DENVER – Brandon Lucero curbed his enthusiasm as he recalled which of his Air Academy wrestlers won their quarterfinals matches Thursday.

The Kadets scored 62 points and are first in 4A at Ball Arena following the opening rounds of the 2026 CHSAA State Championships. But Lucero remained cavalier about the Kadets holding 4A’s top spot after the first evening of the three-day tournament.

“Obviously, we’re happy, but we still have some wrestling to do,” Lucero said. “The kids who can get it done have to get it done in the semis. And the kids on the backside, those are going to be our big point scorers. We’re in a good place … and we’re in a good position to attack and keep going.”

Six Kadets secured a spot in Friday’s semifinals and have a chance to ward off defending champions Pueblo East, which is second with 61 points.

For Air Academy, David Burchett, Alex Burchett, Dylan Saba, Ivan Gallegos, Matthew Torres and Thomas Marshall all have matches in the semifinals, which begin at 6 p.m.

“We hope we can extend that lead as far as we can,” Lucero said. “This is uncharted territory for us, but it’s exciting. I feel like we have that spark and I feel like we’re going to push and get it done. I can’t wait to get back to the hotel and have a good talk for these guys so we can get their heads right for (Friday.)”

Lucero said he knows better than to have a premature celebration regarding the Kadets current place atop 4A’s mountain. The Kadets coach commended the wrestlers and coaches at Pueblo East, which is competing for its fourth title since 2022.

The Kadets will continue to fight for their first championship and Lucero his team “can’t let our foot off the gas.”

“Expect adversity,” Lucero said. “It’s going to come. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. And when it does come, it’s about how you respond to it. We’re going talk about that. We took some losses? OK, how do we respond to that? That’s going to be our main point of focus.”

While the Kadets are battling for a championship, Widefield will aim to get into the top five at the tournament.

The Gladiators are tied for sixth with 39.5 points and have three wrestlers headed to the semifinals. Angel Fernandez, Manuel Mota and Ricky Aulava each went 2-0 during Thursday’s competition and will compete for spots in Saturday’s finals.

Cañon City finished the opening rounds with 38 points and are ninth and Sand Creek sits in 10^th place with 36.5 points.