Daily Pilot High School Male Athlete of the Week: Edison’s Palacio has reason to be proud

If someone has something to hide, they might have little to say.

Clearly, Edison High wrestler Elijah Palacio is not one of those people.

Chargers coach Pete Escandon calls the senior transfer one of the most genuine individuals he has ever met, a rare but valuable quality in team sports.

It is a sense of openness that makes Palacio both coachable and approachable. He is fully engaged with his surroundings.

Upon his arrival at Edison, the three-time state meet qualifier from Calvary Chapel made it his mission to close the gap in communication between himself and his new teammates. The others saw a goofy, bubbly kid that was simply too excited about the chance to meet new people.

In time, the Chargers would come to realize that this was the real Palacio, a young man who wears his heart on his sleeve.

“I ended up asking them later what they thought of me, and they were like, ‘We just thought you were a weird kid,’” Palacio said of his initial interaction with his new teammates.

“I remember making friends with a couple of them at a time. It took a long time, but now, I can legit go up to any of these guys. If I need help with something, they’re there for me. I could honestly see a brotherhood here. I love these guys.”

Escandon, who is in his third year as the head of the program, reckons that Palacio was the perfect addition to his team’s wrestling room.

“He’s a likable kid,” Escandon said of Palacio. “I haven’t met a single person who has had a bad thing to say about him. He speaks from his heart. He would probably be a leader on any team in the state he was on.”

Following a fourth-place showing at Temecula Valley’s Battle for the Belt, the 132-pounder holds a fine 26-3 overall record for the season.

Palacio, who is ranked fifth in the state for 132 pounds, entered the tournament seeded fourth. Honoring the seed did not settle well with the senior, who felt that his mentality was off in striving not to place below his ranking.

The bar has been set incredibly high. The Battle for the Belt marked the first time that Palacio has lost two matches in one weekend since last year’s state championship meet, where he placed eighth at 126 pounds.

“All I saw on his face was that he wasn’t going to let it happen again,” Escandon said. “Right after that second loss, which I think it’s been a while since he had two losses in a day, he hit the track right away, still in his singlet, and he just started running.”

Escandon noted that Palacio does not hide his emotions. His facial expression was one of disappointment following his second loss of the tournament, a 7-5 decision to Dawson Sihavong of Fresno Bullard.

Palacio does not like to be let down softly. He makes notes of where he went wrong, and he returns to the mat with a vengeance.

“It’s that extra mile that you don’t want to run, but you have to,” Palacio said. “It’s that extra rope climb that you do after practice. It’s always the extra things that are going to push you over the hump, like watching film on a guy when you just want to sleep.

“You just have to find time. I know for a fact that there are little moments that you have to get better. You have the choice of either doing it or not, and there are consequences.”

Palacio’s parents, William and Sandra, brought him up in Christianity, which is a foundation he credits for his open-book personality. He says he was taught to never have the same face, as it is a detriment to communication.

No secrets here: Palacio is happy with where he is right now.

“The whole community of the Charger family, I love it,” he said. “I’ve been living a pretty good life lately, so I owe it all to my boys, my family, and God.”

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Elijah Palacio

Born: June 25, 2000

Hometown: Santa Ana

Height: 5 feet 7

Weight: 132 pounds

Sport: Wrestling

Year: Senior

Coach: Pete Escandon

Favorite food: Sushi

Favorite movie: “The Breakfast Club”

Favorite athletic moment: His favorite athletic moment came last year, when he participated in the Parade of Champions at the state meet after placing eighth among the 126-pounders. All the state placers were brought onto the mat with everyone clapping to show their support of the competitors.

Week in review: Palacio took fourth at 132 pounds in the Battle for the Belt, which was held at Temecula Valley High. The Chargers senior went 5-2 at the tournament, recording two pins, two major decisions and one decision.

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner