Dylan Galloway is no stranger to success on the wrestling mat, and he hopes to continue that trend at Life University.
Galloway graduated from Gilmer High School in May, and earned an All-American distinction for the sixth time in June. His wrestling exploits are well known, and he was recruited by 15 universities. He noted most were schools that hailed from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
“I just went with the one that I thought would be the best fit for me. I really like the coaches, they have a great wrestling program down there, and it’s close to home, too. Plus, they offered me the best scholarship of anyone,” Galloway said.
“I got to see the whole campus on my visit and it’s really nice. The coaches showed me around the wrestling area and stuff and it’s pretty nice.”
LU is located in Marietta, and it won the NAIA national championship in 2021 and finished second in 2022. The Eagles have captured back-to-back Mid-South Conference titles. On the duals side, LU just posted a 17-3 record and it has not lost a MSC match since the 2018-2019 season.
“I’m going to major in exercise science. I like sports, and I like helping people so it seems like a good fit,” Galloway said.
Before he found his way to Life, Galloway was on the mat as a 9 year old wrestling for the Bobcat Wrestling Club. He continued on the USA Wrestling scene and joined the team at Clear Creek once in middle school.
“Coach (Walt) Monroe (at CCMS) is just a great coach. He prepared me to come to the high school and to do my best,” said Galloway.
He started to think about wrestling beyond high school while still in eighth grade.
“I like the challenges that wrestling sets for me. I like how rough and how challenging it is,” he said.
Galloway continued his USA Wrestling schedule once in high school and success followed. Over the past 12 months he has secured three of his six All-American distinctions.
He competed at Disney’s AAU Scholastic Duals last month as a member of Florida-based Special Ops. He finished with a 9-2 record and was named All-American for the sixth time.
He was in Virginia Beach for the National High School Coaches Association’s Senior Nationals earlier this spring. Galloway finished seventh with a 3-3 record for his fifth All-American honor.
His fourth All-American distinction came during the summer ahead of his senior season at the Nuway Nationals Winter Throne in Myrtle Beach, S.C. This time he placed third with a 5-1 record.
“USA Wrestling helped me because I got to see better opponents so I could work on my stuff more and know what I need to improve on. It just helped me get better,” he said.
Galloway helped GHS win its 18th state title when the Bobcats finished first at the Class 3A traditional tournament in February. The Bobcats turned in three top-three placements at the traditional state tournament in the years prior. GHS was also runners-up at state duals four straight times.
Individually, Galloway won two area championships, and an injury cut his freshman season short. He was also a potent scoring threat at the state level. He claimed fourth place as a sophomore at 195 pounds before a pair of finals appearances.
Galloway downed Sonoraville’s Draven Peppers for the 220-pound state title his senior season. He earned the hard-fought win with dad Stacy Galloway as an assistant coach.
“It was just a very special moment for me and my family. It was nice to have my dad in my corner. I know he really liked that,” Galloway said. “My dad has always pushed me to be better in the classroom and to go to all these other tournaments in the offseason.”
He was also a member of four dual and four area championships team at Gilmer.
“It was a great four years, and I enjoyed every second of it,” Galloway said.
After spending the previous two seasons at 220 pounds, Galloway will move up to heavyweight at Life. He got a sampling of that at the Disney Duals where he gave up more than 40 pounds to 10 of his opponents.
“I prefer that and I like wrestling bigger guys,” he said. “I’m usually around 230, and I’m going to try to get up to 250 or 260 or somewhere around there. It might be tough my first year. After that I’ll get used to it, and I’ll adapt to it once I get bigger, stronger and faster.
“I’m looking forward to being part of great team and get better at what I’m doing. Hopefully, I’ll become an All-American one day in college.”