Sanderson's Sprained Ankle

Cael Sanderson has dreamt of having several matches remaining in his career before he can be called an undefeated, four-time NCAA champion. More than 10 years later, the dreams are as vivid as ever.

But during his sophomore season, a nightmare come-to-life could have derailed his shot at wrestling immortality.

The Iowa State phenom had already collected one national title in 1999, but just weeks before his sophomore NCAA tournament, Sanderson decided to play a little pickup basketball after practice at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center on the ISU campus.

Sanderson was with a few other Cyclones wrestlers, taking his mind off what was to come, and then it happened.

"I just came down on somebody’s foot and my ankle just cracked in a lot of ways I had never felt or heard," Sanderson said last fall. "It really scared me."

The future Olympic gold medalist had predisposed thoughts about sprained ankles and never quite understood until that moment how severe and painful the tweak can be.

"A sprained ankle? What are you, a wuss?" Sanderson remembered thinking. "Get up there, it’s a sprained ankle."

He found that to be easier said than done. But with the help of the ISU training staff and a little time before Sanderson needed to be at his best, he nursed that ankle.

Iowa State coach Bobby Douglas didn’t find out until Cael’s ISU career was over that the sprained ankle was from pickup basketball — he always thought it was from running up the wall in the wrestling room — but Sanderson didn't miss a match when it counted.

"There were times where you just don’t know because it was painful," Sanderson said. "But they taped it up and I had some good fortune."

That 'good fortune' was finishing his sophomore season still unbeaten with another national title. His four championships and 159-0 mark are still untouched in the wrestling world.

And don’t expect to see Cael Sanderson playing basketball any time soon.