CROOKSTON WRESTLERS BEAT FOSSTON-BAGLEY, LOSE TO #7 FRAZEE

The Crookston Pirate Wrestling team beat the Fosston-Bagley Brawlers 42-36 in the first round of the Section 8A team wrestling tournament and lost to the #7 ranked Frazee Hornets 61-15 in the semi-finals at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.  

CROOKSTON VS FOSSTON-BAGLEY-
Crookston built a 21-0 lead after four matches and held on the rest of the way for a 42-36 victory in the quarter-final match.  “With the matchups, everything came together.  I thought we wrestled well and even in the losses we had some good matches,” said Pirate Coach Wes Hanson. “It was good to see the guys wrestling as strong as they did and it was nice to get a little revenge from the dual loss earlier this year.

At 106 pounds, Ethan Bowman trailed 2-0 after the first period, but he came out strong in the second period and dominated to take a 4-2 lead with a switch move and near fall points.  In the third period, Bowman was taken down and the match was tied at 4-4, forcing overtime.  Ethan got an escape with seven seconds left in the match to win 5-4 and give Crookston a 3-0 match lead.  “We said that was going to be a key matchup and it was,” said Coach Hanson. “Ethan had a nice reversal and had a pretty nice lead.  He was able to stay mentally focused and got the escape to get the win with a nice match and a great way to start the match.”

At 113 pounds, Carter Coauette had a takedown early in the match for a 2-0 lead and continued his aggressive attack and got a pin in the second period to give the Pirates a 9-0 lead.  “He came out strong and wrestled well,” said Coach Hanson. “He was able to get to his leg attacks and got a turn and got the win.”

At 120 pounds, Zach Brown won by forfeit and Crookston led 15-0.

At 126 pounds, Braxton Volker came out strong and had a takedown and got a pin in the first period to give the Pirates a commanding 21-0 lead through the first four matches.  “Braxton came out strong and his aggressive style is fun,” said Coach Hanson. “It was nice to have a 21-0 lead right away and it was a great start.”

At 132 pounds, Cameron Weiland was down 10-1 after the first period and started the second period with an escape, but Fosston-Bagley’s Carter Sorenson won by a pin in the second period and Crookston led 21-6.

At 138 pounds, Hunter Knutson trailed 2-0 early in the match and bounced back with a reversal to tie the match at 2-2.  In the second period, Knutson was taken down and trailed 4-2 after two periods.  In the third period, Hunter had a reversal with 63 seconds left to tie the match at 4-4, forcing overtime.  In overtime, Knutson had a nice snap for a takedown to win 6-4 and give Crookston a 24-6 lead.  “Hunter, for an eighth grader, is a strong kid,” said Coach Hanson. “It was nice to see Hunter get the takedown when it mattered.”

At 145 pounds, Crookston’s Cade Coauette started the match strong but was pinned and the Pirates led 24-12.

At 152 pounds, Lukas Meier won the match by forfeit for a 30-12 lead.

At 160 pounds, Ethan Boll came out strong and took a 2-0 lead on a takedown and won by pin 78 seconds into the match to give Crookston a 36-12 lead.  “Ethan wrestled well and worked for a while to get the pin,” said Coach Hanson. “He had a tight hold and was able to wear down his opponent and get the pin.”

At 170 pounds, Damian Narvaez lost by pin and Crookston’s lead was 36-18.

At 182 pounds, Crookston knew that a Damian Hodgson win would solidify a team victory and Hodgson came out strong with a takedown and three near fall points for a 5-0 lead and in the second period he won by pin to give Crookston a 42-18 lead.  “We needed the win and the way he came out and was trying to get the pin,” said Coach Hanson. “He really wrestled a strong match and it was great to get the win and know we were moving on.”

At 195 pounds, Crookston forfeited the match and led 42-24

At 220 pounds, Blake Fee trailed 2-0 but bounced back with a takedown to tie the match at 2-2 and he was called for clasping and trailed 3-2.  After a double-leg, he trailed 5-2 and was pinned in the second period and Crookston led 42-30.

At Heavyweight, Crookston forfeited the match and won the team portion 42-36.

Crookston improves to 12-4 in duals on the year and took on #7 ranked Frazee in the semi-finals (see story and scoring below).  Fosston-Bagley ends their season with a 12-8 record.

CROOKSTON VS FRAZEE-
Frazee won the last five matches to pull away for a 61-15 victory over the Crookston Pirates in the Section 8A Semi-final match.  “Frazee is a very good team and well coached and they have been very good for a long time,” said Pirate Coach Wes Hanson. “Little things make a big difference in matches and they do all the little things right.”

Crookston struggled against the talented and deep Frazee team, but the start of the match was close.  After a loss by pin at 106 pounds, Crookston’s Zach Brown (ranked #2) took a 2-0 lead early in his match with a takedown and later won by a pin in the first period to tie the match at 6-6.  “After two weights we were looking alright,” said Coach Hanson. “It was nice for Zach to go out and dominate and that should lock up a one seed.”  Frazee won the next five matches and led 31-6.  “Overall it was a good performance for Lukas,” said Coach Hanson. “We were hoping for some bonus points, but he got the win and wrestled well.”  Ethan Boll stopped the five-match Pirate losing streak with a win at 160 pounds.  Ethan’s match was scoreless after the first period and he took an early 3-0 lead in the second.  Ethan added three more near fall points to take a 6-0 lead into the third period.  In the third, Ethan pounced on his opponent and got a pin eight seconds into the period for the victory and Crookston trailed 31-12. “He had a nice explosive takedown and in the third period he got a nice headlock for a pin,” said Coach Hanson. “It was a really good performance for Ethan.”  Frazee won the final five matches by pin or forfeit with the final five wrestlers all ranked in the top 10 in the state polls for a 61-5 victory.  “The bottom of the Frazee lineup is very impressive,” said Coach Hanson.  “The match wasn’t our best one, but overall it was a good day for us.”

Crookston’s team season comes to an end with a 12-5 dual record.  “We had a great year this year,” said Coach Hanson. “We had a 10 match dual winning streak and had some great matches this year.  Now we get ready to host the section individual tournament and hopefully send some guys to state.”  The Section 8A Individual Wrestling Tournament will be on Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23 at the Crookston High School Gymnasium.