Oceanside's Candela lands in finals

Sophomore Rocco Candela was Oceanside’s lone participant in the Nassau County Division I wrestling championships at Hofstra Feb. 12-13, and he couldn’t have represented himself and the Sailors any better.

Candela made a thrilling run to the 96-pound final, knocking off the No. 1 seed in the process, and finished runner-up to sophomore Robert Person of Bellmore-JFK. Person took the title with a hard-fought 8-5 decision Feb. 13 before 3,500 spectators at the Mack Sports Complex.

“My goal was to win a county championship, but I’m still happy with how I did,” said Candela, who stunned top-seeded Steven Sewkumar of Long Beach in the quarterfinals and also had wins against All-County finishers Owen Bacheldor of Hewlett and Thomas Cozier of South Side.

Candela was Oceanside’s first county finalist since Giancarlo DeCarolis in 2004.

Person beat Candela in the finals of the qualifying tournament hosted by Farmingdale Feb. 5, 12-5, only this time is was closer on the mat at Hofstra. Person led 4-3 after a wide-open first period and took a 6-4 cushion into the third and final period. “Rocco is a smart wrestler who doesn’t get intimidated at all,” Oceanside coach Joe Pumo said. “He does a great job making adjustments against kids he’s already faced.”

In the semis, Candela (33-4) squeezed past Bacheldor, a talented seventh-grader, 2-0, in overtime. “He’s the type of kid who likes to keep the scores close,” Candela said. “I never stopped wrestling and caught him with a Prescott in overtime.”

Candela’s third match Feb. 12 was arguably the biggest upset of the two-day event. He beat Sewkumar 8-2 to punch his ticket to the semifinals as well as secure a spot on the All-County (top six) podium. “I run every day for conditioning and I think that made a difference,” Candela said. “He seemed gassed in the second period and I pushed him the whole way.”

Candela made easy work of his first two opponents at Hofstra. He opened with a 13-2 major decision over Glen Cove’s Joe Nicolich and followed with a surprising 12-2 major decision over Cozier in the second round. Cozier rebounded with two wins, including one over Sewkumar, to finish sixth. Bacheldor was fifth, Jose Rodriguez of Wantagh was fourth and Justin Cooksey of MacArthur took third.

“He’s a little disappointed he didn’t go all the way, but he really created a buzz,” Pumo said. “A lot of coaches came up to us and said ‘congratulations’. He made a great run.”