Palacio Caps High School Wrestling Career with State Title

Just before he hit the mat in his final of nearly 220 wrestling matchs over six years, Long Beach senior Dylan Palacio whispered in the ear of his coach Ray Adams: “‘Just tell me you love me and tell me it’s all going to be alright.’ And he told me and I knew at that moment that this is what it all comes down to. There is no second chance. Your dreams are right there. I had to reach for it. That’s what I did.”

Palacio won an 11-4 decision over Half Hollow Hills West’s Tyler Grimaldi in the 160-pound Division I state final at Times Union Center in Albany on Saturday. This, after last year he lost by a mere point to Rocky Point’s Matt Ross in a 145-pound state semifinal.

“He lost in the semi-finals two years in a row and he very easily could have won in close matches,” Adams said after a ceremony that honored Palacio and other local wrestlers at the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce’s meeting at Avenue Cafe Monday evening. “So this year he wasn’t going to be denied.”

In January, a 152-pound Palacio beat defending state champion Brian Realbuto at the Eastern States tournament. Earlier this month, Palacio earned his third Nassau County Division I title in a 9-4 decision over MacArthur’s Joe Cataldo in the 160-pound final at Hofstra University. Then, all that remained for the senior with four All-American and three All-State honors was the elusive state title.

“You think about it a lot of nights,” Palacio said about winning the states. “You dream about it. And then it’s right there for the taking. What else can you do but take it and make it happen? This is surreal for me.”

Palacio has an unparalleled work ethic in the gym and works hard in the classroom, Adams said, and now he’ll be pursued by the likes of Duke, Cornell, Hofstra and a host of other colleges.

“Ultimately his work ethic and his belief in himself is what drove him to win the state title,” Adams said. “... He believed in himself, he set his goals and he achieved them. I’m very proud of him.”

Dylan said that along they way he had many doubters, but they didn’t faze him. “I didn’t get bitter,” he said, “I got better.”