The second coming of the Reggie Jones & Paul Gillespie East Coast Beach Wrestling Tournament continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
It returned to Long Beach in 2024 for the first time in a dozen years, and last Saturday attracted 230 participants on a postcard-worthy summer day on Riverside Blvd. Beach. Action began at 10 a.m. and concluded at 1:30 p.m.
Former Long Beach wrestler and longtime high school varsity assistant coach Miguel Rodriguez, an event organizer, was part of the action a year ago but was forced to be a spectator this time with a knee injury.
“It’s really exciting to see this tournament get bigger and bigger,” said Rodriguez, a 1999 Long Beach graduate. “We had 100 more compete this year compared to two years ago. We had people come from all over the country. The weather forecast helped because some wait until the day before to sign up. We’ve had a lot of people compete all three years since we brought it back, but also people who signed up for the first time this year.”
In addition to legendary coaches Jones and Gillespie, the tournament was dedicated to late Long Beach wrestlers and graduates Lazar LaPenna, Joshua Encarnacion Michael Berube and Gerrin Hagen. Each of the four rings was named in one of their honors. They also honored Jason Parker, a longtime supporter of the wrestling community.
Rodriguez said competitors from ages 6 to 75 took part in the action.
Presley Eidens, 14 years old and a member of the Marines’ girls wrestling program and already a Nassau County champion and two-time state qualifier, won her bracket going 3-0.
“Girls wrestling is a fast-growing sport and this is such a fun tournament,” she said. “It’s fun to wrestle and watch other matches. If you’re too hot or when you’re done, you can jump in the water and cool off.”
Each match consisted one of three-minute period and began in the neutral position — both wrestlers stood opposite one another in the center of the ring and waited for the referee’s whistle to start grappling. That was also the case for any restart, Rodriguez said. The first wrestler to score three points advanced. In the event of a tie at the end of three minutes, the wrestler who scored the last point was declared the winner. Medals were awarded to the top four finishers in each division.
Presley Eidens, 14 years old and a member of the Marines’ girls wrestling program and already a Nassau County champion and two-time state qualifier, won her bracket going 3-0.
Massapequa native and 1998 graduate Luke Palmisano, a three-time All-County wrestler who went on to grapple at Duke University (2002 grad), planned a vacation from California to Long Island to visit family and wound up competing in the tournament.
“I hadn’t wrestled in 20 years,” he said. “My mother [Dorinda] sent me the information through Instagram. Then she asked if I wanted to go watch. I responded: ‘I just registered.’”
Long Beach rising eighth-grader Jack O’Grady, 13, who competed on the middle school team, won his beach tournament bracket for the second time in three years.
“It seemed like all of Long Island was here,” he said. “It was pretty cool.”
Next year’s event is likely to be held Aug. 7.
“The City of Long Beach has done an incredible job supporting this event,” Rodriguez said. “A big thank you to everyone involved as well as all the sponsors.”