Des Moines Register
11-21-06
The gold standard
Tom Brands and Cael Sanderson are Olympic gold medalists, national champs
and first-year head coaches at their alma maters with lofty expectations - and
that is where the similarities stop
By DAN McCOOL
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Wrestling teams at Iowa and Iowa State have reason to hope they are about to
embark on a golden age.
Tom Brands of the Hawkeyes and Cael Sanderson of the Cyclones have been
called upon as head coaches to lead their alma maters back to national
prominence.
And that is just one common thread between two men who won Olympic
freestyle wrestling gold medals, were national champions and later became
assistant coaches for their mentors.
That backdrop and the reintroduction of a legend to the Iowa coaching staff - Dan
Gable, an assistant coach and another gold medalist - offers fans an intriguing
college wrestling season to watch.
"I think it's got to bring the state back to the top of the world," said Ron Good,
editor of Amateur Wrestling News.
In the past, the contrasts were most clear in their styles - at least on the mat.
Brands, 38, pounded opponents by pure force, while Sanderson, 27, mastered
the technical elements and never found himself in a bad position.
Early glimpses of how those styles differ from singlets on the mat to wearing suits
matside will become even more clear to Iowans this week. Iowa travels to
Northern Iowa tonight and on Saturday hosts Arizona State, which makes the trip
to Iowa State (1-0) on Sunday.
"The most obvious difference between the two is their personalities," said Bryan
Van Kley, publisher of W.I.N. Magazine. "If you get Tom Brands in a room, and if
he's in the right mood and you get him talking about the right subject, you won't
get him to shut up. He just oozes intensity.
"Cael Sanderson's personality, obviously, is much, much different just in terms of
the way he approaches things. Not that he's not intense as a competitor and now
as a coach, but much more soft-spoken, internally motivated and you don't get
that first impression of the level of intensity in which he goes about his business."
The excitement around both programs is clear.
Iowa State officials are using e-mail campaigns to students and faculty, while
Sanderson's face has shown up in billboard advertising.
Season ticket sales in Ames are up about 40 percent from this time a year ago,
Iowa State spokesman Steve Malchow said.
Toby Trail, Iowa assistant director of marketing, said Brands and Gable agreed to
sign 500 wrestling Herky dolls for fans who buy at least four or more season
tickets.
At Iowa, season tickets are up more than 20 percent.
"It took about four hours to get them out of the boxes and those guys to sign
them all," Trail said. "They'll probably turn around and end up on eBay, but
whatever we need to do to promote Iowa wrestling - those guys are on board."
Sanderson compiled a 159-0 record in college and won four national
championships. Brands assembled a 158-7-2 mark with three titles.
They will meet for the first time when Iowa State wrestles at Iowa on Dec. 3.
Each brings a healthy respect for the other.
"I remember watching Brands wrestle when I was younger, when we'd go to the
national tournament," Sanderson said. "I remember watching him and his brother
(Terry). Their intensity and determination was fun to watch, no question."
Brands' coaching career and Sanderson's competitive careers intersected in
different ways before.
As an assistant coach under Jim Zalesky, Brands worked to derail Sanderson's
unblemished college record. As a member of the U.S. coaching staff, however,
Brands helped prepare Sanderson on the way to a 2004 Olympic gold in Athens.
Brands won his gold medal in 1996 in Atlanta.
"When I saw him prepare for Athens, I felt pretty good about it before the fact,
meaning he wasn't going to get beat," Brands said. "I remember him making
weight, I remember him training. I remember the day I got to Athens, he was sick
and it wasn't even a bump in the road. I'm not saying it was a done deal, but the
competitiveness was evident."
Brands now finds himself with Iowa after spending two seasons coaching Virginia
Tech. His goal is to re-energize a team that has crowned only four individual
NCAA champions since winning its last title in 2000.
"He's on you all the time," said Iowa freshman Ryan Morningstar, who
considered joining Brands at Virginia Tech.
Kurt Backes of Iowa State said the coaching style of Sanderson, who replaced
Bobby Douglas as the Cyclones' head coach, has evolved in Ames.
