Oceanside wrestlers bring home the gold

Two Oceanside Youth Wrestling Team members, Ed Mannone and Vinny Candela, placed first and sixth respectively, in their divisions at the New York State Youth Wrestling Tournament on March 5 and 6 in Bayshore.

Mannone, a fourth grader at School 3, and Candela, a seventh grader, bested many opponents to earn their wins. Mannone won three matches and Candela won six in the state-wide bracketed tournament.

“In order to participate in the tournament, you have to qualify first in the Nassau County tournament,” said Rich Applebaum, the boys’ coach. “Ed took first place in the county qualifier and Vinny took third place in the county qualifier. Vinny is in probably the most competitive weight class of them all, so there’s a lot of kids around his age and his weight and some really top-notch wrestlers.”

The wrestlers are divided into different divisions based on their age, and from there into different weight classes. Candela, the son of Oceanside High School assistant wrestling coach Steve Candela, wrestles in the 74-pound “Schoolboy” division, while Mannone wrestles in the 120-pound “Intermediate” division.

The two-day competition has all of the best wrestlers in the state, from all of the county qualifiers, competing for their titles. While Mannone placed first, Candela placed sixth out of about 32 wrestlers in his class.

Run as part of the Oceanside Department of Community Activities (DOCA), the wrestling club meets every Tuesday and Thursday from about Thanksgiving to mid-February. They practice twice a week and compete when possible. The state competition is the last one the group participates in each year.

The boys are coached by Applebaum — a former state champion wrestler — and Tommy Pecora, a county wrestling champion. Both men also wrestled in college. For the last 15 years or so, the two have been working together to coach all the boys who sign up. This year, about 60 participated in the program.

As a wrestler, Applebaum knows what Mannone and Candela went through at the tournament. He’s extremely proud of both of them, and knows they have bright futures.

“Ed is an exceptionally, exceptionally tough young boy. He’s going to do some great things if he stays in the sport,” said Applebaum. “And Vinny is an extremely talented and technical wrestler. He’s top notch. He’ll also have some championships in his future.”