Wrestling: St. Charles East's Xander Song, area wrestlers begin postseason

Xander Song had big shoes to fill this season, and it's not simply about his own wrestling weight class.

Song, a St. Charles East senior who wrestles at the 285-pound weight class, has taken the lead for a Saints' team that graduated a number of seniors from last season.

The list includes Justin Benjamin, who won the Class 3A 138-pound state title last year, as well as Ben Anderson and Justin Hull, who finished second at 285 pounds.

Song finished second at the DuKane Conference meet last week. After earning a first-round bye, Song defeated Wheaton North's Kameron Vine in a 9-3 decision. He then lost in a 3-1 decision to Glenbard North's Paulie Robertson in the final.

"[Hull and I] were really close, playing football together [and] wrestling," Song said. "We actually started wrestling together at the same time, so he's always been someone that I can kind of look up to and try be as good as he was some day."

Song and the Saints will be in action today at the Class 3A regional hosted by DeKalb. The regional boasts an impressive field, including conference opponents St. Charles North, Geneva and Batavia, as well as Class 3A state-ranked DeKalb.

Hull, now a freshman at Minnesota-Duluth, has seen Song's growth.

"During Xander's junior year, I was his wrestling partner for most of the season as we were the two big guys in the room," Hull said. "At that point, Xander was focused more on football and was just doing wrestling for fun."

"Throughout the year, though, he got significantly better and I really think he’s showed the progress he’s made this year; as he has dominated as his first year being a varsity heavyweight," Hull continued. "He has the strength and the confidence in his wrestling ability that makes him a weapon on the mat."

Song, who enters Saturday with a 16-3 record, stopped wrestling in seventh grade, but returned his sophomore year at East.

"I originally started [wrestling] in third grade, and then when I got to seventh grade, I didn't really like it as much," Song said. "Coach [Jason] Potter convinced me to come back out."

If Song had the opportunity to talk to himself from two years ago, while knowing what he does now, what would he say?

"I would say 'stick with it, even when it gets tough,'" Song said. "There's light at the end of the tunnel; it always gets better."

Meanwhile, Batavia junior Riley Woods "wants to prove something" this year.

"I haven't been on varsity at all these years," Woods said. "So, I want to try and prove something this year."

Woods prevailed for his first conference title at 138 pounds over Wheaton North's Nick Lemp in a 2-0 decision for the final.

It was a sweet moment for Woods, who previously lost to Lemp the week prior at a dual hosted at Wheaton North - also a 2-0 decision.

"Coming back and beating him [Feb. 1] really felt good," Woods said. "I feel more motivated when I wrestle a kid that I lost to because I want to prove that I can beat that kid. I feel more motivated because I don't want to lose again."

Mike Caliendo, a fellow Batavia junior, also has much more to wrestle for.

Caliendo, who placed fourth in the state last season, earned his second conference title last weekend.

He's not satisfied.

"This is practice; I'm still going for a state title," Caliendo said following his 145-pound championship match. "[Regionals] is when it counts."