"He used to coach by example, but now he's more verbal," said Backes, a senior
at 197 pounds. "He gives us more words of wisdom. He breaks it down to the
most simple form - 'Give it your best effort.' Some people over-analyze things
and put more pressure on themselves. He's like, 'Relax and wrestle.'"
The Brands-Sanderson competitiveness will continue on the recruiting trail. They
own names that open front doors of recruits' homes and turns a young man's
vocabulary upside down.
"I had it happen twice because coach Brands called me, too," said Tyler Clark of
Bettendorf, who will wrestle at Iowa State next season. "Your heart starts beating
like faster and faster because you don't want to say the wrong thing. You want to
make a good first impression. ... Once I got to know them, they were pretty cool."
IOWA
COACH: Tom Brands, first season. 17-20 in two seasons at Virginia Tech.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS: Alex Tsirtsis, Eric Luedke, Mark Perry.
LAST SEASON: Iowa was 11-7 in dual meets, sixth in the Big Ten tournament
and fourth in the NCAA Tournament. Jim Zalesky was fired after the season.
THIS SEASON: The Hawkeyes have NCAA Tournament experience at six
weights. Heavyweight Matt Fields returns after a season-ending knee injury last
season, and Mario Galanakis is back at 133 after sitting out last season. Twotime all-American Mark Perry returns to 165 pounds, where he was NCAA
runner-up in 2005, after placing third at 174 last season.
FIVE KEYS TO SUCCESS
• Perry and Fields need to be able to have an injury-free season. Perry’s neck
cost him valuable time last season. Fields had knee surgery.
• New faces such as freshman Ryan Morningstar at 157 must be able to stand up
to the physical grind of the college schedule.
• Eric Luedke needs to become a consistent winner. He showed inconsistent
signs of that last season.
• A new face must emerge and be strong at 184, a weight where the Hawkeyes
have had an all-American four of the past five years.
• Someone needs to end the Hawkeyes’ two-season drought of not crowning an
individual national champion.
IOWA STATE
COACH: Cael Sanderson, first season as head coach.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS: Trent Paulson, Travis Paulson.
LAST SEASON: The Cyclones were 11-7 in dual meets, fourth in the Big 12
Conference tournament and 13th in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Bobby
Douglas resigned after the season.
THIS SEASON: Sanderson has three wrestlers with all-America credentials. The
Paulson twins twice have had top-eight finishes and Kurt Backes placed as a
freshman in 2004. The Cyclones have experienced individuals at eight weights,
but could have five or six new faces in the lineup.
FIVE KEYS TO SUCCESS
• The Paulson twins and Backes were touted as future NCAA champions when
they joined the team. This is their last chance.
• Iowa State’s recruiting class two years ago was considered the best in the
nation. That group needs to show its quality.
• A full-time guy at 174 would help. David Bertolino and Grant Turner shared the
job, but neither got above .500.
• The Cyclones need to find a heavyweight that can contend with most of the
country.
• Injuries to the Paulsons or Backes will shelve any hopes of Iowa State getting
back in the top five.
NORTHERN IOWA
COACH: Brad Penrith, 56-43-2 starting his seventh season as head coach.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS: None
LAST SEASON: The Panthers were 8-8-2 in dual meets, won the NCAA West
Regional and placed 28th in the NCAA Tournament.
THIS SEASON: The Panthers have six NCAA qualifiers leading the way. Nick
Baima at 165 has earned three trips, but no all-America honors. C.J. Ettelson at
141 seeks his third NCAA berth and his first medal. Inexperience might be the
biggest obstacle for the Panthers in their bid to revisit top-10 status. There are
numbers at several weights, just not veteran numbers.
FIVE KEYS TO SUCCESS
• The Panthers wrestle one home dual before the new year. How well they
handle growing up on the road will tell plenty about the end of the season.
• If Kyle Anson keeps his weight under control at 125, he could be Northern
Iowa’s sleeper for a big season.
• Nick Baima must stay healthy before and during the NCAA Tournament in order
to achieve all-America honors he seemed destined for last winter.
• C.J. Ettelson needs to win one more match — he finished one victory shy of
earning all-America status last season.
• If Moza Fay won a total of 30 matches shuffling between three weight classes
last season, he can be an all-American staying at one spot.