WESTERVILLE – Cale Callahan's story is one of incredible perseverance. Through illness, injuries and an unexpected tragedy, the Otterbein senior has finally achieved a longtime goal – qualifying for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.

"It's a huge weight off my shoulders. That's what I've been working for since I stepped foot on campus is to get that national championships berth," Callahan said. "I hope I make guys like Jarrod Setliff and Ryan Whitten proud. I was teammates with them, and they were at that level, and they were helping me get to that level. They texted me saying they were proud of me and happy for me, which meant a lot."

Callahan is set to compete in the 174-pound bracket at the NCAA Division III Championships on Friday and Saturday at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. Ranked No. 15 nationally in his weight class by The Open Mat, he entered the NCAA Division III Region 4 Championships in Danville, Va., earlier this year as the NWCA's top-ranked wrestler in the region at 174 pounds. He went into that competition with a nothing-to-lose mentality and ultimately finished as the 174-pound runner-up to earn qualification to the national championships.

"This regional was probably the most nervous I got. I wanted to prove to myself and others that I deserved to be at the top," he said. "Once we got to Danville, I felt a lot better and calmer. I told myself that whatever happens, happens as long as I give it my best and don't hold back."

The top three placers in each weight class at regionals earn a berth to the NCAA Division III Championships, and Callahan fell just short of that mark with a fourth-place showing at 165 pounds as a junior last season. Upon advancing to the semifinals this year, he didn't want another opportunity to go to waste. Facing Baldwin Wallace's Carter Lloyd, who was ranked No. 3 in the region, he bounced back from being called for what he described as a questionable penalty in the third period to win by sudden victory, 9-6.

"I put so much physical and emotional energy into that match," he said. "When we went to overtime, I was telling myself that I just needed one good shot. I had to fight a good minute for that shot, but I ended up getting a takedown in the last three seconds. I was so excited but so exhausted at the same time."

That victory clinched a nationals berth and at least a runner-up finish. Callahan battled conference rival Adam Myers of Ohio Northern, ranked second in the region, in the championship match but ultimately fell just short in a defeat by 3-0 decision.

"Adam is a really good wrestler. We both know each other really well and had wrestled before," Callahan said. "I kind of underestimated his top pressure, and I let him get to his position where he is really good, and that was ultimately the deciding factor."

Despite not winning the regional title, Callahan came away proud of what he had accomplished. A First Team All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection this season, he posted a perfect 6-0 mark in OAC duals and enters the national championships with a 16-3 overall record on the year. Pretty impressive for someone who missed the start of the season due to illness.

"I actually dealt with mono the first half of the year. That put me out for a good three weeks, and I never felt so tired in my life," Callahan said. "It felt like I ran a marathon from just using the bathroom. But I just took it one step at a time to come back from it."

That illness is just one of many setbacks dating back to high school that Callahan has battled to get to where he is today.

A native of Washington Court House, Ohio, he grew up playing baseball but drifted away from it to pick up wrestling in third grade.

"My dad got me into it. He liked the movie Vision Quest so much that he decided he wanted to get involved in wrestling, and he passed it on to me," he said.

Callahan also ran cross country and track in middle and high schools, but wrestling always took top billing. At Miami Trace High School, he earned nine varsity letters in wrestling, track and field and cross country. In wrestling, he was a three-time All-Conference selection and two-time state qualifier, placing eighth as a senior. But that success didn't come without adversity.

After qualifying for state as a sophomore, he tore his labrum in his junior year and was forced to have shoulder surgery. That took him away from wrestling for around 10 months as he underwent rehab. The shutdown of sports due to the Covid-19 pandemic helped to ease some of the pain of being away from wrestling, but he still admits that it was a rough time.

He returned to the mat as a senior, competing amidst pandemic-related restrictions, such as hosting the state tournament at three separate venues to minimize crowd sizes and adhere to social distancing requirements. While not quite the stage of the Schottenstein Center, Callahan still enjoyed the experience.

"I ended up placing eighth, and I was really proud of myself for overcoming the injury and achieving that," he said.

Callahan didn't want that to be the end of his wrestling career, however. He began considering wrestling at the collegiate level back in middle school after watching the NCAA Division I National Championships on TV and remained committed to pursuing that dream.

"I remember watching Kyle Snyder and Nathan Tomasello from Ohio State. I looked up to them and wanted to do what they were doing someday," he said. "Seeing those guys wrestle and the levels that they got to motivated me to be like them one day."

Callahan had been introduced to Otterbein and head wrestling coach Brent Rastetter during his club wrestling days in middle school. He ended up having several one-on-one sessions with Rastetter, and the two began building a connection that ultimately led Callahan to commit to Otterbein over other options such as John Carroll, Ashland and Ohio Northern.

"Those were all good schools, but Otterbein was always at the top of my list because of that pre-established relationship I had," he said.

Callahan made an impact right away as a freshman in Westerville, finishing with a 20-8 record as the primary starter at 165 pounds and placing seventh at the NCAA Central Regionals. Then came more hardships in his sophomore campaign.

"That was probably one of the roughest years I've had in my life," he said. "The difference between my junior year of high school and sophomore year of college is that everyone was on hold in my junior year and I didn't feel alone. But in my sophomore year, there was no pandemic. It was just me, and it made me feel lonely a lot."

First came a herniated disk in his lower back that caused him to miss time. Then, not long after his return, he suffered torn ligaments in his foot. Those injuries limited him to just 10 matches that season in which he posted a 7-3 record at 174 pounds.

