Palacio: perfect to the end
Long Beach senior wins 160-pound state title
Mission complete.
Dylan Palacio accomplished a longtime goal of winning a New York State wrestling championship last Saturday evening at the Times Union Center in Albany.
The 160-pound senior became Long Beach High School’s 10th state champ when he capped an undefeated, 41-win season with an 11-4 decision over Tyler Grimaldi of Half Hollow Hills West in the state title bout. It was the third All-State finish for Palacio, who placed third as a junior and fourth as a sophomore.
“It didn’t really hit me until Sunday morning,” said Palacio, who last month won his third Nassau County crown in four years. “To be a state champion is a dream come true,” he added. “I’ve been working towards it for a long time and it was my last chance to make it happen. I wasn’t going to go home disappointed.”
Palacio, who has narrowed his college choices to Cornell and Hofstra, was dominant on the first day of the state tournament last Friday. He opened with a 17-2 technical fall victory over Mike Garrison of Amsterdam, and took a 13-2 major decision against Zach Colgan of Johnson City.
In the semifinals, where Palacio met defeat in both of his previous trips upstate, he used a third-period reversal to score a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Wayne’s Frank Affronti. “Dylan’s superior conditioning and will to win were the difference in my opinion,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. “It never crossed my mind that Dylan was in trouble. Nobody is tougher than him in the third period.”
Once he got past Affronti, Palacio said, there was no stopping him. “Every match up there is like a county final,” Palacio said. “I know Grimaldi is a good wrestler, but I wasn’t going to be denied.”
Adams said Palacio saved his best for last. “Dylan was dominant against a very talented kid,” the coach said. “Nobody brings it to the mat like Dylan. He’s physical and relentless. I feel great for him because he worked so hard and earned it.”
Palacio is the third Long Beach wrestler to go undefeated, joining P.J. Gillespie (2007) and Kevin Haggerty (1997.) “He’s in select company,” Adams said.
Sewkumar All-State again
