Dreaming of Perfection

All these years later, after all the work and all the glory, Cael Sanderson still finds himself waking up some nights from a fitful sleep.

It was March 23, 2002, when Sanderson made history. That night he defeated Lehigh's Jon Trenge to complete the perfect collegiate career. He was 159-0. He was unmatched. Sports Illustrated would later name it the No. 2 most impressive college sports feat ever. The Iowa Stater went down as the best wrestler in history.

Through all the years — from the time he completed his 39-0 freshman campaign through that final season — Sanderson heard the whispers. People approached him around Ames and he stayed away from message boards.

But Sanderson couldn’t escape the chatter.

"When you’re thinking about something every day for three years, there’s no off and on," said Sanderson, whose true goal was to win four national titles. "When you win nationals as a sophomore, you're already thinking about your junior year and you’re thinking about your senior year before the final match of your junior year, so it's something you can’t turn on and turn off very easily."

Then he beat Trenge.

"When all of a sudden it was over," Sanderson said, "Bam! It was just peace."

Now, more than a decade later, Sanderson jolts awake.

In these dreams, Sanderson is back in his red Iowa State singlet. Sometimes he’s a sophomore and other times he's a junior. Every time, though, he still has to finish the feat he has already completed. He still must go undefeated.

Then he wakes up.

"Whew," Sanderson thinks. "I'm glad I don't have to deal with that any more."

"It was a great thing and I wouldn't change it — obviously it's what I wanted," Sanderson said, "but it's just kind of funny I still have dreams sometimes where I'm a sophomore or junior and I still have how many matches or this and that to finish up the way I wanted to."

Cael Sanderson's full story can be read in Section 5 of 100 Things Iowa State Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, which is is available online now and at bookstores across Iowa.