Regardless of the sport, any time Joliet West and Joliet Central get together there’s always a chance things could get interesting.

Monday night’s girls wrestling meet at Joliet West was no exception.

The duel was as competitive and thrilling as anyone could hope for. All but one match was decided by pin, and just one match made it to the third round as the teams traded victories throughout the night. The Steelmen ultimately managed to get the edge on the Tigers, winning the dual 48-36.

“We were looking to really show our technique tonight,” Joliet Central coach Marcus McCullum said. “We came over here with a statement to make, so I’m happy with the outcome.”

The only match that wasn’t determined by fall was a disqualification after one round. Joliet West coach Erik Murray was more focused on preparing for the end of the season than what the final score was in the dual.

“This doesn’t mean anything at all. Our goal is to be peaking at the end of the year.” he said. “This sport is just as much mental as it is physical, and we need a little more mental awareness on the mat.”

The duel began with the 130-pound contest between Joliet West’s Elayna Spoljaric and Joliet Central’s Izabel Barrera. Barrera needed 72 seconds to successfully pin Spoljaric and put the Steelmen up 6-0.

The Tigers answered right back at 135. The contest went into the second round, but with 1:41 left Veronica Klobnak took down Yaretzi Arenas to draw things even. Klobnak said after the match that she’d like to see improvement from her squad moving forward.

“We need (more) confidence on the mat,” she said. “I think we’re going out there with low self-esteem, and it impacts the way you wrestle on the mat. So it’s not just physical, but mental too.”

The Steelmen went right back on top at 140. Emma Guethle and Kaylah Harris put up one of the tougher battles of the night, dragging it midway through the second round before Guethle got the win by fall to make it 12-6.

At 145, Vanessa O’Connor came up big for the Tigers. She managed to pin Jaylin Ingram with 56 seconds left in the second period to knot things back up.

The only match not to be decided by fall came at 155. The match went a full round, but Leiloni Robles was declared the winner by disqualification. That put Joliet Central up 18-12.

The seesaw battle continued at 170, with Jennif Escobido needing just 62 seconds to pin Kiera Schneider and tie things. The 190 match was the first time all night the result didn’t flip, as the Tigers took that one too. Bianca Campos pinned Diamond Edmonds 79 seconds into the first round, giving Joliet West its only lead of the night, 24-18.

That began a run of Joliet Central dominance. Milan Aldana tied it uat 235 after pinning sophomore Naw Paw with 24 seconds left in the opening round. Ariadna Arciniega took the 100-pound match, pinning Gabrielle Meza with 17 seconds left in round two to put Central back up.

The Steelmen made it three in a row at 105. Alicia Carter got the fall over Dahlila Rodriguez 85 seconds into the match to extend the edge to 36-24. Shaila Aguirre made it four straight with a pin of Marley Morgan in 63 seconds.

Joliet West made it interesting again at 115 with the only match that went to the third round. Twelve seconds into said round, Mackenzie Mielke got the pin over Valerie Ruiz-Flores after trailing 6-2 to start.

That result reversed at 120. Keily Centeno trailed 7-0 after round one, but came back to tie Maria Ochoa at 7-7 before getting the pin with five seconds left in round two to guarantee Central the win.

“I just needed to push through,” Centeno said. “Everyone is tired at the end of the day, so you just have to push through.”

The final match was a Tigers victory, as Briahna Klobnak pinned Sasha McKenzie midway through the second at 125.