference history, setting the wheels in motion. The Nittany Lions also went on to win their first NCAA team title in March.

Sanderson announced Thursday that he plans on competing in the World Team Trials at Oklahoma City this weekend. Sanderson, who went 159-0 and won four NCAA titles for Iowa State University from 1999-2002, won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, before taking the mat for the March tournament in Brockport, N.Y.

Sanderson won the qualifier at 211.5 pounds but is cutting to 185, which is the same weight he won an Olympic championship.

“As a coach, I've learned that the greatest thing I can do for my athletes is to share my passion for the sport and competition,” the 31-year-old Sanderson said in a news release. “I still have a passion for competing, and that's the reason I'm going to get back on the mat.”

He will attempt to secure a spot on the U.S. World Team that will compete in the World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, in September. He was a silver medalist in the 2003 World Championships.

Sanderson, who coached Iowa State to a 44-10 dual mark and three Big 12 crowns from 2006-09, was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame on Wednesday. He wants to add to his resume with sights set on a possible trip to the 2012 Olympics in London, according to an Sports Illustrated article by Brian Cazeneuve (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/brian_cazeneuve/06/08/cael-sanderson-comeback/index.html#ixzz1Ol7J4oBU).

In the article, Sanderson told Cazeneuve that a comeback has been in the back of his mind and his wrestlers helped re-ignite his competitive fire. He could face Quentin Wright, who won the 184-pound NCAA title in March for Sanderson and Penn State. Whether he can reclaim his winning form will be determine once the faces a top-level foe.

“I don't really know where I am physically and I won't until I face that first hard test,” Sanderson said to SI's Cazeneuve. “Then I need to just be in there training, because that's what it takes.”