SWR’s Gavin Mangano commits to Penn State for wrestling

Gavin Mangano has perfected the art of being the last man standing in just about every wrestling event he has ever taken part of. That wasn’t limited to local tournaments — he’s won multiple Suffolk County, Long Island and New York State titles.

But, after the Shoreham-Wading River phenom won the national wrestling championship at the National High School Coaches Association in Virginia Beach, there was no doubt in every major wrestling rankings website that Mangano was undoubtedly the No. 1 recruit in all of New York in the 2027 class. 

When he won his second consecutive New York State title at the end of his sophomore season, a title which he literally won on one leg, fighting through a broken ankle, the Iron Man performance vaulted him up to the national rankings. According to Flowrestling.org, Mangano is now the No. 17-ranked recruit regardless of weight class in all of the country within the 2027 class.

“I was running on adrenaline at the time,” Mangano told the Riverhead-News Review after the New York State championship win. “Yeah, I was in pain, but honestly, I wanted to win more than anything else. I was going to wrestle until I saw a bone sticking out of my body.”

But based on the recruiting guidelines, no college was able to reach out to the wrestling phenom until this summer — the summer of his incoming junior season.

“As soon as they could they started calling him,” SWR head coach Joe Condon said. “The recruiting period opened at midnight and his phone immediately started buzzing.”

Every elite wrestling Division I school showed tremendous interest. Schools like Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Penn State clamored for his verbal commitment. But Penn State stood out among the pack. Mangano announced his verbal commitment to Penn State on his Instagram on Sept. 28. 

“I feel there is no better place for me to continue my progress and success than Penn State with their amazing coaching staff,” Mangano wrote on his Instagram post. “Thank you to all the coaches that have reached out to me throughout this process.”

Penn State University is the wrestling powerhouse in all of college athletics. They’ve won the last four NCAA Men’s Wrestling Championships and have 13 championships overall. Every world-class wrestler wants to be developed by Penn State. Led by head coach Cael Sanderson, the former Iowa State wrestler, who won an Olympic gold medal, four NCAA Division I championships and never lost a match in college (159-0), Penn State is simply an elite training facility to be the best in the world.

“All Gavin has ever wanted was to be the best,” Condon said. “What better place to be the best than to train with the best. We’re all so proud of him. He’s a staple of hard work and dedication.”

Sanderson came to visit Mangano in school at the end of September, which eventually sealed the deal. It’s not often you have the head coach of a program come to visit a recruit in person, but they clearly wanted to show their commitment. 

“With a blue-chip recruit like Gavin, these coaches have to separate themselves,” Condon said. “I think when a guy like Sanderson comes and meets with you in person, it really makes a massive difference. He wants to be the guy at Penn State, and Sanderson assured him he wouldn’t be going after him if he felt like he wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Mangano only spent two months rehabbing after his surgery — he made his debut after training all summer in the Journeymen Fall Classic Championship this weekend. The junior won the 140-lb weight class and was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Classic. He won in the final by technical fall (16-1).  

Looks like Mangano hasn’t skipped a beat. Penn State is getting a winner.