Cael Sanderson fires in on a leg attack against Raymond Jordan. Tony Rotundo photo.

OKLAHOMA CITY - 2004 Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson has now passed his first two tests at the U.S. World Team Trials on Saturday afternoon.

The third-seeded Sanderson downed Raymond Jordan 4-0, 0-1, 2-0 in the Challenge Tournament quarterfinals at 84 kg/185 in freestyle. He followed by pinning two-time NCAA champion Chris Pendleton in the semifinals.

Sanderson now advances to face 2011 NCAA champion Jon Reader in the finals. Sanderson coached Reader at Iowa State.

The winner of the Challenge Tournament will face 2009 World silver medalist and U.S. Open champion Jake Herbert in the final-round series on Saturday night.

Sanderson won the Northeast Regional in March at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. It was his first competition since he won Olympic gold in 2004 in Athens, Greece.

He coached Penn State to the NCAA team title in March.