By Michael J. Lewis

For Herricks High School sophomore wrestler Joe Manfredi, the final seconds of his last wrestling match of the season on Feb. 26 brought a new emotion: Relief.

All season the standout grappler was trying to achieve his goals and go undefeated, and win a state crown for his school, only the fifth ever.

So when it finally happened, when he scored a 5-1 decision over Hauppauge’s Mikey Manta at the 110-pound division at the state championships at the MVP Arena in Albany, the teenager said he was mostly just happy it was over.

“It was exciting, definitely, but I was really relieved that the season was over and I had accomplished what I wanted to do,” Manfredi said. “I knew this was possible if I did what I was supposed to do, and stayed on offense and practiced hard. After the final match, I was just happy it was done.”

Herricks head coach Eric Goldberg, who said Manfredi is the school’s first wrestling state champ since 2007, said he knew he had a special talent in Manfredi.

“Since 7th grade when he first came onto varsity, he’s just exuded confidence and has so much natural ability,” Goldberg said. “It’s a rare occurrence when someone takes him down or gets ahead of him on the scoreboard, but I’m never worried he won’t be able to come back. He’s just such a gifted wrestler.”

Manfredi, whose older brother Michael is a junior and also a wrestler at Herricks, said his passion for the sport was instilled when he was 6.

“My parents took us to a club in Syosset to watch them practice and I liked it right away,” Manfredi said. “I just thought it looked like a lot of fun, so we started doing it and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Manfredi was a state finalist as a freshman at the 99-pound level, and last year wasn’t able to win a crown since the Covid-19 pandemic canceled the official state championships.

So heading into this season, Manfredi’s goals were clear: Get his first state title.

As the season went along and the victories piled up, Goldberg had a feeling his sophomore was en route to an historic season. The challenge was keeping him motivated.

“It’s tough because he’s so good, but we try to motivate him in other ways,” Goldberg said. “Like, not how much can I dominate, but how perfect can I be in my match. He’s one of those kids, even when he has a bad match, he wins. He can win 15-0 and know he’s not doing everything perfectly, and that keeps him working hard.

“He knows SO much about wrestling,” Goldberg said with a laugh “that sometimes I’ll ask him things. He might know more than me.”

With a move up in weight class next year, Manfredi figures to face stiffer competition. His goals include winning more state championships and eventually wrestle for Division I powerhouses Virginia Tech or North Carolina in college.

“I just want to keep getting mentally tougher, and stay sharp always,” Manfredi said. “I know the challenges are going to keep getting harder, but I’m motivated to keep getting better.”