Long Beach wrestler Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez wins third state title to cap sensational high school career

ALBANY — Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez is a state wrestling champion — for the third time!

The final chapter of his high school career has been written. Sibomana-Rodriguez, who captured the hearts of wrestling fans across New York State, proved that you can do anything and defy any odds.

The Long Beach senior capped a phenomenal five-year varsity career when he used two takedowns to beat Manhasset senior Will Russell, 7-1, to capture the 118-pound weight class in the Division I state tournament before a packed house at the MVP Arena in Albany on Saturday.

The five-time state place winner, who also finished third in 2023 and second in 2024, delighted the crowd with his signature cartwheel into a backflip after the win.

He was named the Division I tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

“I’m here because of the support of my family, my coaches and the Long Beach community,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said. “I came to the United States with nothing and so many people took care of me. I am forever grateful for all those people.”

At the age of 6, Sibomana-Rodriguez was playing just outside his village of Rutshuru in the jungle of the Virunga National Park, a vast animal preserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, when a troop of chimpanzees attacked him and two family members. His brother and cousin were killed in the attack.

Sibomana-Rodriguez survived but was left with horrific injuries to his lips, ears and face. His right ear and facial muscles were gone and the middle finger on his left hand was bitten off. The attack made it difficult for him to speak or swallow.

“His story is one of courage and perseverance,” said Long Beach coach Ray Adams, who crowned his 19th state champion. “He’s amazing in every regard. A special young man that promises to do big things in his lifetime. It’s almost unbelievable but I experienced it. We always taught him — no losses, just lessons.”

Sibomana-Rodriguez became the second wrestler in Long Beach history to win three state titles. Al Palacio earned three state crowns from 1980-1982. He also earned his 200th career win in a first-round win Friday. Sibomana-Rodriguez finished his career with a 203-17 record.

“Senior year went by very fast and I can’t believe this part of my journey is over,” he said. “It’s been quite the ride, and I hope I made everyone proud. Now starts the next chapter and getting ready for college.”

Coming to America

Sibomana-Rodriguez was brought to the United States in December 2015, by a New York-based, non-profit surgical care program at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, where a team of surgeons began his care. Dr. Alexander Dagum, the executive chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stony Brook Medicine and Dr. Leon Klempner, an associate professor of dentistry at the Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine and the founder of the nonprofit organization Smile Rescue Fund for Kids teamed to care for Sibomana-Rodriguez.

The not-for-profit Smile Rescue Fund for Kids identifies children in resource-poor countries who need facial or cranial surgeries and perform these procedures at no charge. Dr. Dagum performed the initial surgery, transplanting tissue and muscle from Dunia’s left forearm to recreate his lips while Dr. Klempner took the lead on the dentistry end. Sibomana-Rodriguez has endured 21 facial surgeries.

With the help of multiple foster families, Sibomana-Rodriguez, who spoke only Swahili, learned English and enrolled in Long Beach Schools.

There he met Long Beach Middle School wrestling coach Miguel Rodriguez and his then fiancee Marissa Carruci. They were married in 2017 and became the fourth and final foster family to care for Dunia. They officially adopted him and he became a permanent United States resident in 2019.

“I am blessed to be where I am in my life,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said. “My doctors took care of me and gave me the opportunity to have a great life. And without my family, friends, coaches, the people in our community, none of this was possible.”

The Sibomana-Rodriguez story is one of courage, overcoming adversity and sheer individual determination.

“It wasn’t always easy for Dunia,” Marissa Rodriguez said. “Once he found wrestling, he found his confidence. And the sport has given him a purpose.”

2022: The beginning

Sibomana-Rodriguez burst onto the wrestling scene and won the 102-pound Nassau title as an eighth-grader in 2022. He shocked the state with a pin in 1:32 over top-seeded Ryan Ferrara of Chenango Forks in the state championship at the MVP Arena in Albany Feb. 26. Sibomana-Rodriguez locked up Ferrara in a tight cradle to become the 17th state champion in Long Beach’s storied history.

