Cael Sanderson vs. Jon Trenge: 2002 NCAA title match (197 lb.)

Iowa State's Cael Sanderson completed his legendary college career undefeated with a four-peat at NCAA wrestling championships in 2002 after beating Lehigh's Jon Trenge in the 197-pound bout. Watch the full match here.
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[@Andrew..J]

Anyone who has wrestled knows the pain of being a freshman vs a senior. 3 more years of practice, conditioning, experience, and strength. It doesnt matter if you started wrestling when you were 3, so has everyone else at that level. The fact that he won everything for 4 years shows how absurdly talented he was.

[@leegrace2018]

&&hyy_

[@hennyhardaway2582]

This is so poignant I got emotional like damn this is a record that’ll never be broken

[@OvertheHIL524]

Not too mention how hard he had to have worked. Everyone at that level is talented. Talent will get you far, talent + work ethic is something special.

[@Ethan-ui9ug]

Nah bro I fucked up all the seniors as a freshman

[@danielrn133]

Agree. The sheer exhaustion of the training and staying healthy and keeping on weight year after year. And to not have single loss. Just astonishing . People see the wins, but the day after day training and all that goes into getting to the end of a college wrestling career is insanely difficult for any wrestler.

[@Boss3Nate]

That accomplishment is fucking insane if you really think about it... Especially a grueling, individual sport like wrestling... to go undefeated as a freshman at a big time program like Iowa State and win a National Title... that's nuts... but then as a sophomore to go 40-0 again after probably feeling yourself bc you just ran the table as a freshman.... then not just 3pete but again.... win them all... So finally as a senior just go up in weight and go 40-0 again and win your 4th straight Natty and win 159 matches in a row... hahahahaha. I mean not one bad night... no slip ups... no off the mat issues.... first class guy right there. Legendary

[@haynwarrior2k2]

And what's crazy to me - He's also an incredible coach.

[@Boss3Nate]

@@haynwarrior2k2 gotta love it!

[@cma3436]

Couldn't agree more. Class act and total badass.

[@justincarson5659]

The absolute best. Best coach. Nittany Lion Cyclone of a Beast.

[@user-tr8kr1jd2o]

All that and did well academically, and was very humble

[@justintime519]

Whats next for Cael Sanderson? "I don't know maybe take my brother fishing or something" love it!🤣

[@TheAmericanjiujitsu]

The most humble champion of all time

[@jannorris4140]

Of all time? Really? Ever?

[@TheAmericanjiujitsu]

@@jannorris4140 yes, not sure where you got lost in translation

[@jannorris4140]

@@TheAmericanjiujitsu ...i got lost after i thought of many other humble champions who didnt giggle and laugh as they were beating their opponent. Duh.

[@michaelscott33]

Would you giggle and laugh if you knew you finally had the win needed to go undefeated in your entire wrestling career? I would.. that’s a TON of pressure - EVERYONE remembers the Dan Gable situation where he was 99-0 and lost in the final match of his entire collegiate career to a guy who was barely known. This was a once in a hundred years type of event.

[@BT1919]

And he continues to be to this day...

[@6em974]

That is fucking unreal. Do you understand how good a D1 wrestler is? Is not like Boxing or something where you can pick your opponents either. You WILL take on everyone. EVERYONE. 159 and 0. What in the fuck. I can barely even comprehend this. The fact that someone like this actually existed at one point.

[@matthewlaw2939]

That’s right!

[@landenx]

It’s ridiculous to be honest, he’s truly legendary

[@letsssgooo4618]

Not anymore. At least not until the conference tournaments and NCAA’s. Guys ducking each other all the time now

[@Soggyfrenchfry45]

@@letsssgooo4618 it's gross! That's y they'll never have the respect these older warriors got.

[@buddylee5712]

@@letsssgooo4618 how are NCAA wrestlers ducking each other now?

[@Soggyfrenchfry45]

The GOAT!! Never slows down or gets tired! If u never wrestled u can't appreciate how good he really is. Undefeated 4 years in a row! Wow! Just wow!!

[@1terminatorr]

i can relate, i've been undefeated for 19 years in a row, just never competed

[@Soggyfrenchfry45]

@@1terminatorr lol

[@qwilliams1539]

Quite impressive. Almost as impressive as Karelin.

[@SC-ti9cj]

Family support and love.........Mental toughness he has is extraordinary!!!! Definitely The GOAT..........amazing And one heck of a Coach!!!!

[@Ur2ez4me81]

Not only that but I remember in our state Trenge beating this wrestler that was a absolute beast & seeing Cael destroy this guy it’s just unreal. Sanderson was just on his own level...