Callahan battled through some injury-related rust and overall body soreness during the early portion of his junior season, leading him to make some changes to his routine.

"I started doing a lot of mobility and flexibility training, and I changed up my diet. I had an electrolyte imbalance for a while, which is why I think a lot of injuries were occurring, so I took a lot of supplements for that," he said. "I also shifted my mindset. I was frustrated for a while for not reaching my goals. But I had talks with my dad and different coaches and other people, and I learned that there a lot of things you can't control with how your career goes. For me, it was about how I responded to those situations. Changing that mindset helped a lot, and I also physically got better, which helped me achieve my goals that year."

That was the same year that Rastetter was forced to temporarily step away from the program for a significant amount of time due to health reasons, but, like his coach, Callahan persevered. He earned Second Team All-OAC recognition and was an All-Region honoree with his fourth-place finish at the regional championships. Wrestling at 165 pounds, he led the team in wins with a 24-10 record and posted a 6-1 mark in OAC duals. While he could have dwelled on falling just short of nationals qualification, he instead focused on how he could learn from that experience to achieve his ultimate goal as a senior.

"In the past, I would've dwelled on it for a long time and used anger to motivate me. But as I got older, I realized that things like that weren't worth spending that much time on," he said. "It was more about focusing on what I did wrong and how I could do better. I dwelled on it for an hour or so, but then I just went on with life and learned from it."

Things were looking up going into Callahan's senior season, but then came the mono diagnosis in which sophomore teammate Josh Taylor stepped up in his absence to take his place at the 174-pound spot.

"When I first got mono, I called Josh and told him that I didn't think I could wrestle and asked him what his weight was looking like," Callahan said. "He told me he weighed 185, so he had to cut 11 pounds in two days, and he did it."

Then, in early January, came tragic news that hit the wrestling program, and the greater Otterbein community, extremely hard – Taylor had passed away in a fatal car accident.

"When I first heard about it, it was the morning after New Year's. I was hanging with my buddies, and we were having a blast watching the Ohio State game. The next day, I'm driving home from Columbus, and I get a text from my coach about Josh's passing," Callahan said. "At first, I had to double check it because my mind focused in on that he was in a car accident, and I wondered if he was OK or if he got really hurt. But the text said a tragic car accident and mentioned about plans for a funeral. I was about five minutes from my house, and I stopped my car on a back road and had to take it all in and think about it."

Taylor certainly made an impact in his short time with the Otterbein wrestling program. Callahan remembers his late teammate as a goofy guy with a good heart and someone who was always positive and never spoke ill of anyone. The shock of his sudden passing widened Callahan's perspective on life.

"When that happened, it shifted my perspective to be more grateful of what I had. Yes, I love wrestling, but there are bigger things in life than just wrestling," he said. "One of the big things about wrestling is you build a lot of good relationships. When you lose a teammate, it's really devastating to lose that relationship, but you'll always remember it for the rest of your life."

After persevering through so many challenges, Callahan now has his sights squarely on capping his senior season with a solid showing at the national championships. He enters with a career record of 67-24, including a 14-3 mark in OAC duals, and is excited to see what Rhode Island has in store.

"Getting to compete at the national championships is pretty cool, especially with this being my last tournament ever," he said. "I don't know what to expect. I just want to have fun and enjoy it. I want to be an All-American, but regardless of what happens, I know I'm going to wrestle hard."

No matter what happens this weekend, Callahan has proven to be a standout both on the mat and in the classroom. A three-time Scholar All-American as a business analytics major, he credits his parents for teaching him the importance of academics from an early age.

"My parents taught me that sports come and go, but you need to focus on academics to help you get a job eventually when you get older, and you need good grades to play sports," he said. "For me, it wasn't about getting bare-minimum good grades. If I was going to set high goals in wrestling, I wanted to achieve high goals in the classroom as well."

He credits his professors for helping him succeed academically, highlighting Stephen Osborne, Hyuk Kim and Don Eskew, and has enjoyed how his major combines aspects of computer science and business. Upon graduating, he plans to pursue an MBA at Ohio State or other nearby school to eventually pursue a career as a data engineer.

"Those are the people who create and design databases," he said. "A lot of my major is about analyzing and predicting data for companies to get a competitive advantage. Being the person who creates the thing that helps people get a competitive advantage would be really cool."

Reflecting on his time at Otterbein, Callahan recognizes that he has grown both academically and as a wrestler. He cites his longtime relationship with Rastetter as special and credits his coach for helping him build self-confidence.

"The hardest thing I've had to overcome in high school and early in college was a lack of confidence, and he has really helped me believe in myself," Callahan said of Rastetter.

Rastetter is just as appreciative of Callahan as an outstanding role model for the wrestling program.

"Cale has battled to overcome injury and illness this season, and I am extremely proud of him and happy to see all of his hard work pay off," Rastetter said. "He has been a leader since he stepped on campus and is a great example of if you put in the work, good things will happen. Plus, he is a three-time Scholar All-American, so he is taking care of business in the classroom as well."

Through all of his experiences and setbacks, Callahan will depart Otterbein a much different person than when he first came to Westerville. He wants that adversity to be part of his legacy.

"I want to be remembered as a warrior and that I never gave up," he said. "When they face adversity in their lives, a lot of people don't know how to respond to it very well. They'll either give up or never be the same. I want to be an example of someone who has been constantly kicked down but keeps choosing to get up and go farther. I want to be an example showing that you can get anywhere if you just don't give up and keep working hard."