To win his first state crown, he needed to beat the top two seeded wrestlers in his weight class on the final day of the tournament. He upset No. 2 seed, freshman Luke Satriano of Valley Central, 9-3 in a semifinal win. It was the beginning of five straight state place finishes. He finished the eighth-grade season at 35-2.

2023: The expectations

Sibomana-Rodriguez’s quest for a second straight state title came crashing down in one lateral drop in the semifinal round of the state’s Division I tournament. Satriano prevailed against the Long Beach freshman with a well-timed takedown with 27 seconds left in the third period to beat Sibomana-Rodriguez, 2-1, in stunning fashion in the 110-pound weight class in the MVP Arena.

The final 27 seconds were an exercise in futility for Sibomana-Rodriguez as he desperately tried to elude Satriano’s grip to gain a one-point escape and tie the score to force overtime. It didn’t happen and Sibomana-Rodriguez was forced into the consolation bracket.

There he won two bouts and placed third in the state. It was a defining moment in his career.

“The way one reacts to winning and losing defines their character,” Adams said. “Dunia has always been a cool customer — it’s one of his greatest strengths. Win or lose, he’s always classy. The loss to Satriano was a teachable moment, a valuable lesson that he would learn from.”

Valley Central coach Bob Leonard called the Satriano vs. Sibomana-Rodriguez bout, “the most intense match in my 27 years of coaching. A great match between two excellent wrestlers.”

Satriano went on to win the state crown. Adams hugged Sibomana-Rodriguez on the way out of the arena. “I told him, ‘Your story is far from over,’ ” Adams said.

2024: One point

With incredibly high expectationsm Sibomana-Rodriguez, a sophomore, rolled through another stellar season and into the state final at 108 pounds. There, he lost, 1-0, when his opponent Cooper Merli of Newburgh Free Academy executed a great game plan. “We didn’t open up offensively,” Adams said. “It was one of the few times that Dunia allowed an opponent to dictate the pace of the match.”

The second-place finish and 42-3 record would set the table for 2025, when Merli and Sibomana-Rodriguez would meet in an epic rematch in the state final.

“We talked about all of the obstacles he’d overcome in his life,” Miguel Rodriguez said. “Of course he was disappointed. But I wanted him to focus on all of life’s blessings. This wasn’t the end but part of the journey. And life will have its ups and downs and who knows better than him. Sometimes I must remind myself of what he’s gone through, what’s going on in the present and what’s next.”

2025: Redemption

It would be the year of redemption for Sibomana-Rodriguez. The state championship that eluded him for two years arrived in fantastic fashion in a rematch against Merli for the 116-pound crown.

In the final, Sibomana-Rodriguez allowed an escape with one second left in regulation to force overtime with the score tied at 2. He pushed the action in overtime, catching Merli, the two-time defending state champion, with a whip 30 seconds into the period for the pin in 6:44 to claim the state Division I title before a delirious crowd in the MVP Arena.

“His story is one of courage and perseverance,” Adams said.

It took three years to get back on the top of the podium — the next big moment in a journey filled with milestones and achievement. And of course, the celebration of a cartwheel and a backflip to enjoy his second state championship.

“I needed that one,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said afterward. “This is the biggest win of my life. And it came against a great opponent.”

Before the title bout, Long Beach assistant coach Leo Palacio delivered a memorable pregame speech that really hit home.

“We told him no one knows your pain,” Palacio said. “You’re built differently. No one can truly understand your pain. Everyone does pushups and situps and runs for conditioning. Their challenges are nothing like yours every time you step on the mat.”

Sibomana-Rodriguez finished the season with a 48-2 record. And yet the best was yet to come for the junior in 2025. He verbally committed to wrestle for the University of North Carolina — an accomplishment that may have seemed out of reach not long ago but turned reality.

“North Carolina is my dream school,” he “We visited the coaches and I felt right at home at the school.”

“I fell in love with Dunia the first time I met him,” Marissa Rodriguez said. “A sweet boy with a wonderful attitude who just needed love and a chance. He’s always been my hero. When I watch him wrestle, I see a kid who battled through the kind of adversity no one should experience. He’s a survivor, a fighter. He’s a miracle.”

And Sibomana-Rodriguez followed the script in 2026.

The one that ended with the signature backflip.