Nicolai faced his toughest competition of the season in the finals of the Dual County League Wrestling Tournament held today at Waltham High School. He breezed to the finals securing two first period pins bringing his streak to 10 in a row. There he faced Ben Defranzo, a former wrestling club teammate and sparing partner, who is currently ranked sixth in the state of Massachusetts. The match was extremely close and hard fought. Defranzo secured a lead in the second period after a scoreless first. He remained ahead by one point late into the third period when Nicolai with 2 seconds remaining on the clock scored a takedown to win the match 4-3. The crowd roared with approval for the come from behind, never say die effort. Nicolai was moved with emotion and I predict he will remember this match for the rest of his life. I could not have been more proud, less so for the win than for the heart of a lion that Nico displayed. Several of Nico’s close friends came to watch him in the finals and I credit them with providing the incremental motivation to win that was unquestionably a factor in a match this close. A dejected Defranzo leaves the mat and will no doubt be working out that much harder to defeat Nico the next time they meet. Nicolai will need to match and surpass that effort if he wants to compete at the state level this season.