[@paulgarcia3201]

Have you ever heard a more humble, composed post-national title interview?

[@coachcosta69]

Bo Nickal’s after pinning Martin

[@revbray]

Yep! Humble man.

[@timmiller1001]

That is what I thought. Loved when asked what was next, he responds with taking his brothers fishing.

[@Garrett1240]

To claim that much of his success is due to luck really shows the quality of his character.

[@gseegrist6679]

Amazing man... humble but strong-willed and has that quiet confidence. Obviously raised right... and why wouldn’t he be with a family like his and growing up in the Heber Valley of Utah!

[@josephhanicak7922]

Imagine your opponent is someone with a 158-0 record who's won 3 straight championships from Freshman year to Junior, and it's his last match of his college career to cement his undefeated record. Like that would be the most intimidating opponent I could think of.

[@obi-wankenobi5499]

I wouldn’t even want to beat him

[@777Skeptic]

If you don't believe you're the next Larry Owings, don't even step on the mat.

[@xzjayz7925]

@@obi-wankenobi5499 right, I’d actually feel bad for beating him. Like I just ruined that man’s whole career and one in a life time mild stone.

[@xzjayz7925]

@@obi-wankenobi5499 but at the same time ID FEEL LIKE THE GREATEST WRESLTER OF ALL TIME 😂.

[@ashtonburgess9673]

Ramos is Larry Owens

[@stephenoni2019]

This is an anomaly. You cannot define this achievement, Cale was chosen for this! He was. This is the best achievement in sporting history, in my opinion.

[@villhelm]

Then you’ve never heard of Alexandre Karelin

[@mightychadgamer575]

​@@villhelmthinking the same thing lmao

[@debrashepard6770]

Our grandson from Pa wrestled @ Penn State for Cael. Cael is one all around dedicated coach to his kids.These young people respect Cael. He works with them & talks to them down to their level. I’ve never heard Coach Cael “yell” at any of them for their mistakes. Great Coach for young people, they learn so much from him 😅

[@Crazy-wr3bo]

If your kid acts like that in a moment like this you have done well as a parent!!!!

[@user-cq6dg6ql9j]

Out of his 159 matches, I wonder how many of them he wrestled hurt, sick, and well short of feeling 100% and still managed to win every single one. We may never see this feat repeated. The pressure that mounts on people with this level of expectation only further illustrates that Cael had ice in veins and kept his head in the game at all times. Truly unbelievable and I am grateful to have witnessed it.

[@Soggyfrenchfry45]

The best to ever grace a mat! What he did in college wrestling will never be duplicated. And he went on the be one of the best coaches in the history of college wrestling too. 100% class act as well!!!

[@DavidMccallister65]

When his first coach saw that even Cael's mom had cauliflower ear, he knew he had a champion on his hands

[@zekegaeta9169]

Most dominant and yet most humble athlete anyone will ever come across. What a career Cael had…

[@ogot344]

3:24 I love when studs show a sort of frustration for not finishing a sequence it shows the standards they set for themselves.

[@ChasingDonnieBaseball]

watch it at .25 speed it is even sicker...can literally see him snap all of Trenge's weight to his left and just pick that right ankle...so perfect.

[@cobrakai4203]

Caels mom looks intimidating the genetics through that family is insane

[@mrflamingosis]

Jon Trenge is probably one of the greatest NCAA wrestlers to never win a title in my opinion. One of my favorite wrestlers to watch growing up as a kid. Cael is the goat though

[@e2go]

I literally just wrote that and didn’t see your comment. Completely agree. Under different circumstances he could’ve not only been a champion, but a four-time champion if you look at who he beat and when he beat them. Dude was an absolute stud. Had some real tough luck, like losing that Damion Hahn final. Had the match in complete control and lost in the last second. Hell of a wrestler though.

[@zodiacchannel2750]

Bro @Flamingosis I literally dance to your music and you actually know this sport is incredible, appreciate your art and taste 🙏🏽

[@nebeals17]

I remember watching him while he was in high school. He always used to fold his warmups before the match and put them by the coaches chair. Not sure why I remember that.

[@kris1089]

This is true I was at a clinic with him yesterday guy is amazing

[@Bond-gz6vg]

Yeah trenge was my hero as a kid he was a beast I grew up and wrestled in the Lehigh valley but in NJ

[@sammy02272]

159-0 to not get a 7 figure check 😂😂 that interviewer was more worried about that bag then cael 😂

[@lexingtonconcord8751]

He's humbler than me and I haven't even done anything 😂

[@willisknapick4405]

I'm laughing. ..damn that's one of the best original lines I've heard. And I can relate 😂😂😂😂

[@blastfromthepast185]

His dad was and still is an awesome high school coach. That's where it started.

