As a competitor, he always won the battle, but lost the war.

As a coach, Cael Sanderson hopes his first team will set a new trend of dominance in the once-lopsided ISU-Iowa rivalry.

The first-year head coach had graduated only the year before when Iowa State ended the 16-year losing streak to the Hawkeyes three years ago, but on Sunday, Sanderson will lead the sixth-ranked ISU wrestling team into the highly anticipated dual in Iowa City with hopes of starting a winning streak of its own.

His memories of Nick Passolano pinning Cole Pape in 2003 to clinch Iowa State’s victory are mixed with regret.

“I was just thinking, ‘Man, we should have done that five years ago,'” Sanderson said. “That was one of my big pet peeves as a competitor here, not beating them in a dual meet. That hurt. It really did.”

Sanderson won all four of his dual meet matches against the Hawkeyes, but Iowa State still lost all four duals. Iowa’s grip on the rivalry has loosened in recent years, but Sanderson took part in the tail end of the Cyclone struggles.

“We always had good teams; we beat them in the national tournament a couple times, but people remember the dual meet,” he said. “After I lost, I was real upset for a couple minutes, but then it’s like let’s move on, we’ve got bigger fish to fry – national tournaments, Big 12 tournaments.”

Sanderson has another chance against the Hawkeyes. His first season has gone well to date, including a 40-0 dual win on Sunday against No. 23 Arizona State in which the Cyclones didn’t surrender a takedown.

Iowa State’s young lineup has been as good as advertised so far. The six starting freshmen are a combined 63-9 on the season, and, Sanderson said, are only going to get better.

The Sun Devils were coming off a 39-3 Saturday loss to Iowa, which is currently ranked fifth. Iowa also features a first-year coach, Tom Brands, who, like Sanderson, won a gold medal and is coaching his alma mater.

Brands, along with assistants Dan Gable and Wes Hand, scouted the Cyclones at Sunday’s Arizona State meet. Sanderson chose not to scout Iowa’s meeting with Arizona State.

“We know who they’ve got and what they do, and I know they know what we do,” Sanderson said.

Fifth-ranked Travis Paulson (165) has a deep understanding and appreciation of the rivalry.

The senior from Council Bluffs has one of the key swing matches of the dual, facing second-ranked Mark Perry for the first time in two years.

“Coach Douglas stressed this, Cael stresses this – anytime you step on that mat and across from you is that black and gold, you gotta make them walk off never wanting to wrestle you again,” Paulson said.

Sanderson said the dual is important to get fans excited about ISU wrestling.

“Outside of the national tournament and the Big 12 Championships, this is the biggest match for us because it is bragging rights,” Sanderson said.

“This is a big deal for us. We want to get in there, and we want to compete hard, and we want to show them who is the best in the state.”