ZACH BROWN TAKES FIFTH, ETHAN BOLL TAKES SIXTH PLACE AT STATE WRESTLING

The Crookston Pirate Wrestling team’s Zach Brown earned his second straight podium appearance with a fifth-place finish while Ethan Boll took sixth-place at the Minnesota State High School League State Wrestling tournament at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul. 

ZACH BROWN (Junior – 120 pounds)-
Zach Brown wrestled Brandon Ross of Caledonia.  Both wrestlers were trying to feel the other out in the first period with no scoring.  In the second period, Ross started on the bottom and scored a point with an escape and led 1-0 going into the third period.  In the third, Zach scored an escape to tie the match at 1-1.  Ross responded with a takedown with 67 seconds left in the match.  Zach wasn’t able to score in the final minute and lost the match 3-1. “It was really a heart breaker,” explained Crookston head coach Wes Hanson. “That was a spot we wanted to get back to. We had a few exchanges there. Zach had a beautiful single-leg shot and tried to move his guy to the center. It looked like he had the takedown, right on the edge of the mat. His opponent did a good job popping his hips right back up and countering hard. The call didn’t go our way.”

Zach Brown wrestled Justin Crandall of Long-Prairie/Browerville in the wrestleback semi-finals. It was a defensive battle with no scoring in the first or second periods. In the third period, neither wrestler scored until Crandall was awarded two near-fall points with 11 seconds left in the match, and he was able to hold on for a 2-0 victory. “Zach really had a solid first period,” added Hanson. “In the second period, he did a great job riding from the top position. I want to emphasize how solid Zach was from the top position all weekend. He had a really good ride, and I thought we should choose the down position to start the period. I was thinking we get a quick escape to take the lead, but things don’t always go as planned. Late in the period, we gave up a tilt, and it cost us some back points.”

In Zach’s final match, he faced Kelvin Andrade-Ponce of Atwater for fifth place. Andrade-ponce earned a two-point takedown just 23-seconds into the match, but Brown answered with a reversal ten-seconds later tying the match at 2-2. After a one-point escape by Andrade-Ponce, Zach Brown earned his first takedown gaining a 4-3 lead. Andrade-Ponce closed the action-packed first period with an escape tying the match at 4-4. Zach Brown gained a 5-4 lead with a late escape with just 12-seconds left in the second period. A late false-start added one point to Brown’s score. Brown allowed one final escape to avoid a potential reversal as Zach earned fifth place with a 6-5 win in the fifth-place match. “That was a great way for Zach to finish his season,” said Hanson. “I thought the way that he competed in that match was outstanding. He went out there and had a beautiful attack. His opponent had a nice counter, but Zach kept fighting off his back. He kept scrambling to a position. He rode really hard and finished the period in the top position. It was a huge way for him to finish his junior season. The wrestler he beat in the match was the 2-seed in the tournament. It validated what we knew coming in, which is that Zach is right in the mix at the top of the state.”

Zach finishes his season on the podium at State for the second straight year and ends the season with a 35-11 record. 

ETHAN BOLL (Freshman – 182 pounds)
Ethan Boll wrestled Aidan Willard of Trinity School at River Ridge in the wrestlebacks. Willard started the scoring with a takedown with 10 seconds left in the period for a 2-0 lead.  In the second period, Boll scored his first point of the match with an escape with 49 seconds left.  He added a takedown with two seconds left and added two near-fall points for a 5-2 lead going into the third period.  In the third, Willard scored on a reversal halfway through the period, but Boll countered with a reversal and won the match 7-4. “The composure and the way Ethan handled himself throughout this whole tournament was really impressive,” noted Hanson. “In a must-win situation, to find his way onto the podium, he really needed to wrestle his best, and he was able to do that. He gave up a takedown but quickly answered with a reversal and a takedown of his own. He found a way to win there late. It was a huge win to find a way to get on the podium.”

Ethan Boll wrestled Brett Graham of Frazee in the wrestleback semi-finals in a rematch of the Section 8A championship. Graham scored the first points of the match with a takedown 21 seconds into the match for a 2-0 lead. With 16 seconds left in the period, Boll scored on an escape to get within a 2-1 deficit. Graham built on his lead with an escape five seconds into the second period for a 3-1 lead. With 50 seconds left, Boll scored on a takedown to tie the match at 3-3. Graham got an escape late in the period to take a 4-3 lead. Neither wrestler was able to score in the third period, and Graham held on for a 4-3 victory. “Ethan had a beautiful set up to a take down in that match,” noted Hanson. “You look at the exchanges, and it was one takedown to one takedown, but we weren’t able to get away. It was really a close match and a tough one to lose there.”

Boll wrestled Thomas Dineen of Benson for fifth place in a rematch of Dineen’s 8-6 win over Boll in the quarterfinals. Dineen opened the match with a two-point takedown, but Boll earned one point for an escape just four-seconds later. Dineen wrapped Boll at his hips and dropped him for another takedown, increasing his lead to 4-1 after one period. Ethan Boll opened the second period with a quick escape point trimming his deficit down to 4-2. Dineen utilized another single-leg takedown increasing his lead to 6-2 entering the final period. The third period started from the neutral position preventing Boll from earning an escape point. Boll picked up a takedown with 1:17 remaining but conceded an escape remaining behind 7-4, in desperation, Boll was unable to come back, and Dineen was able to secure the pin with 39-seconds remaining in the match. “Everybody has the goal of being a state champion, but for Ethan to be down here as a freshman wrestling at 182 pounds and find the podium, and be all-state really is an incredible accomplishment,” summarized Hanson. “He should be really proud of himself, and he definitely has a reason to keep his head high and look forward to next year.”

Boll earned sixth place in his first trip to the State Tournament ending the season with a 39-8 record. 

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