Every Sanderson Family Result From The NCAA Wrestling Championships

The Sandersons combined for eight All-American honors. Here are the results from every NCAA tournament match they wrestled.

May 8, 2026 by Kyle Klingman

Every Sanderson Family Result From The NCAA Wrestling Championships

The Sandersons are one of the most successful wrestling families in American history, beginning with Steve, who wrestled for Brigham Young. Growing up in Heber City, Utah, Cody, Cole, Cael, and Cyler wrestled for Iowa State. Their cousin, Gary, competed for BYU and qualified for the 1996 NCAA Championships.

Steve's brother, Mark, also wrestled for BYU and qualified for the NCAA Championships twice.

Cyler wrestled for his brother, Cael, at Iowa State, then transferred to Penn State when Cael accepted the head coaching position.

Cody, Cole, and Cael competed together in the 1999 and 2000 NCAA Championships.

Steve would have been an All-American under today’s format, but in 1976, the national tournament only had six placers.

Cael completed his college career 159-0 and was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Championships for four straight seasons.

Here’s every Sanderson family result from the NCAA Championships.

Combined family record: 58-33
NCAA titles: 4
All-Americans: 8

Steve Sanderson, Brigham Young — 6-5

1974 NCAA Championships, 142 pounds, unseeded, DNP
R64: WON over Jeff Howell, Boise State, 2-0
R32: LOST to Rich Lawinger, Wisconsin, 10-2
Cons: LOST to Gordon Iiams, Oregon State, 7-2

1975 NCAA Championships, 142 pounds, unseeded, DNP
R64: WON over Guy Reeps, Hofstra, 17-4
R32: WON over John Trudgeon, William & Mary, 10-1
R16: LOST to Steve Randall, Oklahoma State, Fall 4:38

1976 NCAA Championships, 142 pounds, 4 seed, R8
R32: WON over Mike Millay, Louisiana State, 4-0
R16: LOST to Brad Smith, Toledo, 2-1
Cons: WON over Court Vining, Nebraska, 17-1
Cons: WON over Russell Clark, St. Cloud State, 17-1
Cons: LOST to Steve Barrett, Oklahoma State, 12-3

Mark Sanderson, Brigham Young — 1-3

1974 NCAA Championships, 134 pounds, US, DNP
R32: WON over Bob Ciarrocki, Rutgers, 7-2
R16: LOST to Tom Sculley, Lehigh, 6-3
Cons: LOST to Wayne Jackson, Kansas State, 6-3

1975 NCAA Championships, 134 pounds, US, DNP
R32: LOST to Mark Hawald, John Carroll, 6-5

Gary Sanderson, Brigham Young — 0-2

1996 NCAA Championships, 142 pounds, US, DNP
R32: LOST to John Hughes, Penn State, 5-2
Cons: LOST to Brian Leitzel, Lock Haven, 16-8

Cody Sanderson, Iowa State — 11-6

1997 NCAA Championships, 118 pounds, US, R12
R32: LOST to David Morgan, Michigan State, 7-3
Cons: WON over Chuckie Connor, North Carolina, 11-1
Cons: WON over Mike Kawamura, Arizona State, Fall 6:14
Cons: LOST to John Carvalheira, Rider, 3-2

1998 NCAA Championships, 118 pounds, 9 seed, DNP
R32: WON over Eric Keller, Northern Iowa, 3-2
R16: LOST to Tim Dernlan, Purdue, 2-0
Cons: WON over Lee Carroll, North Carolina State, 12-7
Cons: LOST to Brandon Paulson, Minnesota, 8-6

1999 NCAA Championships, 133 pounds, 2 seed, 2nd place
R16: WON over Shawn Amistade, Pittsburgh, 3-1
QF: WON over Roman Fleszar, Hofstra, 8-1
SF: WON over Eric Larkin, Arizona State, 4-2
F: LOST to Eric Guerrero, Oklahoma State, 3-1 OT

2000 NCAA Championships, 133 pounds, 2 seed, 2nd place
R32: WON over Scott Bair, Lock Haven, 11-2
R16: WON over Brad Wright, Ohio University, 15-4
QF: WON over Todd Beckerman, Nebraska, 12-2
SF: WON over Pat McNamara, Michigan State, 5-2
F: LOST to Eric Juergens, Iowa, 3-1 OT

Cole Sanderson, Iowa State — 6-8

1998 NCAA Championships, 142 pounds, US, DNP
R32: WON over Sidney Billups, Coppin State, 3-2
Cons: LOST to Steve Schmidt, Oklahoma State, 12-7
Cons: LOST to Tracy Brown, Arizona State, 6-4

