The Crookston Pirate Wrestling team lost their first two matches and won the third match at the United North Central Quadrangular at the Menahga High School Gymnasium. Crookston lost to United North Central (Menahga-Sebeka) 54-19, and Blackduck-Cass Lake-Bena 35-25 before finishing off the evening with a 51-24 victory over Park Rapids. Crookston had three wrestlers that won all three of their matches, Nolan Dans, Cameron Weiland, and Ethan Boll.
CROOKSTON VS UNITED NORTH CENTRAL
Crookston lost the first match (106 pounds) by forfeit. UNC won the 113-pound match when Ethan Bowman wrestled a great match and lost to the #1 ranked wrestler at 106 pounds, Ethan Hendrickson 4-2. “Ethan competed hard and had some nice moves,” said Coach Hanson. “He had an outstanding showing against a top-ranked kid.”
The great performance seemed to give the Pirates a boost as Nolan Dans won his match 9-5. “Nolan has improved, and he showed it today,” said Coach Hanson. “He got in on a couple of nice attacks and physically, and even mentally, he broke down his opponent, and that was fun to see.” Zach Brown followed with a pin in 39 seconds to tie the team score at 9-9. “He came up and was sharp and got a pin right away, said Coach Hanson. Cameron Weiland made it three wins in a row with a pin early in the third period, and Crookston led 15-9. “He has a couple of pretty effective moves and used them,” said Coach Hanson.
UNC won the next five matches, four by a pin, and led 36-15. Crookston’s Ethan Boll stopped the UNC streak with a dominating 12-2 decision at 182 pounds. “He is a fun wrestler to watch, said Coach Hanson. “He wrestled well and got after it in the match.” UNC won the last three matches for a 54-19 victory. “I thought our guys competed hard and it was an exciting dual,” said Coach Hanson. “I felt good about a lot of things we did, and it kind of ran away from us at the end there.”
| # | Crookston-19 | UNC-54 | Win | Results |
| 106 | OPEN | Aaron Luke | UNC | Forfeit |
| 113 | Ethan Bowman | Ethan Hendrickson | UNC | 4-2 |
| 120 | Nolan Dans | TJ Jasicki | Crox | 9-5 |
| 126 | Zach Brown | Spencer Erickson | Crox | Pin :39 |
| 132 | Cam Weiland | Hunter Skaro | Crox | Pin 4:14 |
| 138 | Braxton Volker | Dylan Rasmussen | UNC | 9-6 |
| 145 | Cameron Hulst | Hank Tellers | UNC | Pin 4:26 |
| 152 | Cade Coauette | Gabe Hendrickson | UNC | Pin :14 |
| 160 | Hunter Knutson | Dakota Meech | UNC | Pin 3:12 |
| 170 | Hunter Kresl | Cooper Hasbargen | UNC | Pin 5:07 |
| 182 | Ethan Boll | Vinc Dailey | Crox | 12-2 |
| 195 | Layten Fuentes | Logan Thomas | UNC | Pin 1:24 |
| 220 | Greg Gonzalez | Torrey Carlson | UNC | Pin 5:44 |
| 285 | OPEN | Kevin Dailey | UNC | Forfeit |
CROOKSTON vs. BLACKDUCK/CASS LAKE-BENA
Crookston lost the first match of the evening by forfeit before Ethan Bowman won his match at 113 pounds by a 6-1 score. “Bowman did a great job of countering a single leg and did almost a cartwheel and battled to get the big win,” said Coach Hanson.
Nolan Dans followed with an impressive 13-2 victory to give the Pirates a 7-6 lead. “Nolan had another solid performance with a nice win,” said Coach Hanson.
Zach Brown, #3 ranked wrestler in the state at 120, took on the #1 ranked wrestler in the state at 126, Trevor Janssen, by a 5-2 decision. “Zach had some opportunities to score in the first period and didn’t get any points. Zach trailed 2-0 going into the third. It was a good match for him and nice to have a great opponent this early in the season,” said Coach Hanson.
