After dropping the first bout of the day against Northwestern, Carver-Hawkeye Arena was eerily silent on Sunday. But echoes of “Caliendo” from the coaches’ corner pushed the second-ranked 165-pounder Michael Caliendo into six takedowns that lit the fire for a 37-3 Hawkeye wrestling win.
The No. 3 Hawkeyes found themselves in a quick hole, down three points to the Wildcats at the conclusion of the first bout, the meet with the Wildcats starting at 157 pounds. Searching for momentum, a cry from assistant coach Terry Brands was heard throughout Carver. Brands, anxiously standing by his coaching chair, shouted “Caliendo” not once, not twice — not even three but four times in total throughout the match.
The tenured assistant coach encouraged the North Dakota State transfer in hopes of giving him the extra boost he needed to be successful against ranked foe Maxx Mayfield. Just 45 seconds after the shout heard around Carver, Caliendo tacked on a three-point takedown to bring life and momentum back to the Hawkeyes.
Mayfield countered Caliendo’s takedown with a one-point escape to bring the score to 3-1 in favor of Caliendo. A few moments later Caliendo had already recorded another takedown to take a 6-1 advantage. An escape by Mayfield brought the score to 6-2, but Caliendo’s quest for momentum was indeed not over — it was just getting started. A third takedown by Caliendo and an escape by Mayfield at the 1:25 mark gave the Hawkeye a 9-3 lead.
A fourth takedown by Caliendo followed by an escape from Mayfield with 40 seconds left gave secured Caliendo’s win — but not yet by technical fall. With time dwindling down in the first period, Caliendo took control of the match by recording a fifth takedown, bringing the score to 15-4.
“He’s fun to watch,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said. “He’s a fan favorite. You do your job, and if you’re making your opponent look bad then you are really doing your job well. And that’s not a knock on the opposition, but that’s the name of the game.”
With all the momentum on Caliendo’s side, his last name still ringing out from the corner, the 11-point dominance soon was extended to 12 after a shifty escape by the experienced Hawkeye grappler. A sixth and final takedown at 30-seconds into the second period gave Caliendo a 19-4 win by technical fall.
He flexed his muscles for the arena to see — and the college wrestling world to remember his name just as Terry Brands did. The victory by Caliendo put five points on the board for Iowa and helped jumpstart what would ultimately be pure Iowa domination on the mat. Iowa swept Northwestern in every match following the victory from his bout.
“I can feel myself getting better,” Caliendo told FloWrestling earlier this season. “[It’s] just how I am feeling in the wrestling room and how I am feeling practicing, and then taking the stuff from the practice room and implementing that into my live wrestling because that’s a whole different thing as well.”
For teammate Nelson Brands, who followed at 174 pounds with a technical fall of his own, feels what it’s like following someone of Caliendo’s caliber on the mat.
“Caliendo is one of the most offensive guys in the room — being after him is definitely a good kick in the butt,” Nelson said. “So if he is putting on a show like that then you better put on some sort of show as well.”
Nelson and Caliendo are locker buddies. And despite the aggressive attack on the mat, Nelson finds Caliendo is both funny and quiet. Caliendo likes to leave his coat over Nelson’s locker, so Nelson will jokingly leave it on the ground — only to find it right back in the same spot the next day.
“He’s really goofy,” Nelson said of his teammate. “He keeps to himself, but if you get him going, he’ll be goofy.”