Leukemia survivor Marco Mangieri, 11, serves as inspiration for older siblings, Deer Lakes football team

By: Michael Love
Thursday, September 18, 2025 | 6:18 PM

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Marco Mangieri is a healthy 11-year-old fifth-grade student and athlete in Deer Lakes School District.

He loves playing basketball, baseball and flag football.

A Lancers sports fan, Mangieri doesn’t hide the fact that he draws inspiration from following the athletic careers of older brothers, Dante and Luca, and older sister, Stella.

At the same time, Dante, Luca and Stella draw inspiration from their younger sibling who has won a battle with something that could have taken his life.

When Marco walks the football sidelines every Friday night, rooting on the Lancers, performing his water boy and ball boy duties and watching his brothers make plays, he is grateful that he has that opportunity to do so.

He now is in a survivorship program, having gone five years in remission from a three-and-a-half-year battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia following a diagnosis in April 2017 at the age of 2.

“I appreciate how I am able to still play sports and watch sports after beating cancer,” said Marco, who will be on the sidelines at Lancers Stadium again on Friday night as Deer Lakes hosts Allegheny 7 Conference foe East Allegheny.

“I am on the field, and it is easy to see all of the players. I am up close, and it is pretty fun. I am happy to be able to watch my brothers play. I look up to them because every time they make a good play, I am proud.”

It was extra special for Marco on Sept. 5 before Deer Lakes hosted Derry as he was named an honorary team captain. He walked to the center of the field with his brothers, co-captains along with Joey Ashi and Shaun Bier, for the coin toss.

September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, a time annually to raise awareness about childhood cancer, support families affected by the disease and advocate for research and treatment advancements.

Marco said, at first, he didn’t know he was going to get to do that, but he felt happiness and pride as he walked out alongside Luca and Dante.

“It was really exciting,” Marco said. “I was a little nervous at first. I was hoping that I didn’t trip or something like that, and it would be embarrassing, but I was happy and excited I was able to go out there with my brothers.”

Dante, a junior and the Lancers’ starting quarterback; and Luca, a senior and Deer Lakes’ leading receiver, connected three times for touchdowns in the game, and Luca finished with five catches for 172 yards.

Despite those TD connections, Deer Lakes fell to Derry, 24-21, in a game that went down to the wire.

“It was awesome to see them connect for several touchdowns,” said Marco who hopes to one day bein the same position to make plays for Deer Lakes football.

“They did it for the team, and I also think they did it for me, too.”

“I look over and see him during pregame always smiling with so much energy,” Dante said. “He can’t wait for the game to start. Everyone is talking to him and giving him high fives. These games are great memories for us and also for him.”

Luca calls his younger brother a “walking light bulb.”

“Marco lights up everyone’s lives,” Luca said. “On the field, you see him running around, throwing the football and just having fun. It’s just great to see him be that healthy and strong kid again. It makes me so happy for him.

“I tell my mom all the time that he might be a better athlete than me and Dante. I think he’s going to be the toughest one out of all of us. He’s already a pretty tough kid. He survived cancer. It doesn’t get any tougher than that.”

Katie Mangieri, Marco’s mother, said the symptoms that led to his leukemia diagnosis included pain in his hips.

“He didn’t want to walk or have his diaper changed. He just wanted to be held. It just didn’t seem like he felt OK. It was about a month of him just not being himself. There were times where he would wake up in the morning, and he would be soaking wet with sweat. He also had night sweats that we didn’t know at the time was a sign.

“We took him to the doctors who felt he might just have a virus. But I felt there was more to it, and we asked to get bloodwork done.”

That is when the news came.

“They called us immediately to tell us he had leukemia,” Katie said. “It definitely shook us to our core. We immediately started asking questions to see what we needed to be done.”

A long process of treatment and recovery followed.

Remission led to the current survivorship program where he is in the clear for everything.

“They will continue to monitor him into his 20s, but he only goes to Children’s Hospital once a year for testing,” Katie said. “This is a huge step for us. During the five years of remission, they checked him to make sure he didn’t relapse. After five years, the likelihood of him relapsing goes down significantly.”

Luca wrote his college application essay on the experience.

“He just gave it to me Friday (Sept. 12),” Katie said. “I didn’t even know that was what he was writing about. There is such a bond between Marco and Luca, Dante and Stella.

Stella, an eighth grader who plays basketball, softball and volleyball, said she doesn’t mind a little constructive criticism from Marco from time to time.

“He is always at our games,” Stella said. “If I am having a bad game, he is right there to help point out what I am doing wrong. But he also is encouraging when I am doing good.

“He is a walking miracle. He fought so hard. He supports everyone, and we will always do the same. I was so excited when they announced him as the special captain, and everyone around me was screaming and cheering. It was really cool. Seeing Marco go out there with my brothers, it made the night 10 times more special.”

Marco and the Mangieri family will be a part of an event Sept. 28 in connection with Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.

Noah’s Legacy Foundation will help sponsor Light Pittsburgh Gold from 4-9 p.m. at Allegheny Landing Park in Pittsburgh. The annual awareness event allows families and others to come together and also pay tribute to the courage and resilience of the many families and individuals impacted by pediatric cancer.

“It is a huge month for us to try to bring awareness to the community,” Erica said. “We have received so much support from friends, family and the Deer Lakes community over the years. We are always lifted and energized to want to keep fighting and do what we can to support this vitally important cause.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Deer Lakes