After wrestling during his freshman year for Salisbury, Teddy Denver suffered an injury during his sophomore year that forced him to miss the entire season.

Denver, who is now a junior, tore his labrum during the football season as a sophomore that kept him in search of his first wrestling victory as he prepared for the 2014 season.

And despite going 0-5 in the Jim Thorpe Duals on the season's opening weekend, it didn't take long for Denver to get his first career win once the Colonial League season got underway.

During last week's meet against Catasauqua to open up the Falcons' conference schedule, Denver pinned Benjamin Nosal at the 195-pound weight class for his first high school victory on the mat.

"A lot of people joked around with me saying I didn't have any wins and everything," Denver said. "So that was a little motivation. Just watching everything last year I learned a lot."

Despite falling behind 11-7 at the end of the second period as Nosal captured a reversal and three back points, Denver never gave up.

After an escape, Denver took down Nosal for two more points to make it 11-10 in favor of Nosal. With 26.9 seconds remaining, Denver earned the pin in a come-from-behind victory.

"I think it got my conditioning and endurance up," Denver said. "I got a feel for lasting a whole match and being in it the whole match, and the fact that I got the win under my belt I can move on."

He wasn't able to come away with a victory in the Jim Thorpe Duals, but Denver certainly held his own on the mat.

"You can tell he made a lot of progress, and I made it a point to tell him that," head coach Eric Snyder said. "Hopefully he continues to build on this win. It's a big win for him."

While he wasn't able to participate last season, Denver learned a lot from the vantage point of an onlooker. That time certainly helped him improve over the offseason, which included a focus on footwork and the top position.

"Just watching and seeing how things are done, instead of doing them myself," Denver said. "Seeing how the top guy and bottom guy work together. You get to see how everything flows together."

Due to five Salisbury forfeits, the Falcons came up short in their quest for a victory against the Rough Riders. While the Falcons suffered the 51-24 loss, a number of wrestlers were impressive on the mat.

Of the eight contested matches (the Rough Riders forfeited at 138), the Falcons captured victories in three of them, all wins by fall.

At 160 pounds, Trent Stump pinned Catasauqua's Joshua Melendez with 54.2 seconds left in the second period, and Shane Simmonis pinned Antonio Castaneda early in the first period at 126.

"Our goal is to get better every single time we wrestle," Snyder said. "If we win the head-to-head matches that we do, that's a win for us. Obviously we're disappointed with the score and all of that. But that is what it is, and these kids come in every day and work hard and continue to get better."

Denver's pin and Antonio Alvarado's forfeit win rounded out the Falcons' victories.

"I think this year we can compete," Denver said. "Knowing that we can get a team match makes us want to wrestle harder."

The Falcons will host Northern Lehigh on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. before traveling to Saucon Valley on Friday night for a 7 p.m. start.