Sanderson hire pays quick dividends

From a story by Guy Cipriano (a former worker at the Observer-Reporter) in the Centre Daily Times.

. . . Speaking on a WSNU show hosted by Clinton County radio personalities John Lipez and Melissa Gee on Friday morning, Central Mountain stars Andrew and Dylan Alton announced they will attend Penn State beginning in 2010.

The juniors unveiled their decisions after an early-morning workout and before beginning the school day. The Altons are the first wrestlers to publicly commit to Penn State since last week’s hiring of Sanderson as head coach. Sanderson, an Olympic gold medalist and four-time NCAA champion, left Iowa State to become Penn State’s 12th coach last week.

“It was pretty exciting hearing that Cael was going to be the coach,” Dylan told the Centre Daily Times after the radio announcement. “Once we knew that, we wanted to go to Penn State.”

Andrew and Dylan, both of whom captured PIAA Class AAA titles last month, ended this past season as the nation’s top-ranked 140-and 145-pounders, according to Amateur Wrestling News. Andrew and Dylan are projected to wrestle anywhere from 141 to 157 in college. Dylan currently weighs two pounds more than Andrew.

The Altons were the most heavily-recruited wrestlers in Central Mountain’s 10-year history. The twins selected Penn State over Nebraska, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Iowa and Iowa State. Andrew, a friend of Oklahoma State redshirt freshman and three-time PIAA Class AAA champion Jordan Oliver, said Sander-son’s presence convinced the twins to select Penn State.