November 10, 2005 

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Dual Opponent: Iowa State 
Location: Ames, Iowa
Date: Friday, November 11, 2005
Time: 3:30pm MST 

Tournament: Cyclone Open
Location: Fort Dodge, Iowa 
Date: Saturday, November 12, 2005
Time: All Day 

This Week in Wolverine Wrestling...
The Utah Valley State wrestling team will begin its long awaited third season on Friday, November 11th at national powerhouse Iowa State. The Cyclones are ranked 7th in the nation in the preseason poll. As for the wait, Wolverine head coach Cody Sanderson said he and his team are ready for the season to begin.

"We've been training hard for months and I'm just excited for this day," said Cody Sanderson. "We've just got to see where were at and be ready to compete."

Sanderson's Return to Ames...
The trip is head coach Cody Sanderson's return to where he spent his college days, wrestling and coaching for the Cyclones. Also awaiting Sanderson is his former collegiate coach, Bobby Douglas, and his brother, Olympic Champion Cael Sanderson. Cael is a current assistant with Iowa State.

"I know a lot of the guys well, especially the older guys because I coached some of them. It'll be fun to be there in the arena," said Cody.

For Sanderson, there are certainly some inward feelings of emotion about returning to the school where he was the Big XII Champion and NCAA Runner-up, but on the outside Sanderson insists that he's just there to wrestle.

"I am excited and I have a lot of friends there," said Sanderson. "But more than anything I'm just excited to get my guys out there to wrestle."

As for the intimidation factor of wrestling year in and year out one of the nation's elite, it's a stigma that the Wolverines must overcome.

"My guys have to realize they don't go out there wrestling Iowa State," said Sanderson. "They go out there wrestling an individual. As soon as they realize that, they'll be able to compete with anyone in the country."

The youngest of the Sanderson brothers, Cyler, wrestles for Iowa State but is injured and will not wrestle against his brother's team. 

On Saturday Utah Valley will wrestle in the Cyclone Open in Fort Dodge, Iowa at Iowa Central Community College. The open is an all day event and a chance for the Wolverines to pick some early season experience.

"There'll be a lot of hard matches. I've got to get the guys on the mat as much as I can. It gives me a good chance to see where we need to make improvement."

Coming Up... 
The Wolverines will continue tournament action next week in Greeley, Colorado at the Northern Colorado Open. Their next dual will be the home opener against Western State on December 10th.