Two Crookston Pirate wrestlers place at the Minnesota State Individual Wrestling tournament at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Mauricio Arriaga, a sophomore, finished sixth place at 107 pounds in his first state tournament appearance, and Gavyn Hlucny, a senior, finished fifth place at his fourth state tournament.
Gavyn Hlucny
THURSDAY MATCH
In the first round, Gavyn took on Cayden Maly, a sophomore from Westerfield, who was 21-21 on the year. Hlucny dominated from the start as they scored a takedown 22 seconds into the match for a 3-0 lead. He added four near fall points with 47 seconds left in the period, and added four more near fall points at the end of the period for an 11-0 lead. Gavyn started the second period with an escape five seconds into the period. Seven seconds later, he got a takedown to win the match by a tech fall 15-0 at 2:12.
Gavyn improves to 27-1 on the year and will wrestle Tayden Soma of Ottertail Central, who is 28-12, after winning his first-round match by a medical forfeit. (The MSHSL has brought back consolation matches for anybody who loses the first round match.
FRIDAY MATCHES
Hlucny continued his domination in the quarterfinals as he took on Tayden Soma of Ottertail Central. Gavyn scored three points on a takedown for a 3-0 lead. Gavyn broke the match open with an impressive second period as he started down and got an escape seven seconds into the period. Eight seconds later he scored another takedown and added four near fall points for an 11-0 lead at the end of the period. In the third period, he scored another takedown 25 seconds into the period for a 14-0 lead. He let Soma escape before getting another takedown with 1:27 left in the match to win by a tech fall (17-1) at 4:33.
Semi-Final match
Gavyn had a good start to the semi-final match as he took on Dallas Gossen of Jackson County Central (41-8). Gavyn got a takedown 30 seconds into the match, but eight seconds later, he gave up a reversal and led 3-2. Four seconds later, Gavyn escaped, but was taken down and trailed 5-4 with 47 seconds left in the fast-paced opening period. Gavyn escaped with 25 seconds remaining to tie the match at 5-5. Gossen chose the bottom to start the second period, and Gavyn was hit with a technical violation. 18 seconds into the period, Gossen escaped. There wasn’t any scoring for over a minute until Gavyn had a takedown, but he gave up an escape with 24 seconds left, and the match was tied 8-8 after two periods. Gavyn chose the bottom to start the third period and got an escape right away for a 9-8 lead. There wasn’t any scoring for over a minute until Gossen got a takedown with 51 seconds left in the match. Gavyn tried to escape and finally did with two seconds left, but it wasn’t enough as Gossen held on for an 11-10 victory.
SATURDAY MATCHES
Gavyn took on Hayden Holm of Goodhue in the consolation semifinals. Holm scored the only points of the first period with a takedown with 14 seconds left in the period for a 3-0 lead. The only points of the second period was a Halm escape for a 4-0 lead. Gavyn started the third period on the bottom and got an escape before being taken down, trailing 7-1. There wasn’t any scoring for 61 seconds until Gavyn got an escape and a takedown right as the match ended, and Holm held on for a 7-5 victory.Â
In the final match of his Pirate wrestling career, Hlucny ended with a bang. Gavyn took on Conrad Koll of United North Central. Koll started the match with a takedown 20 seconds into the match. Gavyn countered with a reversal, and Koll led 3-2 after the first period. Gavyn got a takedown early in the second period and followed with two nearfall points and got a point for Koll stalling for a 7-3 lead, which he took into the third period. Gavyn started the third period with a takedown for a 10-3 lead. Koll got a reversal only to have Hlucny counter with a reversal of his own and four nearfall points to win the match 16-5.
Gavyn finishes fifth place while placing in his third state tournament. He wraps up his outstanding season and career with a 29-3 record.Â
Mauricio Arriaga
THURSDAY MATCH
In the first round, Mauricio took on Kiptyn Meiners, an eighth-grader from Caledonia-Houston, who was. There was no scoring in the first period, as both wrestlers were defensive throughout. In the second period, Arriaga started on the bottom and scored one point on an escape 16 seconds into the period and followed with a takedown nine seconds later. Arriaga led 4-0 until about 37 seconds left in the period when Meiners got a reversal with 37 seconds left in the period. Six second later, Meiners won the match by a pin (at 3:29) to win the match.
