FOSSTON-BAGLEY DEFEATS CROOKSTON IN SECTION 8A TEAM TOURNAMENT

The first time the Crookston Pirate wrestlers couldn’t pick up pivotal bonus points down the stretch in a 36-34 loss to the Fosston-Bagley Brawlers in the Section 8A Team Tournament quarterfinal hosted at the Crookston High School Gymnasium.

Carter Coauette won the opening match for the Pirates earning a major decision and four points with a 16-3 win at 106-pounds. “Last time they wrestled, Carter hit one big move in a cradle to kind of blow the lead on it and sat on that,” noted Crookston head coach Wes Hanson. “Tonight, Carter went out with the mentality to dominate that match, and that’s exactly what he did. You could tell early on that Carter was going to put up bonus points for us and set the tempo.”

Fosston-Bagley’s Keegan Senger earned a pivotal victory for the Brawlers a 113-pounds with a 2-0 sudden-death win in overtime.

Zach Brown earned a pin at 120-pounds 0:26 into the match, increasing the Pirates lead to 10-3. “That was one of those matches where we were hoping to win the flip and have a different look,” added Hanson. “Zach took care of business in the match that presented itself.”

Nolan Dans won his match at 126-pounds with a 7-2 decision. “We had thought about doing something different, but with the way, the flip went, Nolan was our best option, and he wrestled really well. Hats off to Nolan. He was trailing 2-0, but rallied off seven points. It was a really good performance for him.”

Cam Weiland clinched a much-needed pin for Crookston at 132-pounds 1:28 into his bout. “I’m really happy with the way Cam has been wrestling of late,” added Hanson. “He’s wrestling really hard and has looked good at that weight class.”

Braxton Volker earned five points with a 16-0 decision at 138-pounds. “Braxton worked so hard for a pin,” said Hanson. “His opponent is going to have sore shoulder or two. Braxton had some opportunities and wrestled hard, so it was good to get at least a technical fall.”

Hunter Knutson gave Crookston a 30-3 lead with a pin 3:18 into the 145-pounds giving the Pirates control of the dual. “That was a big pin by Hunter,” said Hanson. “That got us right back in a position to win the dual. That was a good effort by him.”

Fosston-Bagley responded with three straight pins from Carter Sorenson, Dane Schoenborn, and Ross Syverson, trimming the Brawlers’ deficit down to 30-21.

Ethan Boll won Crookston’s final match of the night at 182-pounds with a 17-4 win giving the Pirates four points putting Crookston in front 34-21. “Ethan’s opponent Henry Burrack is really talented wrestler,” noted Hanson. “He’s been ranked in the top-ten in the state throughout the year. For Ethan to go out there and put points on him like he did was good. We had an opportunity that was pretty close to a pin. It was a good effort by him.”

Evan Chalich secured a pivotal pin for Fosston-Bagley 0:52 into the 195-pounds match before Crookston forfeited the 220-pound match cutting the Pirates’ lead down to 34-33 heading into the final match.

At 285-pounds, Axel Munter earned a 3-1 decision to, complete the Brawlers’ comeback, closing out a 36-34 Fosston-Bagley win. “I’m really proud of the work these guys have put in,” summarized Hanson. “I appreciate all the fan support we had tonight. They just see a blip of what these guys go through. They work really hard in the practice room all season long. It’s a bummer to come up a little short here, but maybe it will be a little fuel for the individual tournament.”

Crookston ends its team season but will return to the mat for the Section 8A Individual Tournament at the Crookston High School Gymnasium beginning next Friday, February 21 at 3 P.M. Fosston-Bagley improves to the Section 8A Team Tournament semifinal where they’ll take on Frazee in Fertile on Friday at 6:00 P.M.