Star Ledger 3/29/03
By Bob Behre

Mangione provided lasting memories with 143 victories & 14 titles

Note: The following article is a reprint from the Star Ledger. The Mo-Town Grapplers Club was fortunate enough to have Antonio Mangione demontrate some of his tremendous skills at our summer roll-arounds last year (2002).

He takes with him two NJSIAA championships, four Region 3 titles, four District 9 crowns, four Morris County Tournament gold medals and 143 victories -- one short of the state record.

But Antonio Mangione of Delbarton will leave behind some great memories for wrestling fans.

They will never forget Mangione as a freshman, chirping back and forth with Sterling's Mark Manchio prior to their state-final bout at 130 pounds in 2000. Mangione was having a ball at center mat at Continental Airlines Arena.

"Everyone loved me freshman year," he said. "At the states, two little kids asked me for my autograph and a 17-year-old girl made me cookies. I was 14 years old. I wanted to stay in high school wrestling forever."

Mangione lost to Manchio, 4-3, in a memorable bout, but his reputation as a top talent and rare entertainer was etched in stone.

But the following year, while Manchio was winning his third state title, which came at 135 pounds, Mangione dropped an excruciating 3-1 overtime decision to Dennis McSweeney of Lyndhurst in the state semifinals at 140. Mangione would finish fourth after getting pinned by Kingsway's Brandon Becker in the third-place consolation bout.

"I'm really glad I lost in the state tournament my sophomore year," Mangione said. "I ducked Manchio. I didn't want to wrestle him again. I thought I could win at 140 easily. I lost, though. I choked."

That's Mangione in self-deprecating mode.

"I learned two things from the 2001 tournament," Mangione said. "You can't let a bout come down to a buzzer situation, and you can never, ever run away from someone. You can't be scared."

That's a dose of perspective from the refreshingly candid Mangione, who posted a staggering 143-4 career record, just one victory shy of the all-time mark shared by Camden Catholic's Bobby Stinson (1999 through 2002) and Ed Giosa, who won the state title this winter at 125 pounds in his senior year.

Mangione, an aspiring film director bound for Columbia University, learned during his sophomore season that some took offense to his style. He remembers a belligerent fan showering him with expletives during his 2001 Region 3 tournament final bout with South Plainfield's Scott Doerr.

"Some woman came running out of the stands at me when I took injury time," said Mangione, who, despite being bloodied, was blasted by the fan for stalling.

"Then, when I was waiting in the runway at the Meadowlands Arena before the state quarterfinals that year, someone spit on me. That's when I knew people take this sport too seriously. It disturbed me. It made me withdraw from the sport for a while, but it also fueled my entire junior season."

Mangione would not lose another bout after dropping two of his last three during his sophomore season, rolling to 72 straight victories and back-to-back state championships at 140 pounds. He capped the run 13 days ago with a 6-5 victory in the state final over Wallkill Valley's Charlie Pinto.

Mangione was his usual bubbly self off the mat that final weekend at the state championships in Atlantic City, and he sported his familiar strut prior to his bouts.

But on the mat, he was somehow different.

He was a bit more cautious, perhaps more savvy, in his one-point victory over the determined Pinto. The wild-eyed freshman from 2000 had matured, and was completely unwilling to let slip away what he firmly believed was rightly his.

"The moment I won I felt a great weight lift off my shoulders," he said. "There was no more pressure."