[@dazdavis7896]

I mean just listen to his mom, how down to earth and knowledgable she is, that’s half of why he was 159-0.

[@Ur2ez4me81]

I played football against a guy who got beat by John Trenge in our state finals. This guy was a beast & to think there was someone out there that could beat him & then have a guy like Sanders who could beat both just blows me away.

[@JohnTurkActor]

It's sad that the average sports fan probably has never heard of Cael or his UNBELIEVABLE accomplishment. It truly is the most amazing feat in ALL SPORTS!! Physical, emotional, psychological and mental toughness unmatched and nothing comes close. Obviously my opinion but to add to all of it he is a stand up guy and full of class. Couldn't happen to a better guy and family. CONGRATS CAEL

[@VincentMiseo]

I was fortunate enough to be at the Pepsi Arena in Albany for the tournament. Sanderson was so smooth and cool on the mat. All his opponents knew his best takedown move was the ankle pick. No one could stop it. It was a sick move. He was the best!

[@e2go]

Jon Trenge was one of the best wrestlers to never win a national championship. He was a complete stud and the toughest SOB to wear goggles in history.

[@ryananey7626]

I got to meet trenge at a clinic up in Snohomish Washington. He worked with our local youth wrestlers. What a story he has to tell. Nice guy and fierce wrestler. Respect

[@7474.]

Parkland pride

[@iaintevengonholdyou]

*Wins* *4th* *consecutive* *undefeated* *ncaa* *title, never* *done* *before* “How are you feeling right now” Cael: “I don’t know, I’m pretty happy” 🤣

[@josephhanicak7922]

The closest match Cael had was 6-1, against the guy he's wrestling right now. Wow. He's truly something else

[@johndollarhide7683]

I was a grad student at okie st...one of the best parts about it was getting to see sanderson wrestle about 5 times

[@ashroc7244]

Man as a man who wrestled and was a kid when this happened. Man. Special. I thank this man for having the drive that will inspire others.

[@smorgan125]

That was the most humble and composed interview I’ve ever heard

[@LettuceLand]

Lmao that answer to what's next "im gonna sneak off and take myt brother fishing" gotta love it

[@butch1dc]

Feel for trenge. The dude could legit be a 2 time champ. He’s better than many national champions to date.

[@e2go]

If you look at his career he had a shot to win it all four years under slightly different circumstances. Freshman year he beat the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th place finishers at his weight class throughout the year. Got that terrible eye problem and missed the postseason. Sophomore year he's in the same weight class as literally the GOAT of the sport who bumped up weights for his senior year, what are the odds of that? Junior year he was beating Damion Hahn (another multi-time champ) and was the better wrestler and Hahn threw a Hail Mary move in literally the last seconds and he lost. Senior year he dealt with more eye issues and got upset in the semis. Meanwhile his senior year he beat that year's eventual champion Jake Rosholt in the dual meet earlier in the season and probably would have again. Wild stuff.

[@adamfowler5475]

I'm seriously more envious of Cael, than literally ANY other athlete on the planet, of ANY sport ever.

[@kmacksmcdonald6475]

Me too, I think if God gave me the ability top level to be it might be wrestling, just for the tough guy aspect of it. I know for money NBA basketball would be better.

[@kmacksmcdonald6475]

Sometimes I am surprised this isn’t closer to 1 million views. This was history 159 and 0 in division 1 competition. You could go another 50 years and never see this repeated. I wonder if even a career with 1 or 2 losses only would be repeated

[@jd6653]

Best wrestler ever and now best wrestling coach ever love watching his old matches

[@FraldinhoBJJ]

you need to see this. as a man. not as a wrestler. men need to know this level of dedication to anything exists. i dont care if youre an accountant or a farmer or a salesmen. every man from every walk of life could learn from cael. most men would excel at anything they did in life if they just learned to give 25% of the effort he gives

[@fullmetta2764]

You can see some of that humility in those who succeed under him at Penn State. Very impressive even as a young man.

[@mirzad19882]

Caels movement was ridiculously fast and smooth

[@Josemartinez-es6vj]

he completely looks like the chosen one

[@stephenoni2019]

agreed men!

[@Mrwallyish]

How ?

[@Josemartinez-es6vj]

Cael jaw os amazing

[@reesemanfredi220]

the post match interview is crazy

[@nicholasrusso9975]

Crazy how other guy looks bigger and stronger. Cael has one of best technique and his stamina is unbelievable.