1999 NCAA Championships, 149 pounds, 10 seed, DNP
R32: WON over Quinn Foster, Arizona State, 21-6
R16: LOST to Adam Tirapelle, Illinois, 12-3
Cons: LOST to Troy Marr, Minnesota, 3-2 TB

2000 NCAA Championships, 157 pounds, 7 seed, R12
R32: WON over Nate Wachter, Penn State, 7-4
R16: WON over Gray Maynard, Michigan State, 8-6
QF: LOST to Brett Matter, Penn, 9-3
Cons: LOST to Bryan Snyder, Nebraska, 10-3

2001 NCAA Championships, 157 pounds, 7 seed, R12
R32: WON over Eugene Harris, Oregon, 6-3
R16: WON over Rocky Smart, Arizona State, 6-4 OT
QF: LOST to Bryan Snyder, Nebraska, 7-2
Cons: LOST to Yoshi Nakamura, Penn, 20-8

Cael Sanderson, Iowa State — 20-0

1999 NCAA Championships, 184 pounds, 1 seed, 1st place
R32: WON over Josh Didion, Cleveland State, Fall 4:46
R16: WON over Nate Patrick, Illinois, 18-6
QF: WON over Andy Hrovat, Michigan, Fall 4:24
SF: WON over Brad Vering, Nebraska, Fall 1:58
F: WON over Brandon Eggum, Minnesota, 6-1

2000 NCAA Championships, 184 pounds, 1 seed, 1st place
R32: WON over Adam Schaaf, Millersville, Fall 3:51
R16: WON over Dax Pecaro, North Carolina-Greensboro, 21-6
QF: WON over Rob Rohn, Lehigh, 20-5
SF: WON over Brandon Eggum, Minnesota, 16-5
F: WON over Vertus Jones, West Virginia, 19-6

2001 NCAA Championships, 184 pounds, 1 seed, 1st place
R32: WON over Kyle Hansen, Northern Iowa, 24-9
R16: WON over Jeremy Wilson, Portland State, Fall 1:37
QF: WON over Jessman Smith, Iowa, 21-6
SF: WON over Viktor Sveda, Indiana, 21-7
F: WON over Daniel Cormier, Oklahoma State, 8-4

2002 NCAA Championships, 197 pounds, 1 seed, 1st place
R32: WON over Eric Mausser, Clarion, Fall 3:32
R16: WON over Kyle Cerminara, SUNY-Buffalo, Fall 6:33
QF: WON over Jason Payne, Northern Iowa, 23-8
SF: WON over Nick Preston, Ohio State, 18-7
F: WON over Jon Trenge, Lehigh, 12-4

Cyler Sanderson, Iowa State (2007-09)/Penn State (2010) — 14-9

2007 NCAA Championships, 149 pounds, 11 seed, R12
R32: WON over Michael Roberts, Boston University, 3-1
R16: LOST to J.P. O'Connor, Harvard, 4-2 OT
Cons: WON over Ryan Adams, North Dakota State, 5-2
Cons: WON over Jake Patacsil, Purdue, 17-3
Cons: LOST to Tyler Turner, Wisconsin, 8-7

2008 NCAA Championships, 157 pounds, 7 seed, 7th place
R32: WON over Matt Moley, Bloomsburg, 11-6
R16: LOST to Michael Chandler, Missouri, 5-3
Cons: WON over Ryan Hluschak, Drexel, 7-3
Cons: WON over Newly McSpadden, Oklahoma State, 3-2
Cons: WON over Jonny Bonilla-Bowman, Hofstra, 7-6
Cons: LOST to Gregor Gillespie, Edinboro, Fall :40
7th Place: WON over Matt Moley, Bloomsburg, 7-5

2009 NCAA Championships, 157 pounds, 9 seed, R12
R32: WON over Bryan Deutsch, Northern Illinois, Fall 4:46
R16: WON over Adam Hall, Boise State, 4-3
QF: LOST to Jordan Burroughs, Nebraska, 14-6
Cons: LOST to Matt Moley, Bloomsburg, 5-2

2010 NCAA Championships, 157 pounds, 4 seed, 6th place
R32: WON over Bryan Deutsch, Northern Illinois, 16-12
R16: WON over Dan Gonsor, Virginia, 4-2
QF: LOST to Steven Fittery, American, 9-4
Cons: WON over Anthony Jones, Michigan State, 6-3
Cons: WON over Justin Gaethje, Northern Colorado, 10-6
Cons: LOST to Justin Lister, SUNY-Binghamton, Fall 4:04
5th Place: LOST to Steve Fittery, American, 15-6