Iowa wrestler interview
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Questions for Michael Caliendo?
00:05 Michael, it seems this year across the board,
00:07 you've just been very steady in your approach,
00:10 steady in your matches, you're consistent.
00:12 What is it in your mindset that makes you able to kind of do that
00:15 and be consistent in your approach?
00:17 Yeah, I do my best to stay consistent,
00:19 but just treating every match the same no matter who the guy is,
00:23 who my opponent is.
00:25 Just go out there and do what I do best, get some takedowns,
00:28 and try to score as many points as I can.
00:32 What was the biggest adjustment in coming here, or was there any?
00:36 No, not much, just getting excited to learn from different coaches,
00:44 different partners, but not much of an adjustment really.
00:48 Tom had said for you, just getting used to being a Hawkeye
00:51 was something that you had to get used to a little bit.
00:54 How was that jump for you now that you're a few matches into
00:57 your Iowa career now, getting used to the next step
01:01 and that next pressure of being an Iowa Hawkeye wrestler?
01:04 Yeah, you got the Iowa singlet on, everyone's coming at you.
01:08 One of the best teams in the country, if not the best team.
01:11 Everyone's trying to come at you, and they know who you are,
01:16 they're trying to stay away, not get beat as bad for a dual team points.
01:22 Sometimes it's a little harder to open up your opponents,
01:26 but that's really all.
01:29 Michael, you knew about the brands, especially Tom, before you came here.
01:33 Now that you've been here for three, four, five months, whatever it's been,
01:36 anything that surprised you about him?
01:40 Yeah, I think looking at it from an outsider's perspective,
01:46 you'd think that they're just like can't have fun, always super strict.
01:50 They're strict when they need to be, and they're locked in and focused
01:56 during practice times when we need to be, but they smile too.
02:02 They're people, they can have fun.
02:06 Tom mentioned back at media day that back when you were in high school,
02:13 he was looking at you, he evaluated you and things of that nature,
02:16 and then the coaching change happens for you at your previous college.
02:19 How much did that previous experience make the decision easier, I guess,
02:24 to come to Iowa in your mind?
02:27 I've said before, everyone wants to come to Iowa.
02:30 I don't know too many high school wrestlers who wouldn't want to come to Iowa,
02:34 especially if they're getting recruited.
02:36 It just didn't work out the first time, and I got my second go around,
02:40 and I was excited that they reached out to me again.
02:45 I don't understand, was it Frannick who actually came first,
02:48 who made the decision first, and then you joined him, or how did that work?
02:52 No, we were the same.
02:54 We wanted to go somewhere together, and we made the decision the same day.
02:58 He might have posted his recruitment a couple minutes before mine.
03:02 But yeah, we were on the phone right before that and saying,
03:06 "Yeah, we're going to go to Iowa."
03:08 When did you get here on campus?
03:12 I didn't have a place to live, so not until end of summer, really.
03:19 What's been the biggest shock about Iowa, or biggest shock about either here,
03:23 campus, or the state or anything since you've been here?
03:26 Yeah, I think just not used to having this big of a fan base.
03:31 NDSU is mainly football, but it's just a smaller school in general.
03:36 But here, being a Hawkeye, everyone knows you, so it's neat.
03:41 Did you have any home meets here?
03:43 Has there been any moment in your connection with the Iowa fans
03:46 that you'll never forget?
03:49 No, I just think it's awesome going out there
03:53 and seeing all these fans here to support and accepting me as a Hawkeye.
04:00 Yeah, I mean, that's all there is.
04:03 You wrestle, you flash just a ton of athleticism on the mat.
04:07 It's a huge asset of what you do on offense.
04:10 Do you find that a lot of people get surprised by that at times
04:13 when you're able to fly and do some of the things you do?
04:16 Yeah, I would say that's kind of part of my thing is I'm quick and explosive.
04:24 A lot of my takedowns come from me just catching somebody off guard.
04:28 They're not ready for that explosiveness that I have.
04:33 Anything else?
04:35 Thanks, Mike.
04:36 Thank you.
04:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]