Boys wrestling: Aiden Brown’s pin lifts Joliet West over Romeoville in down-to-the-wire dual

ROMEOVILLE - With Thursday night’s dual against Romeoville coming down to the final match, the pressure was on for Joliet West sophomore Aiden Brown.

But Brown feels he is ready for the big moments. He proved to himself as a freshman last season that he can compete on varsity.

“I went from the freshman team to JV then up to varsity last year,” Brown said. “About halfway through the season, I was on varsity full time. It helped me gain some confidence. I know what I’m doing.”

Brown showed that, pinning the Spartans’ Daniel Quinones in the 150-pound match to seal a 39-30 win for the Tigers in a key Southwest Prairie Conference dual.

“I was thinking about how I was going to get off my side because the cradles weren’t working at first,” Brown said. “But when he fell over, I knew what I was supposed to do because I do it in practice.”

Andre De Leon (215), Coehn Weber (126) and Carson Weber (144) also had pins to lead Joliet West.

Abraham Ruiz (157), Mason Gougis (175), Isaiah Escobar (190) and Alan Amaya (132) had pins for the Spartans.

Amaya’s win gave Romeoville a 30-24 lead with three matches to go, but Joliet West won all three. Adrian Hernandez pulled out a 12-9 victory at 138 before Carson Weber and Brown closed it out with pins.

Brown feels he is a smarter and stronger wrestler now that he has some varsity experience under his belt.

“I’m more patient and I know when to do things at a certain time,” he said. “I have a better mindset. I had to get the win so we can keep going inside the conference and so I can keep my streak going. That’s three wins in a row for me now.”

Joliet West coach Charles Rumpf knows the team can depend on Brown.

“Aiden stepped in because of an injury last year and wrestled well as a freshman on varsity,” Rumpf said. “When we saw that kind of leadership, we thought he had captain written all over him. So, he’s a captain now and he’s doing well. He got off to a bit of a slow start, but he’s coming back to form.”

Carson Weber, meanwhile, is a two-time state qualifier who is looking to get on the podium this season.

“I’ve been doubling up in practices,” he said. “Last year, I gassed out at state and I knew I needed to work on my conditioning. I feel like I’ve improved a lot with that.”

Carson Weber also has a new role: helping his freshman brother, Coehn. An Illinois Elementary School Association state champion as an eighth grader last year, Coehn is already making an impact for the Tigers.

“I’m like his mentor, teaching him all this stuff,” Carson Weber said. “Every match he wrestles, I’m on the edge of my seat. I know I’m not a coach, but I’m coaching him and yelling stuff.”

Zachary Cronk (165), Casey Koerner (106) and Jakob Crandall (113) also had wins for Joliet West. Crandall’s was especially huge as he scored a takedown with 13 seconds left in the final period for a dramatic 5-4 victory over Savion Essiet, one of Romeoville’s top wrestlers.

“Jakob Crandall was the key,” Rumpf said. “He’s dependable. We can trust him. He just does what we ask. He bumped up a weight and pulled out a huge win. If he doesn’t get that win, we probably lose the dual.

“That’s like the third time he’s done something like that for us, helping us win a close dual by putting the team first.”

Jamir Thomas (285) and Brian Farley (120) rounded out the winners for Romeoville.

Gougis said the Spartans were disappointed but encouraged by the final result.

“This was an emotional one,” he said. “We’re competing with them for conference and to be that close and let it slip in those last couple matches hurts. But we’re proud that we’re competing with them like that.”

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Joliet West’s Aiden Brown win against Romeoville’s Daniel Quinones gave the Tigers the points to also win the team dual meet on Thursday, Dec.14th, 2023 in Romeoville. (Gary Middendorf/gmiddendorf@shawmedia.com)