When Salisbury’s Alex Nicholas defeated Northern Lehigh’s Cameron Kates a week ago for the District 11 Class 2A heavyweight title, Nicholas was able to use his athleticism to his advantage offensively. He earned two takedowns, including one in the third period that sealed a 6-4 decision.

The two met again a week later, back in the final match of the PIAA Class 2A Southeast Regional tournament. That match had a completely different style to it.

The result, however, was a familiar feeling for Nicholas.

A second-period escape was all Nicholas would need as he rode out Kates for the entire third period to earn a 1-0 decision. The win awarded Nicholas his second championship in a matter of seven days, including Saturday’s regional championship at Wilson West Lawn High School in Reading.

“This one was just a lot of hand fighting in the first period,” Nicholas said after missing out on states by a match last year. “I got the escape in the second. Going into the third, usually it’s 1-1 and someone gets out, but I was able to ride him this time.”

“We were just talking and that was by far the best he’s rode anyone all year,” head coach Eric Snyder said. “It was a completely different match than it was last week, not that we were more offensive. They’ve wrestled so many times; they both know what each other wants to do. Alex did what he had to do there in the third period and just rode hard.”

In their meeting on the district stage, Kates used a Granny Roll seconds after Nicholas earned a takedown in the first period to tie the score at 2-2. Kates also used his strength in the second period of that match to tie it at 3-3 with an escape.

At regionals, Nicholas was prepared for that in the third period as he clung to that 1-0 advantage.

“I was trying to keep control of his one wrist, get that tucked behind and keep his hips down on the mat,” Nicholas said. “I knew from last week he escaped from me using the Granny Roll, so I was a little more cautious of him doing that.”

Including an offseason match, Saturday’s meeting was their sixth over the last two seasons. Neither opponent had won consecutive matches prior to Nicholas doing so.

“I thought there was a chance maybe we would meet again if we both made it to finals,” Nicholas said. “We’ve gone back and forth since the first time we wrestled last year, so I knew I really wanted to close this one out if we met again and break that streak.”

With each side knowing the other’s technique and abilities so well, it was Nicholas’ pure strength on top that was the difference in the most crucial match of his career.

“When you wrestle somebody so many times it’s hard,” Snyder said. “You know what everybody is going to do in every position. A lot of times it comes down to the flip of the coin...We didn’t need to win the flip of the coin this time because he rode that whole third period.”

Nicholas’ path to the finals certainly wasn’t an easy one. After earning a bye in the opening round, Nicholas picked up a 3-1 decision in overtime against Bermudian Springs’ Brady Linebaugh in the quarterfinals.

Then, after trailing 1-0 in the semifinals to Northern Lebanon’s George Thompson, Nicholas picked up two stalling points to advance to the finals. The second came in the first minute of another overtime period.

Nicholas will be making his first trip to states, which begins on Thursday in Hershey. Before even taking the mat this season, he had goals of medaling at the highest level of wrestling in Pennsylvania.

“Definitely at the start of the season I wanted to medal and that’s still the goal, to place as high as I can,” Nicholas said.

“Alex is really hard to score on,” Snyder said. “You’re not going to take him down unless he takes a shot and gets caught underneath, and the guys are able to use their weight to their advantage. He has a lot of potential to go out there and place really high.”