Iowa’s Michael Caliendo reaches second straight final at Soldier Salute

CORALVILLE – Michael Caliendo recalled his first exposure to wrestling.

He was about 3 or 4 years old when his dad helped coach a high school team. He tagged along for workouts and didn’t take long to become a hit with the older wrestlers, watching him mirror their exercises and moves.

"After school, there was no one to watch me, so he'd always have to bring me to practice,” said Caliendo, who shares the same name as his father and grandfather. “I was just around all the high school wresters all the time.

"I would do pull-ups with them when I was like four or five," Caliendo said. "Do sprints with them. Just mess around on the mat and then eventually, I was just like 'Dad, I want to wrestle."

Caliendo may not have been destined to wrestle but his love for the sport developed quickly. The two-time All-American has been a consistent leader since arriving at Iowa. He continue in that role, becoming one of nine finalists for Iowa’s men’s wrestling program at the Soldier Salute Monday at Xtream Arena.

Iowa leads both the men’s and women’s team races. The Hawkeye men finished Session III with 215.5 points, leading Minnesota by 104.5, UNI is third at 114. The Hawkeye women had 117.5 points, one point ahead of Life (Ga.) University.

Caliendo dominated his way to the championship match, handling Minnesota’s Blaine Brenner, 15-4, in the 165-pound semifinals.

The elder Caliendo was in the stands to watch his namesake reach a second straight Soldier Salute final. The sport has connected father and son from the start. They watched the sport on television together and even loaded up for trips to the NCAA tournaments long before Michael Caliendo III was competing and placing seventh as a freshman at North Dakota State and fourth last year for Iowa.

"I remember always sitting in the living room with my dad, watching the Iowa and Penn State duals," said Caliendo, who is from Geneva, Ill., and Batavia High School’s first state champion wrestler. "Lots of times, going to tournaments. It was just me and him. We'd just be traveling together and then we'd be going to national tournaments. Long car rides and plane rides or whatever. It was definitely something that we bonded over."

Caliendo posted a pin and technical fall in his matches Sunday. Caliendo is now 9-0 this season, improving his career mark to 66-11 including 37-6 with the Hawkeyes.

"I'm feeling decent," Caliendo said. "Still early season. I'm trying to work out some kinks a little bit. Trying to implement some stuff into my wrestling that I've been working on in the room.

"It's hard when you learn technique you have to get the feel of it before you implement it out on the mat. You can do it in the practice room all day but being able to apply it to your wrestling when you step on the mat against an opponent."

Iowa coaches and his dad weren’t the only big influence on his wrestling journey. He wrestled Israel Martinez, who runs the renowned Izzy Style Wrestling based in Addison, Ill. Caliendo transformed into a Division I competitor with Martinez and club members. He said he is grateful for Martinez and his impact.

"I wouldn't be I where I'm at right now without Izzy and all those guys in the room, pushing me," Caliendo said. "I started going to Izzy in seventh and eighth grade and all throughout high school," Caliendo said. "That's when I really saw a big leap and in how I wrestled, how I competed, in my skill level. That was definitely a big part. I wouldn't even be at Iowa, if it wasn't for him."

The two still communicate and discuss wrestling.

"I text him all the time," Caliendo said. "We're still pretty close."

Wrestling transitioned into a serious endeavor in middle school. It wasn’t the only activity as a youth.

Caliendo played football and even had an affection for hockey. Wrestling took precedent, so Caliendo had to save hockey with club teams for the offseason.

“I'd always have to try out and they'd always put me on the two team because the one team is all like the full season guys," Caliendo said. "We still traveled. Had good games and stuff. Then, when I got to high school, I dropped everything else. My freshman year I wrestled 113, so I was too small to play football.

"That's when I just kind of focused on wrestling full time, but wrestling was definitely my main sport all throughout my childhood."

Caliendo is a consensus No. 2 in the national rankings. The offensive dynamo has worked on his skills, looking to improve on top and maintain a high pace. The goal is to fold in the gains in the room into competition as he contends for a Big Ten and NCAA title.

"I'm excited because with the Big Ten schedule we're going to have a lot tougher opponents," Caliendo said. "So, I'm really going to be able to see if I could do it on some other guys, top guys in the country. If I can implement those techniques on them, I'm making some progress."

Caliendo was joined in the finals by teammates Drake Ayala and Kale Petersen at 133, Kyle Parco (149), Patrick Kennedy at 174, Stephen Buchanan (197) and heavyweight Ben Kueter.

In addition to Ayala and Petersen at 133, the 184 final is an all-Iowa affair. Freshman Angelo Ferrari and redshirt freshman Gabe Arnold both reached the championship bout. Ferrari beat South Dakota State’s Brock Fettig, 9-1, in the semifinal. Arnold topped Oklahoma State’s Jersey Robb, 4-1, in the other semifinal.

Iowa women placed 10 in the finals, including two all-Hawkeye matchups. Macey Kilty and Reese Larramendy will compete for the 145 title, while Naomi Simon and Kylie Welker advanced to the 180 championship. Simon, who won four state titles for Decorah at Xtream Arena, scored two technical superiority victories, outscoring foes, 23-2, to reach the final.

Iowa State placed a wrestler in the finals. NCAA qualifier Kysen Terukina defeated Joey Cruz, 9-4, in the 125-pound semifinals.

University of Northern Iowa has four wrestlers, vying for third Monday night. The Panthers’ Trever Anderson and Garrett Rinken will face off for third at 125. Colin Realbuto (149) and Jared Simma (174) will wrestle for bronze.

Former Iowa City High two-time state champion and four-time state medalist Cale Seaton placed in his first Soldier Salute. The SDSU freshman faced Julian Farber for fifth at 133.

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