Two days, deep brackets and no shortage of pressure ended with gold for Tamaqua’s Rylan Reitz and Mahanoy Area’s Rory Dixon at the Jim Thorpe Christmas Tournament.

The champions set the tone for a strong area showing at the two-day event, which concluded Tuesday, as Lehighton junior Marc Macias added a heavyweight finals run while continuing his strong start to the season, and multiple other area wrestlers also reached the podium.

Reitz said his mindset entering the tournament was simple.

“Just win my matches,” the freshman said. “Sometimes you’re going to get pins, sometimes you’re going to win by points. You just wrestle what’s there.”

That approach paid off quickly.

Reitz opened with a 15-0 technical fall in 1:01 against Cedar Crest’s Lashawn Malandra in the 114-pound bracket, then pinned La Salle College’s Dermot O’Neill in 1:49 in his second bout.

In the quarterfinals, Reitz topped No. 12 seed Joseph De Pasqua of Pocono Mountain West by a 7-0 decision in a tightly-contested match. The bout was scoreless until Reitz broke through with a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the first period, added another takedown in the second and sealed it with an escape in the third.

Tamaqua coach Jim McCabe said Reitz’s poise — even as a freshman — has quickly stood out.

“I really think he’s become a room leader, even young,” McCabe said. “I love his mentality — attack, attack, attack. Whether he’s up 2-0 or up 8-0, he’s not afraid to make mistakes, and that’s how you learn.”

Reitz made his biggest statement in the semifinals, handing top seed Mason Alexander of Northeast Bradford his first loss of the season with a 16-0 technical fall. Alexander currently has 95 career wins.

“There were a lot of flurries early, but he never panicked,” McCabe said. “He stayed controlled and dictated the pace.”

Reitz left no doubt in the final, pinning Pen Argyl’s Mason Ramsay — the No. 3 seed — in 1:46 after scoring a takedown just 12 seconds into the match.

“That’s pretty exciting,” Reitz said. “Especially getting a pin in the finals.”

Reitz improved to 16-3 in his freshman season.

At 152 pounds, Dixon’s championship run as the top seed in the bracket reflected the assurance of a wrestler comfortable controlling both position and tempo.

Dixon opened the tournament by pinning Oley Valley’s Isaac Manwiller in just 23 seconds, followed by a win over Pocono Mountain West’s Walden Chatman-Haynes. He added another pin against William Allen’s Aneudy Rodriguez-Garcia, and recorded a technical fall over East Stroudsburg South’s Nick Panepinto in the quarters.

In the semifinals, Dixon faced Pen Argyl’s Luca Albanese, a returning District 11 champion, and earned a composed 7-3 decision.

“He was tying me up tight and playing good defense,” Dixon said. “So I had to put things together. Just because they take one thing away doesn’t mean they can take everything away.”

The final paired Dixon (17-0) against fellow unbeaten Tywone Giles of Valley View (21-1), a District 2 sixth-place finisher a year ago. Dixon struck first with a takedown in the opening 15 seconds and controlled the tempo throughout a 7-3 victory.

“Scoring early sets the tone,” Dixon said. “Once I get that first takedown, I feel at ease. I love being in control.”

Dixon said his confidence continues to grow after battling back from injury last season, when he placed third at districts, fourth at regionals and qualified for states for the first time as a sophomore.

“I feel great this year,” said Dixon, who attends Marian and wrestles for Mahanoy through a co-op between the schools, which is now in its second year. “I’m down a weight class, my knee feels good, and I just want to go out, score points and compete.”

At 285 pounds, Lehighton junior Marc Macias put together a resilient run to the finals.

Seeded second, Macias opened by pinning Wallenpaupack’s Rocco Emilio in 1:06, and followed with a 12-5 win over North Schuylkill’s William Wysoski. He added a quarterfinal pin of Central Catholic’s McCoy Miller after a scoreless first period.

Macias then earned one of his most meaningful victories in the semifinals, edging Camron Green of Williams Valley 3-2 in the tiebreaker rounds. Green — who placed third at districts and sixth at regionals last season — had defeated Macias twice a year ago by scores of 1-0 and 4-3.

“That one meant a lot,” Macias said. “I’m really comfortable winning matches in different ways now.”

In the final, Macias fell 4-1 to Josiah Rodriguez of East Stroudsburg South, who placed sixth in District 11 Class 3A last season and qualified for regionals.

“He’s one of the best kids I’ll see all year,” Macias said. “It’s good to gauge where I’m at and what I need to get better at.”

Macias, now 13-3 this season, said the run was especially meaningful after an injury-filled year that included a torn meniscus late last season and a shortened offseason.

“I’m really proud of myself,” he said. “I missed a lot of time, but I’m in a really good spot mentally and physically. I’m satisfied, but I definitely want to keep going.”

TEAM STANDINGS ... The tournament featured 30 teams, with Lehighton finishing second in the standings with 214 points, narrowly ahead of Methacton (211), North Schuylkill (204) and Upper Perkiomen (200.5), which placed third through fifth. Wallenpaupack captured the team title with 227 points.

ON THE PODIUM ... Also medaling for area teams were Brian Reese (fourth) and Sahlem Ortiz (seventh) of Jim Thorpe at 107 pounds; Stephen Korte (fourth) of Jim Thorpe and Jack Lucykanish (eighth) of Lehighton at 133; Connor Dugan (sixth) of Lehighton at 139; Lukas Croizier (third) and Evan Wentz (sixth) of Lehighton at 145 and 152, respectively; Carter Hontz (seventh) of Lehighton at 172; and Asher Traylor (fourth) of Lehighton and Dawson Newhard (eighth) of Northern Lehigh at 215.