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A Legend
in the Making
by
Mike Morrow
Amid cries of
blasphemy, the state of Iowa is in an uproar.
No one, mind
you, is comparing Cael Sanderson with Dan Gable,
though the record can speak for itself.
Sanderson, from
Heber, Utah, recently completed his four-year career at Iowa State
with his fourth consecutive NCAA championship and a spotless 159-0
record. A 197-pounder, he is the first wrestler in history to complete
a four-year career without a loss; he is the second four-time NCAA
champion in history.
Move over, Dan
Gable. There's room at the top.
Like the booming
thud of a thrown opponent, Sanderson has muscled his way into the
spotlight, something he's grown accustomed to but doesn't necessarily
enjoy.
On paper, not
even Dan Gable was that good, and Gable, most everyone will agree,
is the greatest collegiate wrestler in history.
The legend of
Dan Gable is every bit a part of the fabric as a Hoosier basketball
story, an Ohio Massilon football story or a Williamsport baseball
story.
At Iowa, Gable
won two NCAA championships and 100 matches in a row before losing
to Larry Owings of Washington for the 1970 NCAA championship.
His stature
grew after that, as he won three national Amateur Athletic Union
freestyle championships, a number of international meets and, in
1972, the Olympic gold medal. (After retiring from competitive wrestling,
Gable led the University of Iowa to nine NCAA titles. He had a 355-21-5
dual meet record with the Hawkeyes and later coached the U.S. Olympic
team in 1980 and 1984.)
Sanderson isn't
there yet, but he is that good. Even Dan Gable admits that. And
others are finding out, too.
A crew from
Iowa Public Television has followed Sanderson through every match
this season for a documentary premiering March 31. He's been profiled
on ESPN Classic.
Babies in Iowa
have been named after him. He's done teleconferences to accommodate
requests for interviews. Iowa State has even come out with a Cael
Sanderson bobble head doll.
"Cael's main
focus is not the media, but he understands he's made history," Iowa
State coach Bobby Douglas told USA Today. "If we're going to promote
the sport, when you get someone like Cael, you need to promote him."
Wrestling, understand,
is the most popular sport in Iowa. Boys' matches often are the featured
event at a doubleheader, with the early event being boys' basketball.
Old gymnasiums-the best kind in Iowa-are packed, lights flash, music
blares, and the action is intense.
For wrestling,
there is no better place than Iowa. And, for now, no one better
than Sanderson.
Cael is the
third of four sons of Steve and Debbie
Sanderson of Heber, Utah. His dad coached him at Wasatch,
Utah, High School, and his brothers Cody (25, a
two-time NCAA runner-up at Iowa State), Cole (23)
and Cyler (13, a ninth grader who was the Utah
state champion this past season) are also wrestlers. The family
has an intriguing website that gives you almost anything you want
to know. Like where to write
Cole, who began
his mission to Russia on Sakhalin Island in the city of Yuzho-Sakhalinsk
in January. The website: Team
Sanderson
Sanderson is
unlikely to serve a two-year mission, his father said. However,
Cael baptized his fiance (the two are getting married in May) the
week between the Big 12 and NCAA wrestling championship events.
The Sandersons-who
will be profiled in Meridian in the future-are all champions.
A Rebel
yell
No one could have written a better script for the Dixie
State College athletic program this year…and the storybook year
isn't over yet.
With its football
team going 11-1 and its women's soccer team placing second in the
National Junior College Athletic Association tournament, the Dixie
men's basketball team rolled to the NJCAA championship, defeating
longtime power Coffeyville, Kansas.
A year before,
Dixie won the NJCAA women's soccer championship, was third in the
NJCAA men's basketball tournament and second in the NJCAA baseball
tournament.
At the helm
of the Dixie basketball team is Jeff Kidder, a dynamic coach who
formerly coached with Eddie Sutton and whose future certainly must
include a Division I job. However, Kidder is happy in St. George.
Never
on Sunday
Even though she may not be a full-time player, Aleisha
Cramer is as much a part of the United States women's national
soccer team as Brandi Chastain, Mia Hamm or Joy Fawcett.
Cramer, a sophomore
at BYU, was named to the national team by coach April Heinrich,
but startled almost everyone by saying she would not play in any
games on Sunday, in honor of the Sabbath.
"She is the
most impactful player in women's college soccer today," Heinrich
said. "She changed the game. At 19 years of age, that's about as
good a compliment as you'll get from me without calling her the
next Michael Jordan."
Cramer enrolled
at BYU after being named national high school player of the year
at Green Mountain High School in Lakewood, Colo. She later said
"the trip to BYU made me realize the Gospel of Jesus Christ was
my number one priority, and in the long run, that was going to make
me the happiest."
Mission
Call
Longtime BYU football coach LaVell Edwards and his wife Patti will
serve an 18-month church mission in New York City. The couple will
spend a short time at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, before
beginning their service in a public affairs capacity in June. Edwards
was BYU head coach for 29 seasons before stepping down in 2001.
Final
thought
Our prayers are with Rulon Gardner, the
Olympic wrestling champion who had a toe amputated March 29. Gardner
suffered frostbite when he was stranded overnight in a back country
area of Wyoming.
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© 2002Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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