Caleb Nadig’s family watched from the bleachers as the sophomore wrestling standout continued his dominant start to the season with two decisive pins in Rochelle’s home opener with the Oregon Hawks and Plano Reapers on Tuesday.

Among those family members were Caleb’s four younger brothers Joseph, Benjamin, Elijah and Phinehas, who all compete with the Rochelle Wrestling Club. It was Nadig’s first home meet with the RTHS wrestling program, but those who follow the team can expect to see the Nadig name in the varsity lineup for a very long time.

“It was a very exciting meet and I feel like we’re good role models for the little kids who want to come up and wrestle for the high school,” Nadig said. “It was really fun and it was cool to have the whole wrestling club there. I want to be there for my brothers when they’re wrestling and I want to show them that it’s all about effort and giving it their all. I always remind them to have fun and I want to demonstrate to them how to avoid breaking down when things get hard.”

Nadig (11-2) has shined in his first season with the Hubs, compiling a team-leading eight pins while adding one technical fall and two major decisions to help Rochelle start the season 7-2 overall. The Hubs have knocked off three ranked opponents already, defeating Rock Falls, LaSalle-Peru and Harvard all on the road. With several wrestlers still making weight and getting healthy, Nadig and his teammates are gearing up for bigger and better opportunities.

“We’ve had really good camaraderie this season and we’ve all been focused on our main vision,” Nadig said. “We all know we want to have a winning record, and we’re gaining the confidence to know that we can beat some of the best teams in the state. I think my season has started the way I wanted and I have very clear goals for the season.”

One of six children including four brothers and an older sister Ruth, Caleb grew up near DeKalb and took up wrestling when he was 10 years old. He spent three seasons with the DeKalb Huntley middle school program, reaching the IESA State Championships three times and helping the school win the 2017 IESA State Championship. His older cousin, Stephanie Nadig, received All-American honors twice throughout her wrestling career. 

“Our family has a lot of energy and it’s a good sport for us,” Nadig said. “It’s the only sport we really started doing and it caught on for a lot of us. My uncle wrestled and he was pretty good, and my dad saw an ad in the newspaper to wrestle for the DeKalb club. My dad felt that I would be good at the sport because I’ve always been strong and athletic.”

Nadig’s prep career started at Boylan Catholic, where he went 25-15 and medaled in third place at the IHSA 2A Rochelle Regional. He and his family made the decision to transfer him into the Rochelle program before his sophomore campaign, and he got an early start on his training, working with head coach Alphonso Vruno over the summer before the school year began.  

“Working with coach Vruno has been really nice since his wrestling style is very similar to mine,” Nadig said. “We’re both very aggressive and I’m pretty advanced in the sport so he’s been able to teach me a lot of the tiny details that make such a difference. He’s been to mentor me on the mental aspect of the sport.”

The early tutelage has paid dividends for Nadig, who said that his father John has been his biggest role model for the way he’s helped him improve the mental aspect of his game. Nadig will be looking to make the IHSA Individual State Championships for the first time, and he’s looking to help the Hubs qualify for the IHSA Dual State Championships as well.

“He was a good athlete and he has a lot of experience in dealing with the mental side of sports and knowing what to do when things get tough,” Nadig said. “He’s helped me a lot when wrestling was tough for me. He’s taught me the right things.”