Shoreham-Wading River wrestler Gavin Mangano is No. 1 in the nation at 138 pounds
Gavin Mangano of Shoreham-Wading River reacts aftering winning the Division II title in the 144-pound final at the state boys wrestling championships on Feb. 28, 2026, at the MVP Arena in Albany. Credit: Newsday/William Perlman
As far as 138-pound wrestlers go, there's not a better one in the country than Shoreham’s Gavin Mangano.
Mangano, a 17-year-old senior at Shoreham-Wading River High School who is committed to Penn State, took over the nation’s top ranking in his weight class when he defeated Dean Anderson in FloWrestling’s prestigious “Who’s #1” invitational Saturday in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Anderson, a senior from Valiant College Prep in Arizona, entered the weekend as FloWrestling’s No. 1-ranked high school wrestler in the 138 class. Mangano — who entered the match ranked No. 2 — scored five consecutive points to defeat Anderson, 9-4, and claim the top ranking.
“I’m still processing it, to be honest,” Mangano told Newsday Wednesday. “It was crazy in the moment, but even now, I still get a rush thinking about it. It’s not just that it felt great, but it also felt like all the work I put in paid off. … This 100% gives me more confidence for when I get out there to wrestle this year.”
With the match tied at 4-4, Mangano took the lead on an escape with 1:29 remaining in the third period, then took Anderson down with 47 seconds left to secure the riding-time advantage and earn the victory. It was the second time Mangano has defeated Anderson. He also beat him in the Defense Soap Super 32 Challenge in Greensboro, North Carolina last year.
Despite knowing what was at stake, Mangano — a three-time state champion and four-time Eastern States Classic champion — felt little pressure entering the match.
“I definitely realized how special it was, but I was in my own zone,” Mangano said. “When I was walking out to the mat, I only saw what was right in front of me. I used to be the nervous type before my matches, but in these past seven or eight months, that’s changed for me. I was just going to go out there, do what I could and see what happens.”
Mangano, who generally competes at 144 pounds, said he weighed 146 in late-August when FloWrestling offered him the chance to compete for the 138-pound crown. Mangano agreed to cut weight.
He waited until the final week to start cutting weight. During that week, he budgeted between 800 and 1,000 calories per day, eating light meals such as grilled chicken or rice. He would run for several hours a day after getting home from school or his club wrestling practices with KD Training Center.
He weighed in at 137.4 pounds on the day of his bout with Anderson.
“I would’ve gone 150, too, if that was the option they offered,” Mangano said. “As soon as they said, ‘You’re in for 138 if you can make it,’ I told them, ‘I’m in.’ There was no hesitation there. This had always been one of my career goals to wrestle at Who’s #1, so I was going to do what I had to.”
Shoreham-Wading River wrestling coach Joe Condon sang Mangano’s praises.
“He’s a generational talent in wrestling,” he said. “He’s easily among the top three athletes in the history of Shoreham-Wading River. He has a rare ability to score from every position. Any big event, when it’s a big match with high pressure and elite athletes, he always seems to come out on top. It’s hard to explain; he’s got a drive and an expectation to win.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