[@anthonyurias4815]

I had the opportunity to meet him my senior year while he was training for the Olympics. He had put on a wrestling camp in chino California. He was the nicest person I have ever met and was so patient with all of his and answered any question we had. Almost 20 years later I have the shirt he signed for me and have his wrestling shoes he signed. Its so cool to say I got to met a gold medallist and the great college athlete.

[@ronaldhubbard9290]

Unbelievable accomplishment Cael. I will be seeing you soon for an autograph at Penn State. Road trip anyone to meet the greatest ever known in this tough sport?

[@oldcougar65]

When Trenge won PA states, I called my Lehigh-grad brother and told him he was getting a stud. And he did get a stud. That's a national champ in most years that don't include Cael.

[@e2go]

He could've very easily won multiple titles. Freshman year developed the eye condition and had season ending surgery. Beat the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th place finishers during the season. Sophomore year the GOAT of the sport bumps up randomly after spending three years at 184. I think Cael was the only one to beat him that year. Junior year he was beating Damion Hahn in the final until the very last seconds. Senior year he got upset in the semis. He had beaten the eventual champion Jake Rosholt in a dual meet in the regular season and probably would have again.

[@eeuhuhahahahah7728]

Wow, I'm 68 and retired. Baseball and football when I was younger. This guy makes me want to go buy a singlet and start all over.

[@paulpelham906]

Every time the interviewer tried to get Cael to talk about himself he brought it back to family and the help he got from others. Cael was cold as ice. Even one word of self congratulations is beneath him with that resume.

[@covfefemaga9567]

Undefeated in collegiate wrestling. Unbelievable. GOAT

[@WashingtonTuna]

A REAL role model for everyone.

[@chopstyx141]

Its blows my mind he never really took any credit for himself, what a guy.

[@Scipio7189]

His dad was his coach. I didn't realize that. Basically he was being coached from birth. Few of us ever have an experience like that. It's also hard to overcome someone who has. Certainly he worked hard but to have that level of tutoring and coaching from the very beginning you have a huge advantage over many others.

[@michaelbradley7621]

Dude there are thousands of high school coach’s kids that become athletes in a given sport. None of them replicated what Cael did. Specifically in wrestling, almost every competitor at the D1 level has been wrestling and coached since they were tiny children. None of them have replicated what Cael did.

[@Scipio7189]

@@michaelbradley7621 What he did was extraordinary, I agree. In my opinion it was a confluence of things, his dad coaching and mentoring him, his brothers were wrestlers and worked to support him, tremendous support and belief from his parents and a god given talent.

[@rowhouse6029]

@@Scipio7189 His dad being a coach and being a younger brother of two wrestlers who challenged him a lot growing up. Finally his talent level was the highest.

[@ryanantonellis1335]

Legendary. And Douglas’ reaction after staying serious the entire match was awesome

[@adammcgirt7123]

I remember in high school c/o 06, Cael Sanderson was like a God, i couldn't even comprehend 159-0. No disqualification, no points loss, just perfection. I wrestled 189 o In SC, so i always followed his college career, using it as a benchmark, lost in the individual state finals junior and senior yr. I discovered pussy jr year, i blame that and lack of discipline for those missed rings.

[@beetheman3841]

Sanderson is pure class.

[@rhebbhulett]

And now a dominant coach

[@greatstate58]

11:17 that bicep vein tho. 😂

[@tanako98]

My little brother wrestled at Lehigh when Trenge was wrestling there

[@antrocles]

Absolutely inspiring to watch. 1000% the G.O.A.T.

[@dylanevans2647]

cael at 197 vs bo at 197 would be a match to watch

[@gc99289]

The price of perfection: Shreck Ears.

[@teddavis292]

159-0! Amazing.

[@FreeStockPromotions]

John Trenge is a nice guy.

[@ericholland-cr1nt]

Nobody in college he'd a chance against this dude it's crazy the goat by such a large margin

[@Lykitysplit]

Imagine the target on his back for 4 years and still absolutely destroying them. Incredible.

[@danieladkins5242]

College wrestlers who win half their matches are absolute studs. This freak won them all. I admire high school state champions. This is the pinnacle of college champs

[@greatstate58]

Funny enough David Taylor even kinda sounds like Cale. I think David’s “father” needs to get a DNA test.

