After graduating from Wasatch High in 1997, Sanderson competed at Iowa State University. He redshirted the 1997–98 season. As a redshirt freshman, Sanderson won all 39 matches and the NCAA title at. He became the first freshman in NCAA tournament history to be named the NCAA Wrestling Team Championship's Outstanding Wrestler. Sanderson was also undefeated in the 1999–2000 season, going 40–0 and winning another NCAA title. He also won the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's best college wrestler. He was the first underclassman to win the Hodge Trophy. In the off season, he won the World University title in Tokyo, Japan. As a junior, Sanderson went 40–0, raising his record to 119–0. He broke the prior record, held by Iowa State alumnus Dan Gable, of 98 consecutive wins. He was also named Outstanding Wrestler in the NCAA tournament and was the first two-time winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy. Sanderson's 2001–02 campaign again led to him going undefeated at 40–0. He became the second wrestler to win an NCAA Division I individual title four times, the first being Pat Smith. He also won his third Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's best college wrestler. Sanderson set an NCAA record with 159 straight wins. His success brought attention even from non-wrestling fans. Sanderson was the first wrestler since 1988's Wheaties Search for Champions winner Sammy Chagolla to be featured on Wheaties cereal boxes. His final college accomplishments were a record of 159–0, 4 NCAA titles, 3 Dan Hodge Trophy awards, 4-time NCAA Outstanding Wrestler, and 4-time Big 12 Conference Champion.
International
Sanderson won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece as well as a silver medal at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships. Sanderson also would have represented the United States in world competition in 2002. However, citing security concerns, the American freestyle team chose to not compete that year. In 2011, Sanderson came out of retirement and placed fifth in the world. By 2011, however, he was the head coach of the wrestling team at Pennsylvania State University, and could only train when his coaching responsibilities were taken care of.
Sanderson began his coaching career with the season ending in 2004 as a special assistant for the wrestling team at Iowa State University. After short stints in associate head coaching positions, he became the head coach for the season ending in 2007. In three seasons, Sanderson led the Iowa State University wrestling team to NCAA Division I national placements of second, fifth, and third. He also coached his wrestlers to two individual NCAA Division I national titles.
Penn State
Before the season ending in 2010, Sanderson became the head coach of the wrestling team at Pennsylvania State University. As of 2019, Sanderson has won eight NCAA Division I team titles. During that time, he also coached his wrestlers to 23 individual NCAA Division I national titles.
Coaching results
! colspan=6| Coaching Record ! Season ! Team Finish ! Dual Record ! All Americans ! National Champions ! style=background:white colspan=5|Iowa State University ! style=background:white colspan=5|Pennsylvania State University
