National Wrestling Hall of Fame

36 | NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM LATINO WRESTLING EXPERIENCE In many ways, the story of University of North Carolina Tar Heel great Al Palacio can be categorized as the fulfillment of the "American Dream." Palacio was born in a city with a turbulent history, Medellin, Colombia, in 1963, and came to the shores of the United States (Long Beach, Nassau County, New York), in 1976. Palacio's mother, Alta Velez, was the first member of the clan to venture north, arriving in New York in 1969. She worked diligently to establish herself in her new homeland, and was joined by her son as he entered his junior high school years. When he began attending Long Beach schools, not surprisingly, the young Palacio played what is the most popular sport in Colombia: soccer. While he did well, after the end of soccer season, Al often felt restless and looked for another athletic outlet. Too small to play basketball or football, he chose wrestling, much to the gratification of his coach, Paul Gillespie. Palacio was successful from the start of his mat career; losing only one match during his sophomore season (1980) and being crowned state champion at 112 pounds. The only real threat to his continuing domination as a grappler actually came from Alta, who was greatly concerned when Al suffered a dislocated elbow during the season. Fortunately, intervention by Coach Gillespie, and Palacio's determination to continue wrestling, finally overcame her objections. Al Palacio went on to win two more state titles, in 1981 and 1982, and finished his high school career with a record of 133-4-1. The next step was to select where to continue his mat career as a collegian. When he was recruited by UNC Coach Bill Lam, Al eagerly awaited his trip to the Chapel Hill area in February or March of 1982. As he noted in an interview with this author, when he left Long Island, the temperature was in the 30s, and when he landed in North Carolina, it was a balmy 60-plus degrees. The setting, in addition to UNC's fifth-place team finish in the 1982 NCAA tournament, sealed the deal: Al Palacio signed on to become a Tar Heel. The UNC program is one of the most dominant in the region (indeed, the fifth- place team finish in 1982 was the highest to that time by a southern squad). Al Palacio helped to further cement that dominance as a two-time All American, placing second in 1986 and seventh in 1987 at 118 pounds. He was also a three-time ACC champion and was named part of the All-ACC 50th Anniversary Team in 2002- 2003. A quick perusal of the UNC record book demonstrates how dominant Palacio was during his tenure in Carolina blue. Among his impressive marks are: fifth place in career winning percentage (.861 with a record of 129-19-3), sixth in single season winning percentage (.957 with a record of 44-2 in 1986-1987), and second in overall career wins for the program. Like many other wrestlers, after completing his degree in education, Palacio went on to coach at his alma mater and then moved on to Durham Riverside High School to teach and coach. He then moved into the mortgage business and eventually wound up in Jacksonville, and later on, Orlando, Fla. He and his wife now own and operate two businesses; one which provides grooming and boarding for dogs, and the other a laser-tag camp. When asked to summarize how wrestling has influenced his life, Palacio noted that it is a great sport that teaches young people many of the important values of life; such as never giving in and depending on oneself to achieve goals. Finally, as noted with many other Latino wrestlers in this work, the Palacio family is now into its next generation of on-mat excellence. In 2012 Long Beach High School Marine Dylan Palacio, won the New York State 160-pound classification (while wearing his uncle's singlet). In May of that year, Dylan announced that he would attend and wrestle for Cornell University. One of his coaches at Long Beach was Leo, Al's brother and a county title winner in his own right. Finally, uncle Luis Palacios also earned All-State honors in New York. All in all, this story is a wonderful version of the American (Colombian) Dream, with wrestling at its very heart. AL PALACIO Wrestled 1982-1987 University of North Carolina 118lbs

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