[@oliverparker8837]

I was thinking the same thing

[@loganlauck2093]

Both like their ankle picks too

[@paulnokio1199]

Quallity humans right there, nice job mom n dad

[@alexandercarlson9881]

What an amazing athlete and story of dedicaton, perseverance, and drive. 🏆

[@iangalt6899]

The craziest thing to me is that this dude was perfect every single time he wrestled. No Josh Lambrecht vs. Rob Rohn or Spencer Lee vs. Matt Ramos miracle pins, never once got caught in a funky position, no slip ups. Nothing. Just unemotional, cool, calculated beatdowns

[@markhaynie9862]

What a great man

[@adamfowler350]

I was wrestling in high school when we watched Cael win this match. No wrestler in the country stayed silent about this man's dominance.

[@rileynevin2764]

So can we have a movie made for him starring Chris pine?

[@justinbailey4883]

No shit, never thought about that... our sport gets 0 respect so probably not

[@timmiller1001]

No kidding, our teams in high-school, middle school and even the college team I was on never got the same respect as football or basketball teams. Even though year after year we had better team records.

[@xEvolutionx-ui5bn]

I feel like Channing Tantum would be a better choice especially after seeing his performance in “Foxcatcher” portraying Mark Shultz.

[@nateuhrich3153]

What stands out most to me-40 matches in a season…not a lot of folks are even doing that, let alone winning them all. I love watching this. Wrestling creates a different breed of people…

[@jarodstorm6372]

Carl Sanderson achieved the greatest feat in all sports. He needs full acknowledgement. The problem is the public doesn’t know how hard this is.

[@TheNotbadphonedaddy]

Ricks College wrestling shirt in the crowd....I tell you, you can't go anywhere or watch any video where we don't face a program we no longer have. Even in the presence of what many consider to be the greatest moment in collegiate wrestling, Cael Sanderson's 159th win & fourth National title a representation of a school that had wrestling and no longer does.

[@soulcapitalist6204]

What an accomplishment and in wrestling at that.

[@ewreck805]

6:53 CLEAN ANKLE PICK!

[@beetheman3841]

It was perfect.

[@DLTD]

He’s right ... It’s all about family

[@GMilstead102]

"idk im gonna take him fishing or somethin"

[@Cochise6666]

The NCAA Wrestling G.O.A.T.

[@hillbillyhoe8169]

What a class act.

[@hopeigetthere]

Mom was almost emotionless! It was all expected.

[@IanHouck]

Here’s a fun fact: Cael Sanderson actually lost once in college during his red shirt freshman year. He lost to former West Point head coach Joe Heskett. The loss doesn’t count towards his record because it was his redshirt season, but still

[@thatwillowbee2872]

Trenge is my science teacher :0

[@tableleg704]

Trenge was a beast even when we were younger. He’d jump up 2-3 weight classes just to get a decent match.

[@joe5951]

We love him at Penn State!

[@bobolson7610]

That's amazing.

[@codythomas1450]

It's safe to say Cael was something like a phenomenon. He was a man of focus, discipline, and sheer fucking will. The John Wick of wrestling

[@paulenger4494]

Greatest representative of the sport imaginable 💯💝

[@jasonstockman406]

Class act.

[@WizardChase402]

Humble humble

[@kmacksmcdonald6475]

I wonder if Ben Kueter could be similar to Cael here. Undefeated 159 and 0 seems impossible but maybe Kueter could be a 4 time ncaa champion. The freshman year is key and hopefully his football career does not interfere too much.

[@hillbillymods2866]

GOAT!

[@pallen2980]

Cael was the only person Trenge lost to in 4 years of wrestling for Lehigh. Jon switched weight classes to get away from him, but Cael went with him. While Jon was never quite the same after the eye injury his freshman year, Cael was a beast.

[@ChengManChing]

Basically everything you just said was false. JT never wrestled any weight but 197 in his entire career. Cael moved up for his final year for his own reasons, although he and Trenge had wrestled in NWCA pre-season exhibition. Trenge had 14 total losses in his career counting his red shirt year. A couple of those were DQs due to retaliating when wrestlers attacked his eye gear, but he did lose an occasional match. I don't know why you're just making stuff up...

[@pallen2980]

@@ChengManChing My memory must be failing me. Either way, Cael was a beast and there's a reason he went on to coach at PSU while JT ended up a high school teacher.

[@yourdaddy6030]

@@pallen2980 now you want to discredit JT for being a teacher?? Gtfo with that crap

[@kmacksmcdonald6475]

6:55 Fantastic ankle pick. Highlight of the match to me.

[@Soggyfrenchfry45]

The mom is the Savage of the family lol. They said the dad used to have to hide the kids from their mom if they lost or didn't wrestle well lol.

[@nonamejoe9311]

The ankle pick god

[@DadskYT]

Dude kyler Sanderson teaches me

[@brendanmcpike184]

Imagine being the ref that got to raise his hand

[@christophercorrell9401]

GOAT of all goats