By Mike Clark
CHAMPAIGN — Just a few years ago, Calvin Savage weighed 265 pounds and had never stepped on a wrestling mat.
Now, the King senior is an IHSA state placer and a Division I recruit.
Savage took the latest step in his remarkable journey when he finished sixth in Class 1A at 190 pounds in the state finals Saturday at State Farm Arena.
He was the only Public Leaguer to place this year and he’s just the second state placer in King history. Lavontay Cobb was fourth at 285 in Class 2A in 2013.
Savage started wrestling as a sophomore and the success was slow to come.
“My sophomore year, I didn’t make it to regionals, I didn’t make it to city, I didn’t make it to sectionals, I didn’t make it to state,” he said. “My junior year, I didn’t make it to city, I didn’t make it to regionals, I didn’t make it to sectionals and I didn’t make it to state.”
What changed?
“This year, I wanted it,” Savage said. “I wanted to make it.”
He started his wrestling journey at 265 and competed at 220. King assistant coach Matt Hampton suggested Savage go down a weight class this season.
“I came to 190 and I dominated,” Savage said.
At this year’s Public League Tournament, Savage went 4-0 en route to the 190 title with three first-period falls and a second-period technical fall.
He had a major decision and a fall in winning the 1A De La Salle Regional before going 3-2 at the Hope Academy Sectional to finish fourth and qualify for state.
In Champaign, Savage pinned his first two opponents to advance to the 190 semifinals and clinch a medal. He lost his last three matches by decision — 6-1, 3-1 and 3-1 — to finish sixth with a 36-6 record.
But he can’t help but look at the bright side. He’ll continue his wrestling career at Morgan State.
“I came from not being honorable mention, nobody knew my name to becoming the sixth-ranked 190 in the state,” Savage said. “I feel pretty good. But I set my sights on being a state champion and unfortunately I fell a little short. But I’m still on the podium.”
“He’s a really disciplined kid,” King head coach Anthony Burton said. “He’s very goal-oriented and he wanted it. It’s simple: shoot for the stars, right?”
Savage’s journey has been “transformational,” Burton added. “Who he was as a person and as an individual and as a wrestler — it’s just gotten better and better. … The sky’s the limit.”
Notes: One more Public Leaguer finished in the top eight, missing a medal by one win. Kennedy junior Victor Alvarado (28-5) went 2-2 in the Class 2A 113-pound bracket, reaching the consolation quarterfinals.
Four more Public League wrestlers were eliminated in the second round of wrestlebacks: Taft sophomore 106-pounder Bernardo Roque (35-7) and Lane senior 150-pounder Fernando Lopez (27-5) in 3A; Hancock freshman 165-pounder Malakai Davis (38-5) in 2A; and Phoenix senior 138-pounder Jose Lua (21-5) in 1A.
