Michael Caliendo is the #3 seed at 165.
In 2023 Caliendo placed seventh for North Dakota State and fourth at 165 for the Hawks last year.
Originally from Geneva, Illinois Caliendo is a redshirt junior.
In the final InterMat Rankings on March 4 Ayala was ranked #2 at 165 and was ranked #2 for the season.
Somehow Caliendo is the #3 seed for Nationals. It doesn’t matter between #2 and #3 seed for Caliendo but it still does not make sense.
Caliendo is 20-2 with 11 tech falls and four major decisions.
At Big Tens Caliendo placed second at 165 and really closed the gap with #1 seed and #1 ranked Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State with a 4-1 decision in the finals.
I believe everyone is predicting a Caliendo-Mesenbrink finals at 165. Calinedo is now a takedown away from being a national champion. It will be interesting to see how that potential matchup will play out.
I will be releasing a preview of all of our NCAA qualifiers.
165 lbs. at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships:
2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Wells Fargo Arena
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Thursday, March 20
Prelims – 11 AM ESPNU/ESPN+
Prelims Round of 16 – 6 PM ESPN/ESPN+
Friday, March 21
Quarterfinals and wrestle-backs – 11 AM ESPNU/ESPN+
Semifinals and wrestle-backs – 7 PM ESPNU/ESPN+
Saturday, March 22
Consolation Finals – 10 AM ESPNU/ESPN+
Finals – 6 PM ESPN/ESPN+
*All times are CST.
Steven Grace and Mark Ironside call the action on AM 800 KXIC and audio streamed online at HawkeySports.com via YouTube.
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
