Palacio in state tournament

Still basking in the glory of Long Beach’s first Nassau County wrestling championship in 14 years, things got even better for sophomore Dylan Palacio last week when he learned he’ll be returning to the state tournament.

Palacio, the county runner-up to Great Neck South’s Daniel Cataldi at 140 pounds on Feb. 14, received one of 24 wild-card spots to this weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at the Times Union Center in Albany. Palacio joins sophomore teammate Mark Raghunandan, the county champion at 96 pounds.

“There's nothing like a second chance,” Palacio said. “I didn't want to be in the situation where I was waiting for a phone call to find out if I made it, but it doesn't matter now. As long as I'm in."

Palacio, the county champion last season at 119, dropped the title bout to Cataldi, 9-4. Palacio, the No. 1 seed, steamrolled into this year’s final with impressive wins over Calhoun’s Dan Piccirillo, 18-0, Plainedge’s Mike Nigro, 13-4, and Wantagh’s Paul Friscia, 13-0. “Dylan ran into the Cinderella story of the tournament,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said of Palacio, who carries a record of 39-2 up to Albany. “We were confident he’d get a wild-card invite, but you never know until it’s official.”

Though undefeated and a returning All-County wrestler, Cataldi was unseeded for the county tournament and caught everyone by surprise. "I never faced him before, and I knew I was in trouble when I fell behind 5-0," Palacio said. "I wouldn't mind seeing him at the state tournament, but he's on the opposite side of the bracket."

Each of the state's 11 sections is allowed two wild cards per weight class. To be considered, a wrestler had to finish no worse than third in his weight within his section. The selection formula includes this season's record, previous section and state wins and strength of competition. Palacio's 3-2 mark at last year's state tournament helped his cause, and the experience should serve him well. Already in his fourth varsity season, he has 106 career wins.

"Ultimately, Dylan's goal was to get to the state tournament and be All-State," said Adams, who believes Raghunandan will benefit from having a friend and teammate joining him for the trip. "He's disappointed about the county finish, but he's not dwelling on it. He's excited about the opportunity in front of him."

Palacio was one of four Nassau runners-up for the Marines, who had nine All-County (top six) wrestlers en route to totaling 207.5 points. Defending county and state champion Wantagh was second with 187 points, followed by Syosset with 170.5.