Arriaga drops to 29-4 on the year and will take on Brody Kopp of Luverne, who is 22-8 on the year, in the wrestlebacks on Friday.
FRIDAY MATCHES
In Mauricio’s first wrestleback match of the day, he took on Brody Kopp of Luverne and got a takedown 20 seconds into the match and won by a pin in 46 seconds.
In the consolation quarter-finals, Mauricio took on Adam Grabow of Bertha-Hewitt (41-6). It was a defensive battle for the first minute of the first period until Mauricio scored three points on a takedown with 53 seconds left in the period. 11 seconds later, Grabow escaped only to have Mauricio score another takedown for a 6-1 lead. Grabow got a reversal with three seconds left in the period, and Mauricio took a 6-3 lead into the second period. Mauricio started on the bottom and got a reversal for an 8-3 lead 28 seconds into the period. Neither wrestler scored the rest of the period. In the third period, Grabow chose on top, and Mauricio got a reversal 41 seconds into the period for a 10-3 lead. 14 seconds later, Grabow got a reversal to get within a 10-5 deficit. With 12 seconds left in the match, Mauricio got a reversal for a 12-5 lead, and Grabow escaped at the end of the match, but Mauricio won 12-6.
SATURDAY MATCHES
Mauricio took on Hayden Danielson of Minneota on Saturday morning. There was no scoring in the first period, and Mauricio trailed 1-0 after two periods. Mauricio exploded in the third period with a reversal to take a 2-1 lead. Mauricio added four nearfall points for a 6-1 lead. After giving up an escape, Mauricio countered with an escape and a takedown with 20 seconds left in the match for a 10-3 lead, and he held on for a 10-4 victory. The win assured a spot on the award stand.Â
In the consolation semifinals, Mauricio took on Kiptyn Meiners for the second time in the tournament. There was no scoring in the first period. In the second period, Mauricio gave up an escape before getting a takedown with 15 seconds left in the period. He added two nearfall points at the end of the period for a 5-1 lead. Mauricio started the third period on the bottom and got an escape and takedown for a 9-1 lead with 1:23 left in the match. Meiners escaped and got a takedown and won the match by pin with 37 seconds left.Â
Mauricio’s final match of the season was in the fifth-place match against Benjamin Schmid of Mille Lacs. Mauricio started the match with a takedown 23 seconds into the match for a 3-0 lead. Schmid countered with an escape, and there wasn’t any more scoring the rest of the period. In the second period, Mauricio escaped for a 4-1 lead. Schmid countered with a takedown before Mauricio escaped. Schmid got a takedown with 21 seconds left in the period and took a 7-5 lead going into the third period. Schmid got a takedown 30 seconds into the final period before Mauricio escaped, only to be taken down with 29 seconds left in the match, and Schmid won the match 13-9. Arriaga wraps up his outstanding sophomore season with a sixth-place finish and a 32-6 record.
| Wrestler | Opponent | Place |
| Mauricio Arriaga (107) | L Kiptyn Meiners (Caledonia) Pin 3:29 W Brody Kopp (Luverne) Pin :46 W Adam Grabow (Berth-Hew) 12-6 W Heydan Danielson (Minneota) 10-4 L Kiptyn Meiners (Caled) Pin 4:23 L Benjamin Schmid (Mil Lac) 13-9 | 6th Place |
| Gavyn Hlucny (152) | W Cayden Maly (Westfield) TF 2:12 (15-0) W Tayden Soma (Ott Cen) TF 4:33 (17-1) L Dallas Gossen (JCC) 11-10 L Hayden Holm (Goodhue) 7-5 W Conrad Koll (UNC) 16-5 | 5th Place |
