Aiden Dojan was forced to watch from the sidelines last year due to an injury as his Wilson teammates won a Berks County wrestling championship.
Healthy and back in the lineup this season, Dojan and senior classmate Dominic Jurado — with a big boost from Miguel Herrera — were in the thick of a repeat performance Saturday night at Wyomissing.
Dojan and Jurado, the only two seniors in the Wilson lineup, scored back-to-back falls late in the match to clinch Wilson’s 37-19 victory over Berks Catholic in the BCIAA championship match.
But it was a surprise fall from Herrera, who trailed 4-1 in the third period, that shifted the momentum and enabled Wilson to win its third Berks County title in four years and 15th overall.
With Wilson (12-3) trailing Berks Catholic 15-13, Herrera scored a fall with 31 seconds left in the 120-pound bout that he trailed 4-1. It put Wilson ahead to stay in a nip-and-tuck match that included two overtime bouts and another match that was decided at the buzzer in regulation.
“It was pretty high stakes but I had to keep my composure and got it done,” Herrera said.
That helped set up Dojan and Jurado for the clinching wins. Dojan’s fall at 138 gave Wilson a 28-19 lead with two bouts left and Jurado clinched it with a first-period fall.
“I knew Dom and I were two of the strongest kids on the team,” Dojan said. “At first I was a little nervous trying to do too much. As the match went on I started feeling it more and the next thing I knew I pinned him.”
Jurado also struggled at the beginning, giving up the initial takedown before scoring a fall in 1:27 to seal the title.
“I was a little nervous in the beginning but I knew once I got a feel for him I was going to beat him,” Jurado said.
Fans for the Bulldogs and Saints (11-2) were on the edge of the seats most of the night. Wilson grabbed a 9-0 lead on a decision by Henry Flite at 160 followed by a fall by Matteo Garcia.
But Berks Catholic battled back with four straight wins to take a 15-9 lead.
Tim Saylor scored a 7-1 decision before back-to-back dramatic wins by Brody Kline and Mason Iswalt tied it 9-9.
Kline scored a last-second takedown at 215 to defeat Ryan McMillan 3-1. At 285, Iswalt scored a takedown at the end of tiebreaker overtime for a 4-2 win over Logan Kurzweg.
A forfeit to Luke Jordan at 106 gave Berks Catholic a 15-9 lead. But Wilson won six of the last seven bouts to pull away.
Jimmy Garcia earned a major decision at 113 before Herrera, who has been in and out of the Wilson lineup all year, came through with a match-changing fall.
“I gave him a shot tonight and he proved he wants a spot; he did a great job,” said Wilson coach Jason Gibble. “I’m so proud of everybody. They’re a great group of kids. We’re loaded with ninth and 10th graders.”
Caden Herb followed Herrera’s fall with a 2-1 overtime decision at 126 when he was awarded a stalling point with two seconds left.
Marvin Armistead kept Berks Catholic close with a major decision at 132, but Wilson was set up for the final three bouts with Dojan, Jurado and Blaise Eidle.
After Dojan and Jurado did their jobs, Eidle finished the match with a 7-2 decision.
“I’m glad it came down to us two in our final year,” Dojan said. “I’m glad we were able to finish it off for the county championship. I was just glad I was able to come back and help this team win the county championship one more time.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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