Steamboat Springs — It was a bit of an up-and-down day for Steamboat Springs High School wrestlers at Tuesday’s Palisade-Rifle triangular meet.

There was plenty to celebrate, like undefeated days from the likes of Colton Pasternak, Dakota Thvedt, Colton Crawford and Hayden Johnson. There were also teachable moments, Sailors coach Travis Bryant said, especially in finishing off the meet the way the squad had started it.

Steamboat kicked off things with a bang, winning eight of the 10 matches against Rifle and grabbing a 38-28 team win that was close primarily because the Sailors don’t have anyone heavier than 182 pounds on their roster.

Pasternak, Thvedt, Johnson, Lance Bryant and Matthew Hansen all won via pins against Rifle. Crawford scored a tech fall at 132 pounds for the victory, Miles Buchan won by decision and Gage Reynolds took a huge-yet-close match, 6-5, against Ethan Strouse.

“He needed that one,” Coach Bryant said about Reynolds’ one-point win.

Steamboat couldn’t quite replicate the early performance in the triangular’s later portion against Palisade.

The Sailors ended up losing as a team, 45-25, a score that, coincidentally, reflected 24 potentially lost points in forfeits past the 182-pound weight class.

“Take that out, and it’s maybe a 25-21 match, and we win,” Bryant lamented. “But we can’t look at it that way.”

Pasternak again won by pin at 106 pounds. Thvedt also grabbed a pin at 120 pounds. Kyle Spognardi dropped his match at 113 pounds, and Lance Bryant fell, 9-2, at 132 pounds.

Crawford and Johnson each cruised to wins, Crawford’s by a 17-4 decision and Johnson’s by a tech fall. Palisade wrestlers took down Buchan, Hansen, Reynolds and senior Dylan Wallace to secure the Bulldogs’ win.

Bryant said a handful of his athletes reported back to the coaches saying Palisade’s wrestlers were greasier than normal. The Steamboat coach speculated it was a commonly used substance in the wrestling world to prevent infections from the mats.

“We were having a hard time hanging onto them,” Bryant said about the Palisade loss. “Our kids were coming off the match saying they were slippery.”

Steamboat will be back on the mat this Saturday for the nine-team Evergreen Tournament.

To reach Ben Ingersoll, call 970-871-4204, email bingersoll@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @BenMIngersoll