The Crookston Pirate Wrestling team won four of the six matches wrestled, but had six open weights and that proved to be the difference as the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons won 48-30 in the first round of the Section 8A Team Wrestling Tournament in Menahga. The four Pirate seniors all won the final team matches of their careers.
Fertile-Beltrami took a 6-0 lead when Bennet Whitcomb won the 107 pound match by forfeit.
At 114 pounds, Crookston’s Mauricio Arriaga started the match strong with a quick takedown and was then awarded four near-fall points with 40 seconds left in the opening period. Arriaga was close to getting a pin at the end of the period, but settled for four more near-fall points for a 10-0 lead going into the second period. Arriaga got a takedown right away in the second period for a 13-0 lead, and 19 seconds in, he won the match by a pin to tie the team score at 6-6.
Crookston was open at 121 pounds, and Fertile-Beltrami’s Gregory Ramberg won the match. At 127.pounds, Fertile-Beltrami’s Bristan Desrosier started the match with a takedown and followed with three more near-fall points for a 6-0 lead. Desrosier worked for about 20 more seconds on the pin before getting it at 1:45.
At 133 pounds, Fertile-Beltrami’s Jaxson Grunwald got a quick takedown followed by a pin in 45 seconds. Fertile-Beltrami’s Max Ramberg and Levi Kresl won the next two matches by forfeit, and the Falcons led 36-6.
Crookston finally stopped the Falcon winning streak as #4-ranked Gavyn Hlucny started his match at 152 pounds with a takedown and got a pin in 37 seconds. Lucas Perala followed suit as he scored a takedown early in the match and added four nearfall points for a 7-0 lead before getting a pin at 1:22. At 172 pounds, Jose Arriaga won by a forfeit, and the Pirates trailed 36-24 with three matches remaining.
Crookston was open at 189 pounds, and the Falcons’ Jack Erickson won by forfeit. Crookston’s Miles Corneillie scored a takedown early in the match to take a 3-0 lead. He continued to control the match and won by a pin at 1:29.
Crookston was open heavyweight, and the Falcons’ William Howard won by forfeit, and Fertile-Beltrami won the match 48-30. Fertile-Beltrami takes on #1 seed United North Central.
Crookston’s team season comes to an end with a 2-15 dual record and will host the Section 8A Boyd Individual Wrestling tournemant on Friday, February 20 at the Crookston High School gymnasium.
| Weight | Crookston-30 | F-B-48 | Winner | Result |
| 107 | OPEN | Bennett Whitcomb | FB | Forfeit |
| 114 | Mauricio Arriaga | Boe Rasch | Crox | Pin 2:19 |
| 121 | OPEN | Gregory Ramberg | FB | Forfeit |
| 127 | Gabe Perala | Bristan Desrosier | FB | Pin 1:45 |
| 133 | Kolten Bahrenfuss | Jaxson Grunwald | FB | Pin :45 |
| 139 | OPEN | Max Ramberg | FB | Forfeit |
| 145 | OPEN | Levi Kresl | FB | Forfeit |
| 152 | Gavyn Hlucny | Easton Kieckbusch | Crox | Pin :37 |
| 160 | Lucas Perala | Alex Molina | Crox | Pin 1:22 |
| 172 | Jose Arriaga | OPEN | Crox | Forfeit |
| 189 | OPEN | Jack Erickson | FB | Forfeit |
| 215 | Miles Corneillie | Vlad Boianoff | Crox | Pin 1:29 |
| HWT | OPEN | William Howard | FB | Forfeit |




