While David Taylor’s Cowboys Hang by One Thread, Penn State’s Cael Sanderson Continues Domination Over U20 World Team Trials

Cael Sanderson’s mentorship has been directional for the Penn State wrestlers, who evidently are in red-hot form. After bagging the 2024 Big Ten and NCAA championships, the side recently secured 4 spots in the US Paris Olympic squad in the Men’s freestyle category. And now, a fresh update from the U20 World Team Trials in Geneva revealed that their wrestlers have donned the victory hats yet again!

On the other hand, the U20 WTT was David Taylor’s opening stint as a coach. However, on this proving ground for him and his athletes, their prominence remained limited to just the 74kg bracket.

A recent X post by The Wrestling Room displays the results from the U20 WTT best of 3 finals. Among the 10 divisions from 57 to 125kgs, 5 were won by either Penn State wrestlers or commits. Therefore, constituting half of the U20/Junior World team, Penn State has sealed its supremacy in freestyle wrestling.

The post details that 8 of the 10 categories were won by the wrestlers by a 2-0 sweep. Starting with 57kgs, this bracket featured Nittany Lion’s Luke Lilledahl edging Jax Forrest out of the competition with a 9-4 and 7-7. Similarly, PJ Duke, a Penn State affiliate, registered a victory by 5-2 and 9-2 over Kannon Webster from Illinois.

Next, 79kg wrestler Zack Ryder took down his Hawkeye opponent Gabriel Arnold in round two with a 4-2 score. Whereas, Connor Mirasola’s facile win featured him eliminating Ryder Rogotzke in two completely one-sided matches, with a 6-0 and 10-0 score.

Coming to the results decided in a third match, Joshua Barr, one of Nittany Lion’s most decorated wrestlers, went neck-and-neck with Aeoden Sinclair in round one. Gaining the upper hand, Aeoden scored a 5 over Joshua’s 3 next. However, bouncing back, Barr thrashed his competitor by a 10-0 margin in the final bout.

Another edge-of-the-seat match three was between Ladarion Lockett, a 74kgs Oklahoma Cowboy, and Beau Mantanona, wherein the former won after three grappling rounds. This has indeed given promising hopes for David Taylor’s side to latch onto. Yet Oklahoma’s lone victory appears a dime a dozen when measured against Penn State’s extraordinary trend of successes. In light of the turn of events, one can not help but rekindle David Taylor’s long and revered association with Penn State.

Going down the archives: The Cael Sanderson-David Taylor connection

Newly appointed Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach David Taylor’s journey to Olympic triumph saw its beginning from Penn State only. Taylor had his red-shirt season with Penn State in 2009 and continued to be a part of the side till 2014. Interestingly, even Coach Sanderson joined Penn State the same year, after ending his tenure with Iowa State.

Over all these years, Taylor saw his wrestling career flourish under the guidance he received from Coach Sanderson. He became a two-time NCAA champion for Penn State, a four-time NCAA finalist, a four-time Big Ten champion, and a 2-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner.

Even subsequently, the formidable foundation he built during his early career days helped him to shine on the international level. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, David Taylor bagged the Gold Medal in the 86kg category. According to USA Wrestling, he also stood as the world champion in the years 2018, 2022, and 2023.

But the question remains, can Taylor impart identical techniques and guidance to the Cowboys, just as he received from Sanderson? Also, just like the metamorphosis of Penn State after Coach Sanderson’s arrival, will this be the dawn of a new winning chapter for Oklahoma State?