Salisbury suited up just five wrestlers for Monday night’s match against Palmerton. Three of them came away with wins via fall. So, despite coming up short in the final score, 60-18, head coach Eric Snyder once again saw plenty of optimism against the Blue Bombers.

That is how much of the season has gone for the Falcons, who were without one of their six wrestlers against Palmerton. Ben Krauss missed his second consecutive match with an injury, but is expected to return this week.

Salisbury has a league match against Southern Lehigh on Wednesday, and then travels to Lehighton over the weekend to compete in the Coal Cracker tournament.

Devon Alder, Toby Linn and John Samy all picked up falls in their bouts Monday. The other two were close at picking up wins as well, which would have made it a clean sweep in terms of the contested bouts.

“The other two matches that we wrestled tonight, we were actually winning both of those matches and just made one mistake and got pinned,” Snyder said. “I was happy with the way we wrestled. What I explained to the guys afterwards is that we are going to make mistakes out there. It’s inevitable. Every wrestler is going to make a mistake.

“The difference is we have to be able to respond from those mistakes. Right now the mistake that we’re making is costing us the match.”

With a lineup of new wrestlers who are inexperienced on the varsity stage, those mistakes are expected. But they’ve become fewer and fewer since the first day of practice.

Freshman Braedon Alder and first-year wrestler Kyle Killiri, a senior, came up short in their matches against the Blue Bombers.

“He’s a tough kid, but Braedon was winning the whole match,” Snyder said. “He relaxed for a split second and got lateral dropped to his back. That kind of stuff is going to happen.”

Earlier this month, the Falcons competed in the Montgomery Wrestling Tournament and opened plenty of eyes. Three different Salisbury wrestlers placed in the top three of their respective weight class.

“We came away from there with a first, a second and a third place,” Snyder said. “Braedon Alder went 5-0 at 132 and took first. Ben Krauss was 4-1 at 170. He had a chance to win that last match. And Devon Alder took third. Overall I think that tournament was a great experience for our guys. They all won matches.”

Salisbury’s trip up north for the Coal Cracker Tournament will be even tougher with over 40 teams competing. The tournament is hosted by Panther Valley, but has grown to large for the school in Lansford and is now competed at Lehighton High School.

Snyder is hoping a strong showing helps these Falcons continue to build on their midseason success. The tournament could serve as great preparation for districts, which is slated for Feb.24-25.

“They are going to get tested,” Snyder said. “If we can come away with three or four guys taking away a medal, I’ll be very pleased. When you have 40-some teams at a tournament, there are bound to be good kids. All of the weight classes are going to be tough. It will be interesting to see how we wrestle.”