Depending on whom you ask, Cael Sanderson didn't tie Dan Gable's 100-match winning streak Sunday against Hofstra. He did so a long time ago.

	Cael Sanderson has been turning heads since he arrived in Ames.

Confused? You're not alone. Nobody, including Gable himself, is exactly sure what the record is. That's because when Gable wrestled for Iowa State from 1967-70, few paid attention to such marks in the little-publicized sport.

In fact, former Iowa State publicist Harry Burrell had to meet with Gable's mother after his college career to determine the exact record total. They came up with 100.

Few thought it would matter, as the record was perceived as insurmountable. But as Sanderson, a 184-pounder at Iowa State, has inched closer to the mark, nobody was sure just when to celebrate.

Though Burrell and the Cyclone record books say the mark is at 100, the program at the annual NCAA Championships lists the mark at 98. Though the NCAA does not keep official statistics for wrestling, most organizations recognize the record-keeping of the late Bob Dellinger, a noted wrestling historian. Dellinger listed Gable's mark at 98.

But Iowa State Sports Information Director Tom Kroeschell said this week that the school recognizes Gable's record at 100. Kroeschell said the potential discrepancy could be over a junior-college and unattached opponent Gable beat in college. Some suggest those victories shouldn't count, though Iowa State isn't one of them.

"The school always counted Dan Gable's mark at 100, but he won a match in an All-Star meet in the middle of the year and another in an exhibition," Kroeschell said. "Some say those shouldn't count. But our mark is 100. We wouldn't question the validity of Dan's record."

Such is the gray area in wrestling, where there are exhibition matches, All-Star matches and open tournaments against non-attached competition (someone who isn't wrestling for their school). Not to mention, when Gable wrestled, freshmen were ineligible, leaving 17 unattached victories his first season off the consecutive wins record. So, conceivably, the record could stand at 117 matches.

Want more confusion? Ty Halpin, Communications Coordinator for the NCAA, says they refer to Iowa State in coming up with the NCAA's number. But that number would be 100, not the 98 that the NCAA lists.

Gable himself is unsure of how many consecutive victories he had before losing to Washington's Larry Owings in the 1970 NCAA Championships.

"I can't tell you what the number is and nobody can tell me for sure what the number is," he said this week. "I could probably go home and figure it out, but I never really thought it mattered. It's not as clear cut as basketball or football records.

"If you wrestle someone who was unattached, they don't count those things. And you have to find out whether the guy you wrestled was attached or not. Hopefully this will help us keep better records when we should be doing so already."

Whatever the case, it doesn't matter now. Sanderson won his match against Hofstra, pinning Ralph Everett at the 4:04 mark of their 184-pound match, and can call the record his alone after his opening-day match at next weekend's National Duals at Penn State.

"Exactly," Kroeschell said. "And that's what we're hoping will happen."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com.