Cameron Weiland won the next match, another pin, and Crookston led 13-9. “That was huge to get those points, and it was a nice win for Cam,” said Coach Hanson. Crookston lost the next three matches before Hunter Kresl won by a forfeit, and Ethan Boll won his match by a pin in the first period, and Crookston led 25-23. “Ethan came out strong, and that was nice to see,” said Coach Hanson. The Pirates lost the final two matches, and Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena won the match 35-25. “We had some nice wins in the match,” said Coach Hanson. “It was another fun dual yo be a part of.”
| # | Crookston-25 | Blackduck-35 | Win | Results |
| 106 | OPEN | Donovan Schmid | BCLB | Forfeit |
| 113 | Ethan Bowman | Eli Scharbono | Crox | 6-1 |
| 120 | Nolan Dans | Cody Headbird | Crox | 13-2 |
| 126 | Zach Brown | Trevor Janssen | BCLB | 5-2 |
| 132 | Cam Weiland | Carter Pater | Crox | Pin 1:42 |
| 138 | Braxton Volker | Christian Pater | BCLB | Pin 3:56 |
| 145 | Cameron Hulst | Landon Gross | BCLB | 16-7 |
| 152 | OPEN | OPEN | – | – |
| 160 | Hunter Knutson | Trenton Juelson | BCLB | 9-0 |
| 170 | Hunter Kresl | OPEN | Crox | Forfeit |
| 182 | OPEN | OPEN | – | – |
| 195 | Ethan Boll | Colter Humphrey | Crox | Pin 1:06 |
| 220 | Layten Fuentes | Tyresse Goodman | BCLB | Pin :57 |
| 285 | Greg Gonzalez | Jacob Natrass | BCLB | Pin 2:34 |
CROOKSTON VS PARK RAPIDS
The Crookston Pirates finished off the evening on the winning end. After Park Rapids won the first match at 106 pounds by a forfeit. Crookston responded with seven straight wins. Five of the wins by pin (Bowman, Brown, Weiland, Braxton Volker, Cameron Hulst), one by forfeit (Dans), and one decision (Hunter Knutson) to take a 40-6 lead. “Braxton came out and dominated after a couple of tough matches, and Cameron Hulst had a nice win and wrestled well. It is nice to see him back out for his senior season,” said Coach Hanson. “Hunter wrestled a tough kid, and as the match went on, he wore his opponent down and won.”
After a Pirate loss, Ethan Boll won by pin with two seconds left in the second period. Crookston lost the next match before Greg Gonzalez won his first match as a Pirate with a pin in the second period. “Greg means a lot to our team and is strong. He almost had a pin at the end of the first period and didn’t get it, but he bounced back with a pin in the second period for his first Pirate win.”
Crookston won the match 51-24. “Overall, it was a good night of wrestling. I was proud of how hard the guys wrestled,” said Coach Hanson
Crookston drops to 1-2 on the year and will travel to Hillsboro for five duals on Saturday.
| Weight | Crookston- 51 | Park Rapids- 24 | Win | Results |
| 106 | OPEN | Roby Sherk | PR | Forfeit |
| 113 | Ethan Bowman | Eli Burton | Crox | Pin :41 |
| 120 | Nolan Dans | OPEN | Crox | Forfeit |
| 126 | Zach Brown | Matt Dahring | Crox | Pin 1:13 |
| 132 | Cameron Weiland | Zach Paurus | Crox | Pin :47 |
| 138 | Braxton Volker | Henry Thorson | Crox | Pin :55 |
| 145 | Cameron Hulst | Taton Horton | Crox | Pin 1:34 |
| 152 | OPEN | OPEN | – | – |
| 160 | Hunter Knutson | Joe Klien | Crox | 15-4 |
| 170 | Hunter Kresl | Harley Wellman | PR | Pin :57 |
| 182 | Ethan Boll | Kaden Safratowich | Crox | Pin 3:58 |
| 195 | Leyton Fuentes | Joe Stachowski | PR | Pin :38 |
| 220 | Greg Gonzalez | Hunter Carnell | Crox | Pin 3:14 |
| 285 | OPEN | Dandre Johnson | PR | Forfeit |
