Mat Malherio competes one-on-one as a wrestler, and recently earned his third sectional title for Highland as a 132-pounder.

Malherio headed to Albany for the state tournament and left with a 1-0 victory in the quarterfinals and a 1-point loss in the semis.

“It felt amazing,” he said, last week while waiting to play a baseball game on the road at New Paltz. “Going to states was really amazing for the third time.”

And it was also the first time and only time he had won a match at the state tournament after two previous Division II appearances.

Malherio, a three-sport athlete, is now competing in what could be his final week for Highland as the baseball season soon comes to a close. He plays baseball in the spring to help his summer agility as a wrestler, and wrestling helps him as a football player.

“Wrestling makes football easier. Wrestling, when taking shots, helps you with tackling,” he said. “Football is something I have been doing since I was five or six years old. I have just always had a love for the sport.”

Wrestling is his favorite sport. After he graduates from Highland, Malherio will head to the middle of the nation, in Arkansas, and will attend the University of Ozarks, a D-III school, to wrestle and study early childhood education.

Malherio will leave Highland as a wrestling champion and a dedicated teammate who worked on a daily basis, whether in practice or during a match or a game, to help himself and a group achieve as much as possible.

“All around, I have had fun playing sports in Highland,” he said. “I love all my teammates on every team I have been on.”