By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – Carmel boys wrestling coach Ed Pendoski made a prediction after his team won a tough dual meet over Fishers on Wednesday: “This isn’t the last good Fishers-Carmel dual.”
The Greyhounds and the Tigers have the makings of a splendid rivalry, and Carmel’s 34-28 victory over Fishers at the Eric Clark Activity Center is a great early chapter. Both sides were intense the entire meet. The ‘Hounds would go on a run of match victories, then the Tigers would make their own run of wins.
It came down to the last match, the 215-pound bout, with the score tied at 28-28. Will Massey stepped up for Carmel, making a pin with three seconds left in the first period to clinch the victory for his team.
Fishers led 22-19 with three matches to go, but the Greyhounds won those last three bouts. Alex Ryan started things with a 5-2 decision at 175 pounds, then Adel Navarette took the 190-pound match by fall to bring the team score back to even and set up Massey’s winning pin.
“We’re in a spot with three matches to go,” said Pendoski. “We got to win all three and score bonus in one, and we got two guys that never started before.” But everyone stepped up to get the win.
Carmel led 16-0 early, with falls from Arty Bryant and Carlo Federici, followed by a major decision from Tamir Halevi. The Tigers then won four matches in a row, starting with Owen Ingalls at 120 in a decision. Chayce Yant won by fall, Aiden Lamb got a major decision win, then Teyon Leonard won 2-1 at 138 pounds, securing the victory with a second-period takedown and tying the team score at 16-16.
Leonard
Eli Penquite won at 144 for Carmel, clinching the victory with a third-period reversal. Fishers took the next three matches, starting with a decision for Stephen Breck at 150. Camden Funk won in overtime at 157 with a sudden-victory takedown in the extra period, followed by a pin for Xavier Smith at 165.
“Coming in, we knew it was between us, Carmel and a couple other teams up north fighting for a team state spot,” said Fishers coach Cameron Diep, who is in his first year as the Tigers’ head coach. “We knew it was going to be close. Obviously we expected to come out on top. Things didn’t go our way in the end, but we kept it really close.”
Both teams are back in action Saturday. Carmel travels to the Perry Meridian Falcon Duals, while Fishers will compete at the Calumet Invitational.
CARMEL 34, FISHERS 28
Meet started at 285 pounds
285: Arty Bryant (C) def. James Keller (F) by fall, 5:59
106: Carlo Federici (C) def. Seth Lamb (F) by fall, 4:55
113: Tamir Halevi (C) def. Will Hruskoci (F) by major decision, 10-1
120: Owen Ingalls (F) def. Jake Gardner (C) by decision, 3-1
126: Chayce Yant (F) def. Ethan Hurwitz (C) by fall, 1:50
132: Aiden Lamb (F) def. Tyler Elliott (C) by major decision, 10-0
138: Teyon Leonard (F) def. Caleb Mattingly (C) by decision, 2-1
144: Eli Penquite (C) def. Zeke Kramer (F) by decision, 5-2
150: Stephen Breck (F) def. Jackson Schmidt (C) by decision, 5-1
157: Camden Funk (F) def. Jairo Ojeda-Cortez (C) by decision, 5-3 OT
165: Xavier Smith (F) def. Drew VanBibber (C) by fall, 2:59
175: Alex Ryan (C) def. Diego Carabano (F) by decision, 5-2
190: Adel Navarette (C) def. Chris Quarles (F) by fall, 2:30
215: Will Massey (C) def. Kyle Gunawan (F) by fall, 1:57