Penn Hills’ A.J. Palumbo finds success on mat while balancing busy schedule

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, January 30, 2022 | 11:01 AM

A.J. Palumbo asks the Penn Hills wrestling coaches for an intense practice.

Palumbo, a 215-pound senior wrestler, only has about 40 minutes to put work in before he heads to his job at Don Kuhn Auto Body. Palumbo is working as an apprentice painting cars.

The Indians, who don’t have a large roster, only have one other wrestler in Palumbo’s weight range, so he trains with the coaches or the lighter weight wrestlers.

“When I’m at practice, I can only be there for 30 or 40 minutes; they give me the work,” Palumbo said. “It’s an intense practice.”

Palumbo, who is 12-7, recently had the best tournament finish of his high school career, placing sixth at the Allegheny County tournament. He is on pace to set a new career-best for victories in a season.

While having intense practices is difficult before work, they help balance out Palumbo’s day. He works full days on Wednesday and Thursday.

“It’s a little difficult because I’m tired now,” Palumbo said. “I think it makes me a better painter. It gives me something to look forward to outside of work.”

Because of injury and covid issues, Palumbo only wrestled one match as a junior. As a sophomore, Palumbo was 14-15 with 12 pins. He placed fourth in the section to reach the WPIAL tournament.

Palumbo, who has nine pins this season, seldom sees matches end in decisions. Fourteen of his 19 matches have ended early.

“He’s always been a pinner since he was on juniors all the way up,” Penn Hills coach Jeremy Packer said. “He has a knack for coming up on the top of scrambles and getting his opponents on their back.”

While Palumbo wrestles in a heavier weight class, he doesn’t feel like his style matches the typical profile of a 215-pound wrestler. Palumbo doesn’t necessarily want to tie up. He wants to find his shots and create scrambles.

“I feel like I wrestle like someone who is a weight class or two below me,” Palumbo said. “I’m faster and do more than what a typical 200-pound dude would be doing. I look for my shots and don’t look to stay in the tie-up long.”

Packer has been happy with Palumbo’s progress. He was Penn Hills’ only place-winner in the Eastern Area Invitational earlier this season in addition to his finish at the county tournament.

“He’s made good progress and placed in both tournaments we’ve been to,” Packer said. “He’s been able to progress throughout the season, and he’s gotten better and better.”

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