It was a Colonial League wrestling showdown that played out as advertised.

Northwestern and Lehighton took center stage on Thursday night in New Tripoli.

The two rivals traded punches through most of the match until the heavier weight classes, when the Tigers got four straight wins to come back and post a 39-30 victory.

Logan Heeps got things started for Northwestern at 107 by pinning Elijah Guy. The Indians quickly responded, as Chase Lobasso outlasted Mackenzie Case for an 8-2 decision and Ryder Croizier needed just 37 seconds to pin Cooper Smith for the Tribe’s first lead.

Weston Killar — at 127 for the Tigers — gave his team the lead again when he earned the fastest pin of the match, taking down Coe Strausberger in only 31 seconds.

Once again, though, the advantage didn’t last long, and Lehighton rallied for back-to-back pins from Jack Lucykanish (133) and Danny Edgar (139) to put the visitors back on top.

Just when it looked like the Indians were in the driver’s seat, the strength of Northwestern’s upper weight classes proved to be a difference maker.

The next three matchups were tightly contested, but the Tigers took two of them with a tech fall from Trent Croll (145) and a major decision by Chase Sukanick (160), earning them bonus points to close the deficit to 24-21.

From there, Sukanick’s victory kick-started the first of four straight wins for Northwestern — with the other three coming via the pin.

After Nolan Koehler (172) took 51 seconds, the Fugazzotto brothers stole the show. Vinnie eventually pinned Preston DiGrazia in 3:28, and Luke made quick work in 54 seconds which also sealed the team victory.

“It’s definitely a good step for the team in the district,” Luke said about his team’s victory. “That was definitely one of the bigger matches we needed to win to get a good seed for the end-of-the-year duels. I feel like I’m the most healthy mentally and physically, and there’s something big to work for.”

After starting the season later than most teams, the undefeated Tigers are now getting into the meat of their schedule with a full lineup, much to the delight of head coach Joe Killar.

“I was happy with our performance, and all the kids fought hard,” he said. “It’s good to get the football guys back, and some more guys to wrestle within the room. We have 20 people on the team, three of which are girls. We don’t have a huge team, but it’s good to get the three football players in there just for other quality people to rest.”

The match did end on a high note for Lehighton, as Marc Macias took the 285 matchup by pinning Ian Zettlemoyer in 1:13. With only one loss making the difference, Indians head coach Floyd Brown remained proud of his team for leaving everything they had on the mat.

“I thought our guys wrestled really well,” he said. “I thought it could be a really close match, and it turned out to be one win away. It was going to come down to three or four toss-up matches, and they got three of them. Obviously (NW’s) one of the top teams in the district, and this is a good gauge to see where we are. I think we’ve got to get some kids to the right weight classes and keep improving.”

SENIOR SUPPORT … Prior to the event, Northwestern honored its only senior on this season’s team, Luke Fugazzotto, as part of the team’s senior night festivities.

ALUMNI AWARD … The Tigers Caleb Clymer was inducted into the Wrestling Booster Club Hall of Fame.

Northwestern 39, Lehighton 30

107 - Logan Heeps (N) pinned Elijah Guy in 1:33; 114 - Chase Lobasso (L) dec. MacKenzie Case (8-2); 121 - Ryder Croizier (L) pinned Cooper Smith in 0:37; 127 - Weston Killar (N) pinned Coe Strausberger in 0:31; 133 - Jack Lucykanish (L) pinned CJ Siessmayer in 0:50; 139 - Danny Edgar (L) pinned Noah Griffith in 2:30; 145 - Trent Croll (N) tech fall Connor Dugan in 5:17 (18-3); 152 - Lukas Croizier (L) dec. Brayden Urrichio (5-3); 160 - Chase Sukanick (N) major dec Evan Wentz (13-4); 172 - Nolan Koehler (N) pinned Carter Hontz in 0:51; 189 - Vinnie Fugazzotto (N) pinned Preston DiGrazia in 3:28; 215 - Luke Fugazzotto (N) pinned Asher Traylor in 0:54; 285 - Marc Macias (L) pinned Ian Zettlemoyer in 1:13.

Records: Lehighton (6-2); Northwestern (3-0).