CROOKSTON WRESTLERS WIN FIRST SECTION WRESTLING TITLE SINCE 1988, FALL TO ROYALTON IN FIRST ROUND OF STATE

The Crookston Pirate Wrestling team won their first Section 8A Championship since 1988 with a 39-27 victory over the Badger/Greenbush-Middle River Gators and advanced to the Minnesota State High School League first-round tournament match and lost to #7 ranked Royalton/Upsala 49-26 at the Cass Lake-Bena High School gymnasium.  

SECTION 8A CHAMPIONSHIP – Crookston vs. BGMR
The Crookston Pirates won the first six matches of the afternoon and held on for a 39-27 victory over the Badger/Greenbush-Middle River Gators in the Section 8A Championship at Cass Lake-Bena High School.  “Those first six matches were pivotal,” said Pirate Coach Wes Hanson. “It put us in a great position, and it got us rolling.” The section championship was the first for Crookston since 1988. 

Evin Trudeau got things started at 106 pounds with an 8-4 decision.  Evin built a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period and took an 8-4 lead into the third period.  “It was a great performance for Evin,” said Coach Hanson. “He wrestled a very good match and got us a big win.”

Nolan Dans jumped out to a 6-0 lead and won the 113-pound match by pin in the second period. “He jumped out to a nice lead early, and that was great,” said Coach Hanson. “He kept working hard and was able to pick up the pin.”

Carter Coauette took a 3-0 lead after two periods and finished with a strong third period for a 5-1 victory at 120 pounds. “He came out strong and was in the driver’s seat right away,” said Coach Hanson. “That was a big win, and Carter wrestled well.”

At 126-pounds, Zach Brown dominated his match and won by a tech fall (17-1). “Zach was right there and close to getting a pin,” said Coach Hanson. “He came out and wrestled well and was determined to get us some bonus points.”

Cam Weiland took a 2-0 lead with a takedown and picked up a win by pin in the second period to give the Pirates a 23-0 lead. “He is a pinning machine,” said Coach Hanson. “We knew it was a great opportunity to get a win, and he took care of business.”

Ethan Bowman made it six straight Pirate victories to start the match.  He trailed 4-3 in the final seconds and made a big move to get three near-fall points right before the buzzer sounded to earn a 5-4 victory.  The win gave Crookston a 26-0 lead. “That was huge,” said Coach Hanson. “He is a guy that is mentally strong, and he didn’t quit, and he got the turn at the end and locked up the cradle for the win.”

BGMR finally got their first win at 145-pounds, but Crookston’s Braxton Volker got his team back on the winning track with an 8-4 victory. Braxton took a 4-0 lead after the first period, led 6-1 after two periods.  “Braxton wrestled a good match,” said Coach Hanson.  “He was put in a couple of tough positions but found a way to come away with the victory, and that was big for us.”

Cade Coauette won by a forfeit at 160-pounds to give Crookston a 35-6 lead. “That was a big moment,” said Coach Hanson. “For Cade to go out there in a section championship match and get six team points was special.”

BGMR won four of the final five matches, but the big win for the Pirates came at 195-pounds when Ethan Boll won by a 9-2 score to solidify a Section championship for the Pirates. “Ethan was able to stay simple and go out and pick up a win in a clutch situation was huge,” said Coach Hanson. “To win the first Section championship since 1988 is pretty special. We received a message from Paul Kuznik (Crookston High School grad and state individual wrestling champion) with some words of encouragement and advice.  He is a guy that is cemented in our program.”

With the win, Crookston advanced to the Minnesota State High School League State Wrestling tournament, where they wrestled Royalton/Upsala.  The match story and results from that match are below. 

STATE FIRST-ROUND – CROOKSTON vs. #7 ROYALTON
Royalton started the match with a win by decision at 106 pounds to take a 4-0 lead. 

Crookston responded with five straight wins.  The first win came from Pirate Senior Nolan Dans, with a win by pin in the second period. “That was awesome,” said Coach Hanson. “He wrestled well on top and got us going with a big pin.”

Carter Coauette won his match at 120-pounds by a pin to give Crookston a 12-4 lead. “Carter was able to be solid and score some points,” said Coach Hanson. “He is tough with the cradle, and he used that to get the pin.”

Zach Brown won the 126-pound match by a hard-fought 3-0 decision. “He wrestled a very good kid,” said Coach Hanson. “For Zach to go out there and get an early takedown was big, and Zach is a smart wrestler, and he held on for the win.”

Cam Weiland had an exciting match at 132-pounds with a win by pin in overtime.  Cam trailed 2-1 after the first period and 4-2 after the second.  He battled back to tie the match at 4-4 early in the third, and they were tied at six at the end of the regulation.  In overtime, Cam had a nice move to a cradle and won by a pin. “Cam is a big-move guy, and he has shown it over and over,” said Coach Hanson. “He showed some heart to force overtime and had a nice move for a big-time pin.”

At 138-pounds, Royalton started a six-match winning streak to take a 37-21 lead. “They are solid in that part of the line-up,” said Coach Hanson. “They had some of their better wrestlers in that stretch, and they were tough.”

Crookston stopped the streak when Ethan Boll won by a Tech Fall (23-8) in the third period to keep the Pirate’s hopes alive. “We wanted the pin, but we were hoping Ethan could get a tech fall or pin we would still have a chance,” said Coach Hanson. “Ethan wrestled a great match and got us a lot of points and was able to get the Tech Fall, which was huge.”

Royalton won the final two matches to win the match 49-26. “I am pretty proud of this special group of guys,” said Coach Hanson. “I am happy the way things ended up with the section championship, and we ran into a very good team with Royalton.  It was a great season, and the guys have a lot to be proud of and how far we came throughout the season.  We have a great fan base, great parents, and great kids.  It has been fun, and the kids should be proud of what they did this year.”

Crookston ends the team season with a 22-11 dual record and will get ready for the first round of the Section 8A individual wrestling tournament at the Crookston High School gym on Tuesday.