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UNIVERSITY PARK -- These days, Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson modestly defines team and individual goals as getting better each day of the season with the ultimate goal of peaking at the NCAA championships.
Who's to argue?
That philosophy has led to nine NCAA championships, 75 All-Americans and 32 national champions, including a record-tying five in both 2017 and 2022, in the first 13 years of his tenure.
Sanderson started his 14th season on Monday during the team's media day at Rec Hall and he didn't stray from his chosen path.
"I think you're always looking ahead. You want to do your best at the time and then get ready for the next thing," he said. "It's just a fun group to train. I mean, they're competitors. We've seen this in the past, the bigger the match, the better they wrestle, so we just keep doing our thing."
The No. 1 Nittany Lions will start their season at 7 p.m. Friday night when Lock Haven visits. Penn State will do so with a lineup that features four reigning NCAA champions -- Roman Bravo-Young (133), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184) and Max Dean (197) -- and another returning All-American, Greg Kerkvliet (285). The other half of the lineup will include two previous starters and three first-time starters.
The biggest news of the day came with Sanderson revealing that Robbie Howard, expected to start at 125 after missing last season with an injury, probably won't wrestle this year. Transfer Will Betancourt, who was expected to push Howard for the spot, isn't on the team, Sanderson said. That leaves redshirt-freshman Gary Steen as the starter.
"Gary Steen's done a nice job and he'll probably kick things off and hopefully get things rolling there," Sanderson said.
Beau Bartlett, who wrestled up a weight at 149 the past two seasons, will finally be able to take the mat at his more natural weight, 141.
"That was exciting, no regrets for that. I'm happy I went up instead of redshirting. Redshirting, I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity. I would have had to sit, sit behind the scenes and watch everyone else wrestle. I'm really hungry for the opportunity to wrestle in front of those crowds, wrestle against those big names. And now, going down a weight, I feel more prepared than ever."
Sanderson seemed to indicate that Terrell Barraclough, a part-time starter last year at 157, has held off blue-chip recruit for the weight.
"I'm ready. I'm really excited," he said. "I just had to believe in myself. I think that was the biggest component."
Two former blue-chip recruits are ready to make their debuts at 149 and 165, respectively -- redshirt freshmen Shayne Van Ness and Alex Facundo.
"They're both great. They're both looking really good. I think Van Ness is a goer and he just had some nagging injuries that he needed to kind of take care of. So, he didn't get a chance to wrestle as much but he's really good and he's just a tough kid. He's going to compete hard and he's healthy and excited to go," Sanderson said.
"Facundo got a lot more experience, more matches, but same thing, great kid, quality student athletes all across the board and they're very good wrestlers, so we're excited to watch them compete."
Facundo, who won a Pan American Games U20 championship over the summer, said that experience, and what he learned during his redshirt year, will help him as a first-time starter. He seemed especially eager to step on the mat Friday night.
"Oh, it's been a super super exciting. We're five days out and this whole summer and this whole preseason, I've just been thinking about my Rec Hall debut. We're finally going to get into it, and so I'm just excited," he said.
Van Ness downplayed the significance of his first varsity dual, but finally admitted excitement over getting back on the mat after an injury-plagued freshman year.
"You know, for me, it's just another match, one at a time. But it's the first one for me in a long time. So, I'm really excited to get out there again and show everyone what I what I've been working on," he said.
"You know, just being the best version of myself, focusing on my attacks, my offense and making it my match."
Sanderson said that Lock Haven coach Scott Moore, the former Penn State All-American, agreed to bring his Eagles to Rec Hall as a late fill-in for another team that couldn't compete. The Nittany Lions expect a hard-fought dual.
"Coach Moore, he's going to compete, he loves to compete, and he stepped up right away. And we know they have a really good team. They've had a very successful dual team, especially recently, very tough," Sanderson said. "So, we're expecting a great match and looking forward to competing. We know they're going to come in and compete hard and they always do. So, we've got to be ready to roll."