Iowa State wrestler on track for unprecedented success

AMES, Iowa (AP) _ The U.S. Olympic wrestling trials last summer helped Cael Sanderson reaffirm how he feels about losing. <br><br>He hates it. Can't stand it. Drives him crazy. <br><br>Maybe that's

Thursday, December 14th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

AMES, Iowa (AP) _ The U.S. Olympic wrestling trials last summer helped Cael Sanderson reaffirm how he feels about losing.

He hates it. Can't stand it. Drives him crazy.

Maybe that's why it doesn't happen very often. In fact, it has never happened to Sanderson in a college match.

A third of the way through his junior season at Iowa State, Sanderson is 91-0 with two NCAA championships, and he's on a course that could take him where no college wrestler has gone before.

Oklahoma State's Pat Smith is the only wrestler with four NCAA titles, but he lost five times along the way and had two ties. Three wrestlers have gone unbeaten while winning three national championships.

No one has been perfect over four years.

``It's a phenomenal position to be in to see what Cael has done,'' teammate Joe Heskett said. ``He brings up the rest of the team by doing that. He is on pace for something incredible and that will lift up this whole team, this whole university.''

Sanderson already is approaching one major milestone. The NCAA lists its record for consecutive victories as 98 by Dan Gable, who also wrestled at Iowa State, although ISU records show him with 100 straight wins.

It might not strike the same chord with sports fans as Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, but 98 straight wins at anything is a feat worth celebrating.

Gable was undefeated at Iowa State until losing in the NCAA finals as a senior in 1970 and is the obvious point of comparison for Sanderson. So how does he stack up?

``Time will tell,'' Gable said with a smile. ``I think he's an exciting wrestler, one that people like to watch. I think his style is very similar to what I wrestled _ unique styles that are hard to emulate.''

Sanderson's style is built on aggression and constant motion. He's always on the attack. He wrestles at 184 pounds but moves like a 133-pounder.

``He just has something about him,'' Iowa State coach Bobby Douglas said. ``He enjoys being out there on the mat. I can't describe him, I really can't. He ranks among the great ones right now, but he's got two seasons to go. I'll be able to describe him a lot better after that last season.''

Sanderson was named the outstanding wrestler at the NCAA meet each of the last two years, the first time someone has received the honor as a freshman and sophomore. Last season, he became the first non-senior to win the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's top college wrestler.

He has accomplished so much already, yet the competitive fire still burns.

``I'm always thinking about my next match, my next NCAA tournament,'' Sanderson said. ``Before I even won it my freshman year, I'm sure I was thinking about it.

``It's really important for me each match just to really perform my best. That's what I'm aiming at. I don't want to have any letdowns or any bad matches this year. That's what I'm working for.''

So far, they've all been good. Sanderson is 12-0 this season with seven pins, two technical falls (a victory by at least 15 points) and three major decisions (an 8- to-14-point victory).

The last time out, he pinned Iowa's Jessman Smith in just 2 minutes, 17 seconds. His next match will be at the Midlands Open in Evanston, Ill., on Dec. 29.

``The thing that makes him fantastic is that he keeps getting better,'' said Gable, who after his competitive career became college wrestling's most accomplished coach in 21 seasons at Iowa. ``He's also the type of wrestler who takes it to his opponent, keeps him off balance, and it's very hard to go out there and try to keep him from doing something to you.

``If you're at all on defense, you're probably going to get handled because he's got you off balance on both sides. Because of that, you can't wait around.''

While fine for college, Sanderson's all-out approach doesn't always work against the older, more experienced opponents he faces in offseason freestyle matches.

He lost a close match to former world champion Les Gutches of Corvallis, Ore., at the national freestyle championships in April and finished sixth in the tournament. At the Olympic trials in June, Sanderson lost to former Iowa State wrestler Mike Van Arsdale in the semifinals and defaulted his last two matches because of an injury.

After Sanderson's domination of his college opponents, those tournaments were a humbling experience.

``Definitely,'' he said. ``I hate losing. There's nothing worse than losing.''

Well, it could be worse. He could lose and not learn anything from it.

``It's helped me put everything in perspective,'' Sanderson said. ``It keeps me working. It reminds me of what I have to do to accomplish my goals. I don't ever try to think of myself as the favorite _ ever. I just go out and don't think about anything.''

Douglas has called Sanderson the Clark Kent of wrestling _ Superman when he's competing, mild-mannered the rest of the time. He's a two-time academic All-American majoring in art and design, and with his closely cropped hair and quiet demeanor, he is, indeed, a picture of wholesomeness and clean living.

He loves to draw, likes to camp with his buddies back home in Utah and enjoys fishing. He even catches something from time to time.

``I'm getting better,'' Sanderson said. ``I've been fishing for a while now _ fly fishing, I've done about everything. It depends on where I am. I tried fishing some here in Iowa this summer, tried to get some catfish. I wasn't real successful. It's a new game.''

His wrestling success, on the other hand, could be unprecedented _ if he keeps it up. Gable was considered the greatest wrestler of his time and even he lost a match. It could happen anytime and Sanderson knows it. So what happens if he would lose?

``I don't know,'' he said. ``I guess as long as I wrestle well, it would be all right. Just as long as I don't lose because I'm trying not to lose, then I'll be all right with it.''