Lou Candito (left) presents Ron Abatelli with a plaque honoring his 25th year as Bethpage varsity wrestling coach
Wrestling Alumni Celebrate 2nd Annual Bethpage Wrestling Night
Lou Candito (left) presents Ron Abatelli with a plaque honoring his 25th year as Bethpage varsity wrestling coach
2006-07 Season Update The 2006-07 season ended and freestyle season is already in full swing. The Eagles had a successful end to the season with 3 all-county wrestlers including a county finalist. All County wrestlers were: Jay Widman at 119 - 6th place German Meza at 130 - 6th place Jim Isnardi at 160 - 2nd place Off-season Plans We would like to get a wrestling tournament hosted at Bethpage HS this spring/Summer so we will keep you all posted and look for some volunteers to spend a day running the tournament with us. Hosting a tournament is a great fundraiser and also a way to keep Bethpage wrestlers more involved in the off-season.
The "Light" and finalist Singlets The mat spotlight is in and will be installed this Spring/Summer so we will have a dramatic presentation of a dual meet under the lights when we meet again at Alumni Night. Finalist singlets are designed and in production so they should be in soon. The plan is to premier these singlets on Alumni Night along with the mat spotlight so you can see what fundraising through our alumni has already been able to produce for the Bethpage Wrestling program.
On Friday December 22, 2006 the Bethpage Alumni Wrestling Association celebrated its second successful annual alumni night. Over fifty alumni attended and with their support the Bethpage Golden Eagle wrestlers defeated a favored Bellmore Kennedy team by the score of 29 to 28. The match was an exciting one that came down to the heavyweight bout where senior Sean Reynolds toughed it out against a determined opponent from Bellmore . In spite of a 12 to 8 decision loss, by keeping it close, Sean secured the victory for the Eagles. Overall the entire team wrestled well, especially the under classmen. This bodes well for the team's future with a load of talented sophomores and juniors. An interesting sidelight was that brothers Willie and Frank Ellinger, both Bethpage alumni, sat opposite each other as opposing assistant coaches. Of course the Ellinger family was also there rooting them on in the “ BETHPAGE “ stands.
Once again the alumni turnout spanned the teams 50 year history with ex Bethpage wrestlers and coaches from the very first squad to last years graduates. This year's turnout included Sal Greco the Eagles first team captain, and Ed Daum one of our first North Shore Champions. Over forty years of coaching was also represented by the presence of Al Blau, Frank Melone, and Lou Candito alongside current coach Ron Abatelli.
The biggest highlight of the evening was honoring Ron Abatelli for his 25th year at the helm of the Bethpage wrestling program as varsity coach. Ron is the longest tenured wrestling coach in Bethpage history, and we hope to have him around for many years to come. Wrestling alumni met after the match Whoville Bar and Grill for food, drink and discussions of years gone by. The Bethpage Wrestling Alumni Association, headed by Pete Candito, Lou Candito, and Bill Miller would like to thank Greg Lawson, the owner of Whoville and a former Eagle wrestler for his great hospitality for the second straight year. Everyone had a great time and a substantial amount of money was raised for the benefit of our wrestling program. If you are a former wrestler, had any affiliation with the wrestling teams of the past, or are just a fan, plan on being at next years gathering for our third annual affair. The Wrestling Alumni Assn. will also be hosting other events during the year. Contact Pete Candito online at PeteCand@aol.com with the subject line: Bethpage Wrestling Alumni to get on the newsletter email list and receive updates.