On a night when health issues weakened both teams, host Air Academy was strong enough to survive.

The Kadets margin of victory equalled their net gain from forfeits as Palmer Ridge has about half its team sick or injured, according to Bears coach Alex Joseph after Wednesday’s 45-27 defeat.

Palmer Ridge forfeited four matches at six points apiece, while Air Academy forfeited one.

Air Academy fell behind 10-0 after three matches before sophomore Caleb Cuneio and junior Tommy Wolfe broke the streak.

“After seeing the first three matches I was frustrated with how the team was doing,” Wolfe said. “We were sloppy and we weren’t wrestling the way we should.”

Cuneio got the Kadets on the board with a 14-7 decision over the Bears’ Ben Finger at 152 pounds. Cuneio scored seven takedowns and Finger had seven escapes — several of which were simply conceded by Cuneio, who was disappointed that he wasn’t able to get the pin.

“I knew I had to get that win for the team,” Cuneio said. “We were down and we needed to change the momentum.”

“I’ve got to be more disciplined and not give up any easy points,” he added.

Wolfe fell behind 4-1 in the first period of the 160 match, but seized some momentum of his own in the second scoring a reversal and catching Billy Farmer in his favorite move, a Half Nelson, and pinning him in 3 minutes, 14 seconds.

Palmer Ridge’s Antero Guy (135) notched an upset 3-1 decision over senior Derek Law — ranked No. 12 in Tim Yount’s On The Mat Rankings. Guy, who qualified for the 3A state tournament for Colorado Springs Christian School last year, scored a takedown with four seconds remaining.

Jeremy Rajkowski, ranked No. 10 at 140, followed with a 13-5 major decision over Tim DeLory and teammate Dylan Polkow scored 9-6 decision for the Bears over Ricky Ray at 145.

The teams traded pins with Kadets’ Nate Bulter (103) and Tyler Adams (119) and the Bears’ Tommy Edwards (112) and Tyler Thalhammer (125) each claiming six team points.

“I look at it individually,” Joseph said. “Some kids did all the right things and some didn’t. We have to learn from it and go back to the drawing board and work our weaknesses for each individual.”

The Kadets were without star 112-pounder Frankie Vigil, who injured a his right wrist in practice. Eric Guy (130) and Evan Fuelllenbach (189) were on the roster for the Bears, but did not compete.

Air Academy’s Caleb Cureio worked to try and pin Palmer Ridge’s Ben Finger during their 152-pound match. The pin never came, but Cureio won 14-7. Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Air Academy’s Caleb Cureio took down Palmer Ridge’s Ben Finger during their 152-pound match on Wednesday at Air Academy. Cureio won 14-7. Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE