The Crookston Pirate Wrestling team won nine matches by pin or forfeit and had some impressive performances as they beat the Mahnomen-Waubun Thunderbirds 54-30 in the first round of the Section 8A Team Wrestling tournament in Crookston. “Our goal tonight was to pin as many people as we could,” said Pirate Coach Wes Hanson.
Evin Trudeau started the night with a takedown for a 2-0 lead. There were three reversals and the match was tied at 4. Trudeau got a reversal for a 6-4 lead and was called for clasping with six seconds left in the first period and took a 6-5 lead into the second period.
In the second period, Evin had an escape before he was taken down and the match was tied at 7. Late in the second period, Trudeau was in control on the edge of the mat and was able to pull his opponent towards the middle and with two seconds left in the period, Trudeau had a nice move for a pin to give Crookston a 6-0 lead. “Evin got the first takedown than and was able to get the pin,” said Coach Hanson. “That was huge and a great way to start the postseason. That really got us going.”
The Pirates were open at 113-pounds, but Gavin Hlucny came out strong at 120-pounds with a takedown for a 2-0 lead and a few seconds later he won the match by a pin in 26-seconds to give the Pirates a 12-6 lead. “Gavyn is smooth on his feet and used an arm bar and got the pin,” said Coach Hanson. The Thunderbirds won the next match by a pin before Crookston regained the lead with a Casey Weiland win by forfeit at 132-pounds.
Carter Coauette had a strong start at 138-pounds with a takedown one minute into the match and added three backpoints as the buzzer sounded for a 5-0 lead at the end of the first period. Carter came out in the second period and was able to get a pin. “He wrestled well and was in control the entire time and picked a turn late in the first period,” said Coach Hanson. “He came out in the second period and got the pin.”
Ethan Bowman wrestled at 145-pounds and got an early takedown and followed with three backpoints for a quick 5-0 lead before he got a pin for the third straight Pirate victory and a 30-12 lead halfway though the match. “Ethan is at his best when he is attacking and moving forward,” said Coach Hanson.
Crookston was open at 152-pounds, but Spencer Ness got a point after his opponent was warned and penalized for stalling. In the second period, he made a nice move for a pin and the Pirates led 36-18. “Spencer kept the pressure on and good things happened,” said Coach Hanson. “He caught his guy and got the pin and that was a nice win.” After a loss by pin at 170-pounds, Crookston’s Hunter Knutson had a great start with a takedown on a strong move to start the match at 182-pounds. Hunter continued to dominate and got a pin at 1:17. “Hunter came out strong,” said Coach Hanson. “That was a big win for us.” Ethan Boll won at 195-pounds by forfeit and after being open at 220-pounds, the Pirates ended the match with an exciting Jesse Sanchez win by pin in the first period to cement a 54-30 Crookston victory will all the matches decided by pin or forfeit. “That was great and was a rematch from a month ago,” said Coach Hanson. “We was able to reverse the result from earlier this year and that was a nice win.”
Crookston improves to 14-9 in duals and will take on Frazee in the Section 8A semi-finals in Fertile on Friday and you can hear the match on KROX Radio. “We are happy to moving be forward,” said Coach Hanson. “Friday night should be an awesome night of wrestling.” The winner of the match will wrestle at 7:30 in the championship.
# | Crookston-54 | Mahnomen-W-30 | Win | Results |
106 | Evin Trudeau | Trevor Neisen | Crox | Pin 3:58 |
113 | OPEN | Dominick Neisen | MW | Forfeit |
120 | Gavin Hlucny | Henry Geray | Crox | Pin :26 |
126 | Lucas Perala | Blake McMullen | MW | Pin 1:00 |
132 | Casey Weiland | OPEN | Crox | Forfeit |
138 | Carter Coauette | Manny Johnson | Crox | Pin 2:40 |
145 | Ethan Bowman | Carter Bendickson | Crox | Pin 1:33 |
152 | OPEN | Lukas Geray | MW | Forfeit |
160 | Spencer Ness | Thomas Azure | Crox | Pin 2:23 |
170 | Layten Fuentes | Will Olson | MW | Pin 1:20 |
182 | Hunter Knutson | Tatum Bement | Crox | Pin 1:17 |
195 | Ethan Boll | OPEN | Crox | Forfeit |
220 | OPEN | Blake Geray | MW | Forfeit |
285 | Jesse Sanchez | Tayshaun Bray | Crox | Pin 1:23 |