Debbie Sanderson doesn't mind that her three oldest sons have always liked to play rough with each other. Nor does she mind seeing one of the boys grab another by the legs, heave him to the ground and apply a full Nelson.
Not only does she not mind that they behave like this, she encourages it. And her husband, Steve, is the one that taught the three siblings how to properly execute this back-breaking hold and many other excruciating moves.Steve, you see, is not just the father of Cody, Cole and Cael, he is also their wrestling coach at Wasatch High. And his wife, Debbie, is their biggest fan. Add their eight-year-old son Cyler, who is also beginning to wrestle, to the mix and what you end up with is Utah's best wrestling family.
"That's what they do," said Wasatch principal Brad Kendall. "They wrestle."
And they wrestle better than any other family in the state, possibly the country. The success of the father and his three sons has brought even more national wrestling publicity to the quaint city than the Heber Creeper has train lovers.
But unlike the city's famous locomotive, which is well-known for its leisurely pace on the tracks, the Sandersons have made their fame by steamrolling over opponents on the mat.
Last year, Cody, Cole and Cael each won individual state championships, while leading Wasatch to its second-consecutive state crown. But the state titles are just the beginning for the three. Now they are starting to be recognized nationally and internationally for their maneuvers on the mat.
Cody, the oldest son, won the 1993 junior national Greco-Roman title in his 125-pound weight division and has placed at the national championships nine times in Greco-Roman and Freestyle. This past summer, he earned a spot on the United States team that competed at the Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The 5-foot-6-inch senior has also been selected three times to Center Mat magazine's All-American squad, twice to the Asics high school All-American team and is a two-time Wrestling USA All-American. The three-time defending state champ is also being recruited by almost every collegiate wrestling power in the country, including Iowa State, North Carolina, Cornell, Oklahoma State and Minnesota.
His two younger brothers, who happen to be taller and heavier, are following in his footsteps, while creating their own marks.
Cole, a junior, and Cael, a sophomore, have claimed one state title apiece and were named by Wrestling USA as two of the nation's top underclassmen. Last summer, they proved their wrestling worth as each won national titles to qualify for the Cadet Junior World Championships in Chicago.
At the world championships, Cole (121-pound division) placed seventh in Greco-Roman, his only loss coming at the hands of the eventual gold-medalist. Meanwhile, Cael dropped a tight overtime match to take third place in Freestyle.
While the spotlight usually shines on his boys, Coach Sanderson is quick to give credit to the other wrestlers that sometimes get overlooked.
"Winning the state championship two years in a row has been really important for the community and it's always been overshadowed by the fact that there are three brothers on the team," said Steve, who is in his 11th season at Wasatch. "It takes more than just those three guys to win a state championship."
Along with the Sanderson trio, two of last year's state finalists, Matt McNaughtan and Kyle Klonizos, have helped Wasatch earn a No. 10 spot in the USA Today prep wrestling poll.
"It's nice to wrestle with people of their ability," said the 112-pound Klonizos. "I wish I was as good of them, but it makes you want to work hard (and) . . . up your level a couple of notches to try to be equal with them."
"(Their teammates) are probably as responsible for making my kids good as they are themselves," Steve said. "You've got to have good competition (in practice)."
But much of the brothers' wrestling success can be pinned down to their roots.
Coach/dad Steve also has an impressive resume on the mat. After placing second in state at Pleasant Grove High, he pursued a collegiate wrestling career at BYU. There, he won the WAC title as a senior and made it to the NCAA tournament three times.
Debbie, his high-school-sweetheart-turned-wife, was there through it all. She even made a trip with his parents to Iowa to watch him compete in the NCAA tournament. But while cheering Steve on, she also learned the intricacies of the sport.
"(My love for wrestling) kind of started then and it hasn't stopped since," she said.
Through the years, Debbie has been like a second coach for her sons.
"She knows what is going on," Steve said. "She's really good at analyzing what the kids are doing wrong. In fact, it would really surprise most people that she's as good as she is at it."
"I would holler at them and they would listen to me over their junior high coaches," Debbie admitted.
Of course, mom and dad are also proud of the fact that their boys hit the books as hard as the mat. All three have grade point averages of at least 3.85, while Cody has studied diligently to earn a perfect 4.0 mark.
"Academics are important because wrestling can only get you so far. There's not a big future in it," Cody said.
So do they get along?
"It depends - when there's two of them together, they're usually pretty good friends, but when the third one is there one of 'em always gets abused. They're just typical boys," Steve said.
The three boys agree, saying that they spend more time together than most brothers. This evokes an occasional fight, but it's nice to always have a practice partner.
Wrestling isn't their only interest, but it has become a way of life for the family. All the years of hard work, competitions and success has definitely brought the family closer together.
"Some people go snowmobiling, some people go skiing and some people do other things - we go wrestle," said Steve.