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| Wednesday, July 16 |
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| Wrestling with Parenthood By Matthew Oliveira SchoolSports.com | ||||||
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This is the second in a two-part story on Jacob Palomino. Click here to read Part I.
The story of Independence High (Calif.) wrestler Jacob Palomino and his girlfriend, Melissa Leza, could have been completely different. According to the National Women's Health Information Center, about one million teen pregnancies occur in the United States each year, but seldom, if ever, have such circumstances worked out in the incredibly positive, almost ideal, manner Jacob and Melissa's have. The parents of both teenagers responded to the pregnancy -- although ill-timed as it may have been -- with understanding and acceptance rather than anger and judgment. That support has enabled both teens to continue living their lives and build a future.
Both stayed in school. Melissa returned to classes less than two months after the twins -- Jordan and Jacquelyn -- were born, graduated (with a 3.1 GPA) as scheduled and is now taking classes at San Jose State University. Jacob is now more focused than ever on his academics in his final year of high school and is looking to earn a college wrestling scholarship so he can further his education and help solidify his new family's future. With the support of those closest to them, Jacob and Melissa are now thriving in their new roles as awed, and at the same time awe-inspiring, young parents. "Without the help we're getting, we wouldn't be able to do anything that we are doing or that we are going to do," says Jacob, whose mother, Diane, passed away in January 1998 from a rare blood disorder at the age of 40. "[Our parents] were disappointed at first, because they wanted us to have everything in life. Parents always want their kids to have better lives than they had. They thought that having kids [at such a young age] would slow us down and make our lives harder. "But they said that they definitely wanted us to stay in school and to graduate," he adds. "We've been really lucky. Everyone has been very supportive." Jordan and Jackie, as Jacquelyn is affectionately known, have been showered with love and support from both sides of the family tree. Jacob's father, Larry, 42, is the oldest of seven children. He has three children besides Jacob -- Joell, 25, Monique, 24, and Jason, 21 -- and all are willing to pitch in and help out whenever necessary. "[Jacob and Melissa] are very lucky. We all are," says Jacob's uncle Anthony Palomino, a wrestling coach at Independence who is also a former state champ -- he won the 134-pound title in 1983 -- as are Jason, Rick Sr. and Jacob's cousin Ricky Jr. "Our family is very close. I think that maybe in another family, one that isn't so close, Jacob might not have made it. "We all make mistakes. It's what happens after you've made them that really matters," adds Anthony. "It's all about how you're going to rebound. The families have said to them, ?If you need help, we're going to help you.' If no one helped [Jacob and Melissa], it would be really hard for them to survive. They're getting a lot of family support. Luckily, there are so many of us. If one of us gets tired, the next one steps in and picks up the load." That support system even extends to the twin's great-grandparents, as Jacob's grandma and grandpa, Robert Sr. and Josie Palomino, and Melissa's maternal grandmother, Mary Sanchez, are frequent babysitters. Melissa's parents, Daniel and Rose Leza, who have always enjoyed a close relationship with their daughter and her boyfriend, are also key members of the system. "Our families and our friends, no one ever brought us down," says Melissa, 18, who has also been able to continue her dancing -- she is proficient in tap, jazz, modern and ballet -- and is considering pursuing a career in pediatrics. "We realized that when something like this happens, you have to go on with life and make it into a positive situation." *** Jacob Palomino believes he can win an unprecedented fourth California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) wrestling title, even though his 119-pound weight class will likely once again be the toughest division in the state. Jacob, who was the first freshman in California history to capture a state wrestling title, has a pair of CIF Central Coast Section titles, a 135-8 record over the last three seasons and is one of only eight grapplers to ever hit the state title trifecta in California. The two-time honorable mention Asics Tiger All-America selection enters his senior season as the third-ranked 119-pound high school wrestler in the nation, according to Wrestling USA magazine. Wrestling, and everything associated with it, has been an integral part of Jacob's life ever since he can remember. Working out with his teammates. Running with them. Sweating with them. Cutting weight with them. It has been his life for nearly six months out of the year since he first slipped on a singlet at age 7. "As far as wrestling goes, he does spend a lot of time working out, but that's fine," says Melissa. "As long as he wins the state title for me, I don't mind. When he is gone [for practices or a tournament], I'll watch the kids because [his success in wrestling] is going to help our future, and that's going to take us where we want to be." "The biggest thing for Jacob will be trying to keep himself focused for wrestling and taking care of the kids at the same time," says Anthony Palomino. "Sometimes I think we need to let him know that everything is OK, that the kids are fine and it's time to wrestle." But with the birth of his children, Jacob has chosen to adjust his priorities. "I'm going to be there if Melissa needs me to be there for her and the kids," says Jacob, who admits that he and Melissa had discussed having children together, and were even hoping for twins, although much further along in their adult lives. "Even if I have to miss wrestling sometimes. "Now everything is a little bit more serious," adds Jacob, who has gone from an admittedly disinterested student to a more academically inclined young man. "I know that I have to go to school and I have to make myself a better person, not only for myself but for [my children]." Instead of kickin' it with his buddies after practice, Jacob now comes straight home following workouts to help Melissa, who lives at the Palomino household, with the twins. Feeding two children, changing their diapers, bathing them, reading to them, putting them to bed for the night -- Jacob's incredible wrestling talents aren't all that set him apart from his grappling peers. "I'd rather be with my kids than hanging out anyway," says Jacob, who will detail, to just about anyone who will listen, the antics of his 10-month-old children. "I love to watch them. They're the same age, so they are really funny together. Seeing them smile and watching them play together, even when they're fighting, I still love it." Those in the family with a little bit more experience in fatherhood have been impressed with the way Jacob has risen to the challenge. "Watching him with the kids ... I can't even think of a word to describe it," says Larry Palomino, who notes that he loves being a first-time grandfather. "He is very young, and he takes such great care of them. He bathes them and feeds them and he can't wait to come home and play with them. "He is an even better parent than he is a wrestler."
Material from SchoolSports.com.Visit their web site at www.schoolsports.com | |
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