Wrestling: ‘I expected to win’ Mikey Caliendo caps off unbeaten season with Batavia’s first state title

BATAVIA – Mikey Caliendo’s goal of a state title just eluded him during his sophomore and junior seasons, when he placed fourth both times at the IHSA state tournament.

He can cross that goal off the list this season.

With a win over Jack McClimon of Minooka in the Class 3A 160-pound championship match at the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association state tournament June 26 in Springfield, Caliendo became Batavia’s first-ever wrestling state champion.

Caliendo beat McClimon by a 15-4 major decision.

“When he came off the mat at the state tournament in 2020, he was really disappointed in his finish,” Batavia coach Scott Bayer said. “It was one of those things where the top four guys in his weight class were definitely a cut above the rest of the field. … He felt like, had he wrestled the right mat against a [different] opponent and maybe get into the finals, he could’ve won it.

“I told him: ‘If I’m going to do this thing, I’ve got to put myself in a position where it doesn’t come down to an escape [or a reversal] in the last 10 seconds of the match. … He had to be dominant,” Bayer continued. “I think it was his grind fueled by a lifetime of his interest in wrestling and a lifetime of drive. This has been his goal since he was a kid.”

Bayer could tell walking into the Bulldogs wrestling room in April that Caliendo was on a “different level.”

Caliendo finished the season with a sparkling 38-0 record.

“I had never seen a high school kid in any sport be as dominant as he was this year,” Bayer said. “There’s been other wrestlers at other schools I’ve seen, but never in our room. I’ve never seen a kid in our room that dominant.

“Statistically, it seems impossible that a program that has had a pretty good amount of wrestling success over the last 63 years wouldn’t have an individual that has done this,” Bayer said.

Caliendo called his win “definitely one of my biggest accomplishments.”

“But it didn’t really feel that way [initially],” Caliendo said. “I’m not really satisfied. … I expected to win walking into that tournament. That’s why you didn’t see a big celebration from me after winning. It was definitely one of my biggest accomplishments. I had to work really hard to get there.”

Batavia wrestlers previously had gotten close to winning in the finals. Bulldogs assistant coach Logan Arlis reached the finals in 2009 and took third in 2010.

“We’ve had guys in our room with the ability to do it, but there was someone better in the state,” Bayer said. “Mikey knows how wrestling works. There’s always someone better, so you got to be that guy. He made himself that guy over these last 12 to 14 months.”

“[Arlis] is my go-to training partner from my sophomore year to now,” Caliendo said. “If I didn’t have him in the room, then I wouldn’t have had anyone to push me. He’s definitely a big part of it.”

Marmion’s Jameson Garcia won a state title in the Class 3A 106-pound match against Andrew’s Max Siegel with a 5-1 decision.

St. Charles East freshman Ben Davino won 7-4 over DeKalb’s Ben Arranda to complete one of, if not the best, freshman seasons in program history. Davino finished with a sterling 32-0 record.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Davino said. “It was so exciting. Had a little bit of doubt in my mind, but once [the match] was done, I was super excited.”

“He’s the most dominant offensive freshman wrestler,” St. Charles East coach Jason Potter said. “He didn’t give up a single offensive point other than the state championship.”

“This is not a hobby for him. [Wrestling], this is a way of life,” Potter said of Davino. “He has goals and is extremely driven. The key for us was just making sure we were setting our goals high enough, which he did.”

Potter said Davino’s preseason goal was to become a four-time state champion. One season down, three more to go.

“He just keeps raising the bar over and over again and chasing it down. There are no days off for him,” Potter said.

Davino embraced wrestling at 6 years old. A few phone calls to wrestling clubs after expressing his interest and he was hooked.

“There’s always something to improve on,” Davino said. “You’re never perfect in one area. If you are, you can always find something to improve on. It’s [about] constantly working on something.”