Caravel’s Matt Duarte (standing) lifts Salesianum’s Giovanni Samma in their 182 pound match. Duarte won by a pin in 5:13. (Kenny Correll photo)
Bear – The anticipated battle between two of the heavyweights on the Delaware wrestling scene got off the rails early as Caravel Academy won 11 of the 14 bouts on their way to a 54-17 victory over Salesianum on Tuesday nights.
Salesianum came into the match undermanned with a handful of starters out of the lineup due to injuries and illness, but the dual meet provided several hotly contested matches.
Caravel won the first seven bouts of the night to jump out to a 30-0 lead. Clifton Bakhsh received a forfeit at 106 pound for Caravel.
The match at 113 pounds saw the top two ranked wrestlers in the Delaware Live Sports individual rankings meet for the second time in three days.
After a scoreless first period the Bucs Eddie Radecki scored a pair of nearfall points with a cradle, but Davis was able to quickly get out of danger and score a reversal tying the score at 2-2. Radecki then escaped in the closing seconds of the period to take a 3-2 lead.
Radecki started on bottom to begin the third period and scored a reversal with a Peterson Roll early in the period. Davis answered with a reversal midway through the period. Radecki won the match 5-4.
At 120 pounds fourth ranked Salesianum’s Colin Honaker scored an early takedown on Marcello Ioanonni, but it was a set of nearfall points in the final five seconds of the match to give Ioanonni a 3-2 upset win.
“I was holding on waiting for a stalemate and I looked up and saw that 15 seconds so I knew I had to try something, so I just leaned back and tried to get him to his back,” Ioanonni said.
Luke Poore earned a pin for Caravel at 126 pounds, followed by a forfeit to Dylan Knight (132) before Mike Kling won a 10-3 decision over Frank Borzio at 138 pounds.
Caravel’s Jordan Miller and the Sals Dominic Lapira put on another exciting bout at 145 pounds with Miller scoring a takedown in the third period to win 7-5.
Julian Strickland stopped the string of Caravel wins with a pin at 152 pounds to get Salesianum on the board as they trailed 30-6.
John Antonio received a forfeit at 160 pound followed by consecutive pins by Nick Hall (170) and Matt Duarte (182) extending Caravel’s lead to 48-6.
Top ranked Max Agresti won a technical fall in 2:26 at 195 pounds followed by a forfeit awarded to Frank Miller (220) closing the score to 48-17.
Kyshwn Drumgo ended the night with a pin at 285 giving Caravel a 54-17 victory.
The victory extended the Caravel win streak to 23 straight matches, their last loss was to Milford in January of 2020. Ioanonni says the depth of talent at practice is what has gotten the Bucs to this point.
“Having all these state champs is great, you get to work hard and the best people around you working with you and the best coaches to learn from,” Ioanonni said.
Caravel improved to 3-0 on the season and will compete in the Escape the Rock Tournament at Council Rock High School in Pennsylvania.
Salesianum is now 0-1 and will head to Smyrna on January 22.
Salesianum’s Max Agresti hold Caravel’s Brock Rhoades to his back in their 195 pound match. Agresti won a 16-0 technical fall in 2:26. (Kenny Correll photo)
Caravel’s Jordan Miller (top) secures a takedown on Dominic LaPira of Salesianum in their 145 pound match. Miller went onto win 7-5. (Kenny Correll photo)
