When senior Joe Knackstedt was 8 years old, he thought that football was going to be his athletic path. But one night after his football practice, his coach told everyone to go out and try wrestling. “So I went and signed up, and there’s no turning back,” Knackstedt said.
He has been wrestling for nine years and started competing “from day one,” he said. His constant efforts and hard work led him to committing to Cornell University, where he is going to study mechanical engineering. “I’ve never really seen him give up,” said Ryan Wozniak, teammate and friend of Knackstedt.
Knackstedt is passionate about the sport. He gives everything he has in practice and plays an important role within the team. “We call him Coach Joe,” said Paul Collins, a varsity wrestling coach.
According to Wozniak, the team has close bonds. “I appreciate how all my teammates are here for each other,” he said, noting that they share many memories together and have been there through each other’s successes and defeats.
By the end of November everyone is getting ready for the competitions to start. After an intense practice on Nov. 19, Wozniak said, “Everybody’s been working really hard. I’m getting ready to go.” After getting knocked out at the team state quarterfinals last year, the team is training even harder, and according to Knackstedt, ”we’re coming back this year. We feel pretty good about this team.”
The last individual season was pretty successful for Knackstedt; he won 35 matches out of 43, most of them within five minutes of fighting.
A unique part of this sport is having to stay in a certain weight class, which requires a lot of discipline. For Knackstedt the best part of this sport is “trying to figure out how to get better…and it’s almost kinda like problem solving.”
According to Collins, who has been coaching wrestling at OPRF for 20 years, this sport “forced me to think a lot about who I was as a person.”
Knackstedt’s personality helps tie the team together, Collins and Wozniak said. “I think he is a great leader and a very funny person,” said Wozniak. “He is fun to hang around, easy to talk to, he’s always got something interesting to say.”
“He can strike up a conversation with everybody,” said Collins, who has known Knackstedt as a wrestler for seven years. “He’s always been a tough kid.”
Wrestling is a fundamental part of Knackstedt’s life, one that will continue during his journey at Cornell. “It’s a little daunting,” said Knackstedt. Going away for college is not always easy, and it certainly brings many challenges. Cornell has a very good Division 1 wrestling program, which makes this opportunity stimulating but also tough.
However, Knackstedt is ready to start this journey, to meet new people and new coaches. “It’s going to be a new experience,” he said. “I’ve been here nine years, wrestling in the same room, and I’m excited to go somewhere else.”
