Big

Sanderson did not beat Fulhart in college.

A couple of years the weights were weak to begin with. Cormier killed everyone one year. Trenge killed everyone another year.

Sanderson is an unbelievable wrestler but the guys he wrestled were often a level below your typical phenom DI guys.

ODH

He beat Cormeir and Eggum who both eventually earned World Medals.
He might have not beat Hall of Famers, but he not only beat excellent wrestlers he dominated them.
He was OW at NCAA his Freshman year and dramatically improved every year after that.
He left a legacy that no one has even been close to.

Cyclone85

Yes, I believe he won in 1997. He was and is tough.....he and Sanderson did trade a couple of losses (post-college).

To your question, I believe it will happen again. It is an amazing individual accomplishment, but there is no reason to believe that the pinnacle of wrestling achievement ends with him. He was great for wrestling, but somebody will come along and eventually beat that record....which would be good for wrestling too.

gg121and2

In my "Season predictions" blog from November 12 I predicted the following:

5. The following things will be posted on the internet at some time during the season.

a. "If Cael Sanderson had not competed in such weak weight classes he would not have gone undefeated", (and then someone will inevitably point out that he lost to the late Iowa Hawkeye, Paul Jenn during his redshirt year).

RYou

If I'm not mistaken Sanderson beat Damion Hahn, albeit by 1 point, and Damion went on to become a 2Xer.

Back to the question greatest achievement in college sports ?

bluestater

And Daniel Cormier went on to be an Olympian and World placer.

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goferphan

To the original question, I do not think it will happen in my life time. I am 36 years old. You do the math.

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Flop The Nuts

Conversely, I think it will. I remember sitting in a bar about 10 years ago talking about the Majors record (golf) held by Jack Nicklaus. At the time, it seemed nearly impossible to believe that someone could even come close to it. Then Tiger came along. He hasn't broken it, but he probably will.

Bob Beamon's record (long jump) was considered a freakish record, given that it was much longer than the second longest jump ever. But that record was broken too.

There have been a number of people who were relatively close to being undefeated in college, so it's not as if it's beyond comprehension that someone can pull it off. My guess is that there are a few people currently playing football or basketball that may have had the ability to go undefeated if they had chosen wrestling.

therick

I don't doubt that someone may someday become the second person to go unbeaten for 4 years. That said, I'm still wondering when the next 4x champion will appear?

I agree that there was an element of luck involved with Cael's feat. However, I don't think it had to do with strength of competition. What's amazing is that he went 4 years without a single significant injury. When you consider everything that can happen in the hours of practice and in those 159 matches, it takes a measure of luck to stay healthy through all of that.


I have no idea what Sports Illustrated would consider a greater achievement than Cael's record. I'd guess they picked the streak by UCLA in the early 70's in basketball, or the multiple unbeaten seasons by Oklahoma in football.

grapplefan

But would they have the guts? My guess is that most roundballers wouldn't last one season in any serious wrestling program. The physical condition of Division I wrestlers is a whole level higher than that of those who play Division I basketball and football.