You can understand why there was still a little bit of disappointment.
The Academy at Palumbo high school wrestling team had just made history at the Public League championships at Northeast High School on Feb. 8. The Griffins had two individual winners for the first time in school history. They had six finalists for the first time in school history. And they finished in second place, which was the highest they had ever finished. But the collective mood as the team boarded the bus back home to South Philly was a yearning for just a little bit more.
“Overall it was a successful day,” said Geoff Verallis, one of Palumbo’s coaches. “But when you’re that close. You know what I mean? You want to win it all.”
Academy at Palumbo finished runner-up to the host Vikings in the 13-team field, finishing just 6 1/2 points off the winning mark of 179. They finished 31.5 points better than George Washington, which finished higher than the Griffins in the regular season standings and lost to Northeast in the dual meet championship on Jan. 30.
Deep down, Palumbo wrestlers know there’s been a ton of progress made. They’re just itching to take that next step.
“We got districts coming up and regions after that so we’ll be back in the room on Monday and getting right back to business,” Verallis said.
Nine individuals will bring some hardware to that next practice, including Robert Randolph and Mohammed Wan, who stood atop the podium for their respective weight classes. Randolph secured back-to-back pins at 107 pounds to reach the final where he was deemed an underdog to Washington’s Islombek Faziddinov. Faziddinov had defeated Randolph twice this season, included a 13-2 major decision just three weeks prior.
“I’m very excited. I worked very hard for this moment,” said Randolph, a junior who attends Creative and Performing Arts but wrestles at Palumbo as part of a co-op. “I’ve been going into that practice room every day and preparing myself for this moment. It’s a blessing.”
Randolph found himself trailing, 3-0, early in the championship match but managed to turn the tide and pin Faziddinov in 2:42. He erupted with joy and hugged his coaches.
“I don’t think Rob expected to win,” Verallis said. “He came out and wrestled tough. We told him before the match, he had nothing to lose. He went out and tried a move and caught the kid and pinned him. The place went crazy.”
Randolph credited it to his dogged determination.
“The match is never over,” Randolph said. “You just need to keep fighting and follow through with your technique.”
Wan’s outcome went a little closer to the script. The 215-pounder stuck Tyhir Young of Abraham Lincoln in just 57 seconds. It was his third pin of the day and second in the first period.
“It’s cool,” said Wan, a senior at Palumbo. “I expected it somewhat.”
Wan started wrestling during his freshman year but missed almost that entire rookie season after suffering a broken leg during the first week of the season. Over the last three years, he’s racked up 51 wins, including his first PPL championship.
“Mohammed, he did expect to win,” Verallis said. “I think he knew it was going to happen and he’s more focused on districts and regions coming up.”
The District 12 championships will be on Feb. 22 at Northeast High School. It gives Wan and others some time to heal up.
“Two of my fingers are super jammed. I can barely bend them,” Wan said. “They’re super sore. But I got good teammates that push me through practice. They help me get better.”
Some of them were rewarded at the PPL championships in the form of medals.
Emilio Vasquez, Jayden Jordan-Loran, Mohamed Saidji and Will Riley were part of Palumbo’s six-pack of finalists and took home silver medals. Benjamin Anderson, Hamin Muhammad and Kevin Vu all fought their way valiantly to third-place victories.
Vu’s path was impressive as won the consolation semifinal and the third-place match both by major decision after falling by sudden victory in the championship semifinal at 172 pounds. Even though it’s the individual part of the wrestling season, the Griffins seem to fall back on the pack mentality.
“All these guys have helped me get so much better,” Wan said. “There’s so many dogs on their team. We should have won first place.”
Randolph credited his teammates for his appearance on the podium.
“It feels great,” Randolph said. “We have some good coaches here. They really helped me achieve this moment. They come to practice and help me drill every day. I really appreciate them.”
