Everything Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said after winning the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship

Penn State is the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Champions. The Nittany Lions finished with eight All-Americans, four individual champs, and 172.5 team points, which is a new tournament record. After the celebration on the raised platform inside of T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., head coach Cael Sanderson, who won his 11th team title as the leader of the Lions, spoke with reporters about his team’s historic effort.

“Just proud of our guys,” Sanderson said. “Great effort by 10 kids, and then the whole crew of 37 or whatever our roster is. Super grateful to be a part of this and them. Our coaching staff are the best, and it’s great to be a part of things. Just happy to be here.”

The incredible three-day run also saw Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks, who compete in the 174 and 197-pound weight classes, respectively, become the sixth and seventh four-time champions in NCAA history. Penn State now has the first teammates to ever accomplish that feat.

“I think it’s just, as a coach, every year you just want to see your kids smile at the end of the season and seeing them reaching their goals,” Sanderson said. “Obviously in situations with, like, Carter and Aaron, the pressure mounts. But they both are competitors, and that’s what they live for, that’s what they were born for. And just happy for them.”

Read everything else Sanderson said below after Penn State won yet another title.

Q: Now that the end of the season’s here, Penn State had so much history over the past three days between Carter and Aaron and the team points and then margin of victory. Can you kind of put it into words what it’s like now?

 

Cael Sanderson: “Just going to be ready for next year. That’s what we do. We always think ahead preparing for the future. We’ll be back in the room on Monday. We love what we do we love to train. We love the sport of wrestling. Happy for the guys.

“Obviously I say this every time but your heart and your mind, you just kind of expect to win and you believe and expect that your guys are going to win. So it’s the ones that don’t quite reach their goal that occupy your mind and your heart.

“I thought in the Finals, all of our guys wrestled really well. [Penn State senior Beau] Bartlett wrestled really well. Just didn’t work out at the end. And Mesenbrink, he’s such a beast and wrestled really well. They had great tournaments. All the way through our lineup. So, we’re happy and we’ll just keep working.”